By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—We’re less than a week away from National Sunglasses Day 2022, and the excitement is building across the industry. National Sunglasses Day falls on June 27 each year, but preparations for the day start early for many. A week out, indies are reminding their patients about National Sunglasses Day: how they can get involved, why sunglasses are so important, and any promotions or deals they have running for the holiday. This week, we’re taking a look at how indies are getting ready to celebrate one of our industry’s favorite holidays.
By Staff
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 8:25 AM
Style Eyes Optical’s Margie Toney is headed from Brooklyn to Los Angeles to take part in
Emerge In Color, a curated retail
experience exclusively selling merchandise created by Black designers and Black-owned brands.
By Staff
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 8:20 AM
NEW YORK—This week, 20 leading independent eyewear designers teamed up with Tarrence Lackran (@theopticalpoet on
Instagram) to put together a
frame auction that will benefit The Vision Council's
Opening Your Eyes Scholarship (OYES), which provides full scholarships and paid internships to high school seniors from underrepresented communities who have an interest in pursuing a career in the optical industry. Lackran who is VP, Community Relations – Diversity & Inclusion at Luxury Optical Holdings, said, “I chose the theme See & Be Seen because it illustrates the need for more representation of people of color in our industry.
By Staff
Wednesday, June 22, 2022 8:15 AM
NEW YORK—Interacting with current and prospective new patients via social media has become a valuable way for one practice in California to maximize its implementation of the Frames Data My Frame Gallery tool.
Clarion Optometry Group in Yucca Valley, Calif. has been making use of the website’s pop-up banners, navigation bars and buttons to fully incorporate the Gallery into their website in a way that feels organic. Julian Valenzuela, in charge of professional relations for the practice told the Frames Data
blog that implementing the Gallery has been very effective for the practice.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Monday, June 6, 2022 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—June is officially here, which also means Pride Month has arrived. Spanning the whole month of June in honor of the Stonewall Uprising, which began in June 1969 in New York City, Pride Month is a time to “recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally and internationally,” the Library of Congress
reports. Pride means something different to everyone, and people celebrate it differently everywhere. For many, Pride is a combination of celebration—parades, parties, and more—and community—supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community who might not have support from their loved ones.
By Staff
Monday, June 6, 2022 8:25 AM
As Queen Elizabeth celebrates her Platinum Jubilee,
Perspective Opticians in Solihull, England, decorated their store window to get in the spirit.
By Staff
Monday, June 6, 2022 8:20 AM
PORT JEFFERSON, N.Y.—Christian Guardino is many things: a New Yorker, a musician, an American Idol finalist and a person born with Leber Congenital Amaurosis. At age 13, Guardino underwent experimental gene therapy to protect his eyesight. He said, “This disease causes inevitable blindness because there is a gene that is missing in the eye, because that gene is missing, it is not producing proteins that your cells need to live, and they slowly die off to cause complete and inevitable blindness.” Through gene therapy, doctors were able to copy the missing gene and inject it into Guardino’s eye.
By Staff
Monday, June 6, 2022 8:15 AM
NEW YORK—Increasingly, inspirational and attention-getting backdrops and interiors are elevating the in-store experience for many customers. Ideas for selfie stations, pop-up shops that can extend an independent practice’s reach or raise an optical location’s own profile in its local market have become essential. A great resource that can help on all of these counts is
The Lionesque Group, an award-winning pop-up and “experiential” and influential retail trend agency. Headed by co-founder and CEO
Melissa Gonzalez, the firm’s work and perspectives are multi-dimensional and offer ideas for small businesses in all categories.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—Each May, the Center for Disease Control’s Vision Health Initiative partners with the National Eye Institute (NEI) for Healthy Vision Month, a month dedicated to encouraging Americans to make vision a health priority and raise awareness around the necessity of regular vision care as a part of routine health care prevention and treatment. As part of Healthy Vision Month, the NEI has shared a variety of resources for patients and ECPs, all available
online for free.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 8:25 AM
Coco, the office mascot at
Lumen Eye Center in Gainesville, Virginia, gears up for a new week.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 8:20 AM
NEW YORK—Spring is here, the days are getting lighter and warmer, and it feels like the world is full of color—both out in nature and in the office. This season, patients seem to be gravitating toward bright, bold and colorful frames, with pops of color and unexpected patterns. We’re taking a look at some recent posts from indies showing off the bold frames their patients chose. Feel free to get inspired, be it for your new stock, your in-store displays, client recommendations or, of course, your own next eyewear purchase.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 25, 2022 8:15 AM
NEW YORK—Many of eyecare professionals’ challenges are faced by independent health care providers of all types. One unique resource which offers some general but pertinent insights which can be easily applied by independent ECPs is from a firm called
NinetyNineHealthcareManagement. The agency offers a range of resources, but one interesting component of the website is its blog, found
here. A range of tips and guides are shared on the blog, for example,
“8 Ways a Virtual Assistant Benefits Your Practice.”
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 8:30 AM
NEW YORK—Although there’s still about a month until the official start of summer, there’s no denying that many of us are already thinking about sunny days by the beach or the pool, weekend trips away, ice cream and all of the other unique joys summer has to offer. As we wait for hot weather to fully arrive, there’s no better time than now to remind patients and clients just how important UV protection is—the warm weather and excitement for summer vacations might just make your patients more interested in picking up a new pair of sunglasses in the next few weeks.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 8:25 AM
The team at
Elevated Eye Care in New Braunfels, Texas celebrated their ribbon cutting last week with the local New Braunfels Chamber.
By Staff
Wednesday, May 11, 2022 8:20 AM
NEW YORK—Springtime weather is here and as the summer approaches, people, in smaller town main streets or urban center neighborhoods are out and about. Independent retailers and practices are starting to turn their attention to clever in-store and window displays highlighting new colorful eyewear styles and sunglasses to get their attention.
One interesting resource for ideas is
Zen Merchandiser, which engages with a community of creatives, from jewelry to clothing to beauty stores and more who show and tell what’s working for them.