They don’t come much smarter or nicer than Jadrian Johnson, a systems engineer and self-professed “geek,” who also happens to be one of our favorite customers at Gogosha. We’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Jadrian over the years, and helping with his eyewear transformation, so when it came time to choosing our first feature for our “Gogosha House Calls” series, we knew we had to give him a ring.

Every few weeks, we’ll be visiting some of our Gogosha friends and family, getting a peak into their eyewear collections – and hopefully getting to know them a little better as well.

On a recent sunny Saturday, we headed into the hills of Encino, CA, where Jadrian and his partner Patrick invited us over for coffee, doughnuts and of course, some good glasses gossip. “Some people collect shoes,” Jadrian told us, “but I collect glasses.”

A Nebraska native, Jadrian and Patrick met during their freshman year in college, while both were part of the university choir. Jadrian was a baritone; Patrick was a tenor. (There’s a “perfect harmony” pun in there somewhere). It wasn’t until junior year that Jadrian admitted his crush on Patrick. Long story short: “We hooked up at the cast party,” Jadrian says with a smile. The two have been together ever since, fifteen years and counting.

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Xavier Derome + Bruno Chaussignand

Xavier Derome + Bruno Chaussignand

These days, Jadrian consults on a number of tech-based projects and is working on starting his own company, while Patrick works from the couple’s Encino-based home as a designer. His little touches are sprinkled throughout their house, from the impeccably-curated accessories, right down to the custom wallpaper (many of which are based off pages from vintage books and magazines).

Of course it wouldn’t be a Gogosha visit without delving into the eyewear, and Jadrian has amassed quite the diverse collection. “I’ve never been into fashion until I started wearing glasses,” he says. “Now that I have cool glasses, it makes me want to try a little harder with the rest of my outfit too.”

Though he had worn glasses since high school, Jadrian had never found the perfect frame for his face and personality. He defaulted to contact lenses, though he was open when he met us, to picking out some new specs. “I tell people that Gogosha is like the Harry Potter ‘wand shop’ of glasses,” he says. “Every time I get a new pair they become my new favorites! I look in the mirror and I’m like, ‘Yes!'”

Jadrian’s first pair was from Cutler and Gross. His dog Nance ended up eating them. (“Oh golly,” Jadrian says with a laugh, when recounting the story). Today, Jadrian rotates between ten different pairs of optical frames and two pairs of sunglasses, including Selima, Xavier Derome (x2), Anne et Valentin (x3), Bruno Chaussignand, Mykita and Mykita Mylon and Kuboruam. They’re all neatly displayed on a custom wooden tray from Gogosha. His love for eyewear has rubbed off on Patrick too, who was sporting his Mykita ‘Buddy’ shades when we took his photo and saves his Graz sunnies for special occasions.

As for what the future holds? Eyewear-wise, Jadrian has his sights set on a bold pair of Kuboraum sunnies. Patrick, meantime, is feeling inspired and might add a colorful pair of shades to his collection as well.

The two are also avid music festival fans, and looking forward to the lineup at Coachella. “St. Vincent is playing this year,” Jadrian says, beaming. “I love St. Vincent if you can’t tell from the hair!”

But back in Encino, the very near future called for dinner and a night out dancing (“Some warehouse party,” was how Jadrian described it). So we took our cue, finished off our coffee and doughnuts, and made our way home.

GET TO KNOW JADRIAN THROUGH THE GOGOSHA “EYE-FIVE:”
1. Favorite vacation spot: Joshua Tree. I can unplug, go camping and see the stars. It really rejuvenates me.
2. Drink of choice: Bullet Rye Manhattan
3. Last song played on your iPod: A Russian YouTube video of a guy doing his vocal warmup. I’m part of the Gay Men’s Chorus of LA and there’s a talent show coming up and I’m actually going to perform this “song.” This morning in the shower I had it on repeat.
4. Favorite party game: We love playing card games, like Hearts. Recently, I’ve been trying to learn Mahjong. It’s a pretty serious obsession. We were at Burning Man this year and our camp theme was “Mahj Mahal.”
5. Words to live by: “Paddle your own canoe.” It’s a Nick Offerman quote.