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When Christos Karabelas opened SOMA in Boston’s South End in 2019 with his wife Alissa, it was the culmination of ‘a decade-long journey to find my place and purpose.’

‘Glasses are not just a widget to us,’ says Christos. SOMA only carries independent designers and maintains personal relationships with them all.

SOMA has a mid-century modern aesthetic whose ‘touch of Palm Springs’, as Christos puts it, is brought out nicely in juxtaposition with the building’s ‘Old Boston bones’.

‘It was important to us that our shop not feel like your typical optical,’ says Christos.

White is predominant, with most surfaces topped in quartz.

The space is devoid of frame racks, POP or any of the other usual suspects. Every now and then, somebody strolls in thinking they’re in an art gallery.

‘People keep bringing us cacti,’ says Christos. SOMA’s windows are adorned with a small family of the desert plants.

SOMA carries about 40 collections from independent eyewear designers.

Christos and Alissa Karabelas have family in Boston but were new to the city’s South End—an area populated largely by families and young professionals, and also very LGBTQ-friendly—when they opened SOMA in 2019.

‘We really love using negative space to draw emphasis to the individual frame or collection,’ says Christos.

For Christos, opening SOMA was the culmination of at least a decade of dreaming. ‘It is deeply important and personal to me,’ he says.

Super-high windows help to illuminate exposed beams and the refurbished map drawers that are used to store and display frames.

One of SOMA’s custom lens cloths, designed by Christos. ‘I like to keep things light and playful, so I shy away from the serious stuff,’ he says. ‘As for inspiration, I kind of pick it up from all over the place. I like a lot of older stuff. I like texture. I like minimalism. Anything from the ’70s but cleaned up and modernized.’

SOMA Optical owners Christos and Alissa Karabelas

14 Images That Show Why SOMA Optical in Boston Was Named One of America’s Finest Optical Retailers

14 Images That Show Why SOMA Optical in Boston Was Named One of America’s Finest Optical Retailers

When Christos Karabelas opened SOMA in Boston’s South End in 2019 with his wife Alissa, it was the culmination of ‘a decade-long journey to find my place and purpose.’