The Optical Vision Site

Don’t Send Frames Back- Re-Purpose Them Into Custom Eyewear

Written by Cathy on September 2, 2010 – 7:07 pm -

We had done an earlier post on cool Safety frames repurposed as new sunglasses. St. Liberty Mens’ Goods has been buying up military surplus sunglasses and repurposing then into hot new shades. Adding a leather bridge and reselling it as custom eyewear- great marketing, plus you can save yourself some money and handling by not shipping back product. (And make your reps really happy!)

Or for a little  fun, drill some holes make a necklace From Tattydevine

Another idea is re-use and put your favorite photos in. Although I am a big proponent of donating old eyeglasses- but if you have a favorite pair or some glasses remind you of a favorite relative, reuse them and put your favorite photo inside. Source

Tags: Eco, Eyewear
Posted in Eco Optical | No Comments »

Eyewear Trend Report – August 11 – September 2, 2010

Written by Cathy on September 2, 2010 – 7:06 pm -

Eyewear Trends update; Retro and vintage looks continues to grow, but companies such as OGI are taking up the natural trend and utilizing a wood grain effect to go along with the vintage look. Eyewear campaigns are getting very creative with Ksubi eyewear dark look among the best of a political statement as well as an artistic look. More and more upscale eyewear companies are using Youtube. Technology Eyewear continues to play a role and will become a very strong trend going forward.

Wood eyewear is going strong. Shwood collaboration Wish will bring about a better consumer awareness of wood and eco friendly eyewear. New sustainable eyewear company opened using FSC certified wood, Driftwood Eyewear company. 10 New eyewear launches since our last report August 11.

Fashion Eyewear New Product

• Marc O’Polo By Tura
• New Heritage Collection By Frieze Frames
• Ksubi Fall 2010 Ad Campaign
• William Rast (Justin Timberlake) Sneak Preview
• OGI’s Wood Grain Look Perfect For Back To Nature Appeal
• Victoria Beckham- Aviator Look For Fall
• Converse Releases Glow In The Dark Sunwear
• Han Kjobenhavn Retro Vintage Eyewear Reflects His Clothing
• A Different Kind of 3D Eyewear- OKIA

Eyewear Videos

• Otis Eyewear
• Framers
• Salt Optics
• Kirk Originals Video

Technology Eyewear

Pixel Electronic Eyewear

3D Eyewear

NASA Looks At Trufocals

Polaroid Signs 3D Company

Anti-Aging Eyewear

New Eyewear Company  Launches

Protege Eyewear – Everybody getting into the Lady Gaga look for eyewear

Dizm Eyewear

Vestal Eyewear- actually launched At Vision Expo East 2011

Freeway Eyewear- Eyewear Named after LA’s Freeways

Massada Eyewear

Made You Look Eyewear

Michael K Forever Officially Launched- Hip Hop Eyewear

Milly NY, Launches New Eye Wear

New and Eco Friendly Eyewear

Cardboard Eyewear – Eco Friendly fun eyewaer

Drift Eyewear- New Eco Friendly Eyewear

Bendall Design- Handmade wood Eyewear (not really new but new to me!)

Eyewear Collaboration

Shwood x Wish For Wood Eyewear Series

Celebrity Eyewear

Rihanna Wearing Vintage JPG Eiffel Tower Eyewear

R Kelly Wearing Dita in New Video

Big Sean Wearing Louie Vuitton

Lindsay Lohan in Sama

George Clooney in The American Wearing Persol

Sports Performance Eyewear

Wiley X Releases New Safety Eyewear

Joshua Richmond Wearing Pilla For Shooting

Numa Tactical Glasses Passes Kids Test

Wacky Eyewear

Linda Farrow x Walter Van Beirendonck Wacky but Wearable Eyewear

Linda Farrow x Jeremy Scott- Bone Eyewear

Tags: Eyewear, Trends
Posted in Eyewear | No Comments »

Round Sunglasses are IN

Written by Shirley on August 31, 2010 – 7:50 pm -

According to Style.com’s weekly “Shop the Look’ , (a site that we follow for the fashion trends), round metal sunglasses are in fashion again. The New York Times reported on the same trend and a feature article titled “Why Round Sunglasses? A Style Investigation”.

Below are a few quotes from that article and plus a couple of round sunglass styles from Tura and OGI Frames for optical retailers who are ready for eyewear customers who want to shop this look.

“This is what fashion is,” said Simon Jablon, the English designer behind the Linda Farrow sunglasses label, which was founded by his mother in 1970. “It is a trend. You can just sense it. You have a feeling for where things are going to go.”

Designers are looking at the same things — art exhibitions, fashionable parties, rock stars — so their impulses are often surprisingly in step with one another. But sometimes it’s possible to trace where their ideas are coming from.

Round frames last appeared as a fashion trend about two decades ago. In 1989, when Alain Mikli introduced a thick-rimmed version, Woody Hochswender wrote in The New York Times that “a modified John Lennon look is the newest old thing.”

The NY Times sunglass article explains how designers get ideas and these similar ideas develop into a trend which over period of time eventually become the high street style. But this article features eyewear design in particular so click on the link if you would like to read it.

Here is a link back to a previous post about the History of Sunglasses.

Tags: Eyewear, Marketing, Trends
Posted in Sunglasses | No Comments »

Lady Gaga’s Big Sparkly Eyewear

Written by Shirley on August 24, 2010 – 7:27 pm -

We like Sparkly Eyewear, it is a definite fashion trend and has been one of our top post subjects but Lady Gaga likes her’s really big and makes them very Opti-fun! For more wearable sparkly eyewear we suggest friezeframes, they rock this eyewear category!

Tags: Eyewear, Opti-Fun
Posted in Eyewear, Opti-Fun | 2 Comments »

1950′s Eyewear Trend is Now

Written by Shirley on August 22, 2010 – 9:04 pm -

We are hearing and seeing a lot of buzz about 1950′s style coming back in. Last week I took a couple of young ladies out to the theater and they dressed in 1950′s style. That tells me that the trend is not just coming back but is here! It is being shown in all the fashion shows yes, but when you see it on young people in the street that tells you more! It tells you it is not just fashion magazine hype but is real. This is a trend that will do well as it works not just for teens but all ages, and will become mainstream. Not everyone will buy into of course but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t embrace it for customers that will and make some 50′s eyewear styles available and display them with confidence. Just don’t put lined bi-focal lenses it them, ha ha!

I just read this piece about Geek is Chic on the Eyecessorize FB page. Katy Perry really has the look, eyewear as well the clothes (skirt a wee bit short for the 50′s!) as seen on the Katie Perry website and Bettie Page pin up look on her current tour.

What a great opportunity this is for eyewear, plenty of companies are already on it. We saw OGI Frames do the Mad Men New Season premier party. This TV show has become very popular and a lot of fans love the look which is very 50′s/early 60′s, see pictures below.  I love these eyeglass frames by OGI shown in the pictures by Stacy Schwartz taken at the Mad Men party.

Tags: Eyewear, Marketing, Trends
Posted in Eyewear | No Comments »

Eyecare Forums- Education, Problem Solving, Resources

Written by Cathy on August 19, 2010 – 7:45 pm -

When we ran our post Comments are Important, we realized that there were many topics that our readers wanted to know about and we may not be always the best resource as much as we try. That is where optical forums come in. Optical- Eyecare Forums are a give-take discussion on all sorts of topics relating to the optical industry. The biggest advantage is you can post a specific topic i.e. a contact lens complaint and up to 30 people can answer you with 30 different choices of how to deal with the problem and get an immediate response.

Before you think- UGH one more thing- Forums are easy- patient comes in needs a Dive Mask with prism- you go on OptiBoard and post the question, have contact lens troubleshooting question, post on a Forum, have a question on technology as related to testing and eye exams, post on forum, want to know something about edgers, post on forum and 99% of the time you will receive at least 1 response if not more within 24 hours. Most of your questions are not new, someone, somewhere has answers, that is the beauty of forums.

Optical Industry Forums

• OptiBoard- Forum based blog for opticians, although quite a few optometrists and ophthalmologist are on the forum. Free to join, jobs, speakers, forums, dispensing tips and classifieds. This is one of the oldest forums with alot of active members who are not shy about participating.

• Eye Coalition- New Forum, Free to join – another connection for the optical industry professions, jobs are posted, resumes uploaded. We encourage everyone to become a member and start participating.
• Optical News Daily Community- New forum as well. Community Forum for optical industry professionals.
• The Optom- Forum based site in the UK , free to join.
• ODWire - Forums and classified ads
• SOVOTO- Website with forum for Vision Therapy.
• Laramy K Forum- Sponsored by Laramy K (Lab) offers everything from education to business development.
• AOA Connect- American Optometric Association new forum for optometric professionals
• OptiForum- Old Forum which has several categories. 1.)Buying and selling optical equipment, 2.) General discussion, 3.) Lab technicians 4.) Industry News

Consumer Forums

• The Sunglass Forum – Want to know what the consumer is asking about- check out this forum .
• Style Forum- Consumer Forum on Eyewear
• Contact Lens Forum-
• Forum Contact Lens (UK)

We try to answer all questions and try to provide solutions and ideas on sales and marketing for eyecare professionals, but our readers and other optical professionals are founts of excellent tips and information we recommend networking with them as well.

Tags: Business, Eyewear
Posted in Education and Trade Shows | No Comments »

SpeKx Eyewear Can’t Get Patent

Written by Cathy on August 16, 2010 – 7:13 pm -

For budding eyewear designers- it’s hard to get a Patent according to CBS Evening News and Spekx Eyewear.

Entrepreneur Aldo DiBelardino started developing lightweight “Spekx” eyewear four years ago in an office above his garage in Virginia Beach, Va. He gave CBS News an exclusive sneak peek at his invention before they went on sale.

“They provide you goggle-like protection, but they provide you the style and convenience of sunglasses,” DeBelardino says.

DiBelardino is preparing to start selling them this summer. But the trouble is, he does not have a patent to protect his invention. He applied for one in April.

“Until I get a patent, I have a very limited ability to defend myself in the marketplace against copy activity,” he explained.

DiBelardino knows that from personal experience. His first commercial venture — the X-It Ladder — a compact fire escape ladder for the home was copied by Kidde, the biggest fire extinguisher maker in the United States. After DeBelardino refused to sell the company his idea, it produced a knockoff that ate into his market share. In 2002, DiBelardino sued Kidde for patent infringement and won a $17 million settlement, the bulk of which went to attorneys fees, and had to give up the exclusive rights to his invention.

Read the full Story here

Tags: Eyewear, Technology
Posted in Design | No Comments »

3D Eyewear and Multiple Eyewear Sales

Written by Shirley on August 15, 2010 – 8:58 pm -

Guest optical blogger Jeff LaPlante of Signet Armorlite and author of The Retail Jungle has much to say about 3D eyewear. Here is what Jeff has to say about 3D eyewear:

For years, many of us in the industry have been promoting multiple pair sales. I myself have been traveling the country presenting an ABO seminar entitled “Be Fruitful and Multiply” which directly discusses both multiple pair sales, and dispensers hesitancy for offering, promoting, suggesting and selling these needed additions.

A major hinderence in multiple pair sales referenced by many dispensers is the expanded participation in vision capitation plans, which provide limited coverage on additional (multiple) pairs. Poorly trained dispensers often neglect their patients lifestyle needs in favor of “the single annual pair completely covered by your plan”.

For those of us who have dispensed for years, we understand that the dispenser’s perspective is in error. Vision plans offer each patient a reduction in immediate ‘out of pocket costs” and should be viewed as an aid to lowering the total costs associated with a comprehensive lifestyle vision array of glasses – not a roadblock to suggesting multiples.

Yet – I can see it from a novice dispenser’s angle too. Lifestyle dispensing choices are, after all, CHOICES. Let’s look at the 5 basic reccomendations:

1) The primary pair of glasses (often covered by vision plans) are NECESSARY to see.

2) Rx sunwear is an OPTION, if you don’t want to squint in the sun.

3) Occupational eyewear is an OPTION, if you don’t want to squint at your computer.

4) Safety (non-mandated) eyewear is an OPTION, and the patient decides ultimately if the risk outweighs the cost of protection.

5) Fashion eyewear is an OPTION, if you don’t want to look like a “schmuck” at the company Xmas party.

But 3D eyewear will change all of this. Based on information from SONY© Corporation; 3D television is here to stay. Additionally, 3D gaming technology will advance over the next decade (FYI: SONY also produces the Playstation® unit). ESPN® is broadcasting in 3D, with many other stations to quickly follow suit. PIXAR™ Studios continues to produce new movies in 3D.

Now, assuming that the average pair of non-Rx 3D glasses is running $250… who cannot see the interest in 3D Rx and non Rx eyewear, available through your local ECP?

“Oh, and by the way… I’ll take 3 additional pairs of non-Rx 3D glasses (just to have at the house if company comes over).”

Jeff LaPlante, ABOM

Tags: Education, Eyewear, Marketing, Technology, Trends
Posted in Marketing-Trends | 5 Comments »