New ANSI Recommendations for Prescription Ophthalmic Lenses Released
The Vision Council today announced that the ANSI – American National Standards Institute Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) Z80 has released ANSI Z80.1-2020, Prescription Ophthalmic Lenses – Recommendations. This standard applies to all prescription dress ophthalmic spectacle lenses in edged or assembled form. It is a guideline for entities that fabricate, assemble or process dress eyewear or lens components. Relevant optical and physical specifications and tolerances of this standard also apply to uncut lenses. Newly revised: ANSI Z80.1-2020 Quick Reference Guide
20/20 Magazine Article: Everything in One Place
WOW! I had the privilege of have the resources of Optician Now featured in 20/20 Magazine! The article touches on my background and mostly shares the variety of resources offered. Read the article: Everything in One Place
Interview with Roger Eye Design & Rain City
If you’ve ever seen the frames made by these guys you will never forget them. I decided to interview them both because they work so closely together. Roger designs Roger Eye Design. Keith is the US distributor for Roger Eye Design, who also has his own company/line called Rain City Eyewear and deeply resonates with me because I live in Seattle, which is what Rain City is based on. I’ve known Keith for over 10 years as a rep and
INVISION Magazine Article: Optical Resources to Better Yourself
For the new year I had the privilege of having Invision Magazine publish an article of mine about bettering yourself in the new year. The article lists a ton of resources on becoming certified at some level. Read the full article here, Better Yourself in 2021 With This Variety of Resources to Advance Your Optical Career.
Night Driving Glasses Solution
I would like to introduce you to a problem-solving gem on the market – a lightweight, comfortable and non-permanent night driving solution. Cocoons Eyewear provides a night driving glasses fitover to wear over regular prescription glasses. These specialized blue light filters are designed to increase contrast while decreasing irritating road glare and halos that can cause eye fatigue while driving at night. Cocoons fitovers are engineered to let in the light you need while protecting your eyes from light you
Review of Anti-Fog Products for Glasses
I was a guest on the latest episode of the Specs Appeal Podcast. The podcast is hosted by Maddie and Steph, two opticians who conquer challenges that opticians and optical staff face in a funny and conversational way. < With the times currently being spectacally foggy, we discussed (and tried out) many anti-fog solutions. You’ll have to listen to the episode to get our feedback on how the products worked and how effective we felt they were. See below for links
(Virtual) Vision Expo find: Cocoons Eyewear
I am BLOWN AWAY at the options for fitover sunglasses. Hundreds of option combos that provide a solution for every single demographic. As with any sunglass line, there’s no need to carry all of the models in all of the lens colors. How the heck might you choose what to carry to offer your customers nearly all of the options? It’s super easy and you only need 12 or less. You could do with 8 since that is every shape they offer but
Your Blue Light Questions Answered
Blue light is widely seen in current media yet many of the truthful facts remain unclear. Between proving medical claims, lens companies marketing their blue light products and other companies throwing out blue light scare tactics, there is a lot of information to sift through. I have personally done a lot of research on my own so I can educate my “engineer” customers. This article compiles a wide variety of information from several sources that can hopefully help you make
The New American Optical
As an Optician, I have always enjoyed learning about the history of our profession and industry, part of that history is American Optical. Earlier this year STATE Optical Co, the handmade luxury eyewear division of Europa, announced their acquisition of AO Eyewear. American Optical is the oldest optical company in America (dating back to 1833) and STATE has long looked up to them. Although the companies were founded over 150 years apart, both were born out with the belief that
Win This American Board of Opticianry Exam Prep Book
Enter to win Master Optician, Carrie Wilson‘s book to prep for the American Board of Opticianry Exam (NOCE). Visit the original Facebook post here or Instagram post below to find out how you can enter. View this post on Instagram GIVEAWAY ALERT! Enter to win Master Optician, @askoptigal ‘s book to prep for the American Board of Opticianry Exam (NOCE). To enter: follow the two pages hosting the giveaway: @askoptigal & @opticiannow AND tag someone in the comments
Second Pair Sunglass Alternative
Opticians and Optical owners always desire to sell a second pair of glasses to a customer, most often a pair of prescription sunglasses. With the unprecedented times we are currently in the midst of, many customers are looking to keep their budget tight – but this doesn’t have to mean that they don’t get a pair of sunglasses. Most Opticians have heard of Cocoons fitover eyewear by now, hear me out on this one. I’ve been selling Cocoons for over
Interview: Scott Harris Shapiro of State Optical & Europa Eyewear
What is the story behind your parents starting the company in 1977? Why optical frames? My parents (Alan and Cynthia Shapiro) founded Europa in 1977 out of a garage in Chicago. My dad had worked for other eyewear importers before that, and one of his former bosses, Ike Benz, helped get my parents started with their own business. My dad would go out with a briefcase filled with six frame samples, and my mom set up a phone and a
Optician Education Grant – Apply Before July
The Optical Training Institute announced that it is launching a fully-funded education grant program for eyecare professionals (ECPs). The Optician Education Grant program is being established to assist individuals in their endeavors to obtain a spectacle-dispensing certification administered by the American Board of Opticianry and National Contact Lens Examiners (ABO-NCLE). Since education is what we do, we want to support the ECP community and make education accessible to any optician who may have been impacted by COVID-19 but still has
New: Shamir Glacier Anti Fog Treatment
If you wear glasses you’ve likely been frustrated with fogging while wearing a face mask. Working in healthcare, us Opticians (as well as everyone else in our offices) are required to wear PPE. I don’t know about you but for myself contact lenses are not an all-day comfortability option. I’ve tried a face shield, which is excellent for breathability, but the glare from the plastic drives me bananas and it’s nearly impossible to use the pupilometer while wearing it; I
Opticians and Labs Working Together to Minimize Errors: From Mr. 0ptix
Many Opticians and those working in the industry never see inside of a lab or even see a lens blank. I am fortunate to work in an Optometry practice where we edge lenses in house so I get to see and troubleshoot many different things. In thinking about those who may not get to see this, I thought, why not talk to someone who works both in retail and in a lab and share some knowledge. Perhaps if retail and
Free (and discounted) Online CE’s While You’re Stuck at Home
Most of us are spending many more hours at home during this (hopefully not too long) uncharted time. If you are still at work, you’re probably slower than usual. Let’s take this time to educate ourselves and get some continuing education credits! I’ve compiled a list of free and super-discounted online courses – most of them are free or discounted only for a limited time so be sure to take them ASAP. It’s likely that in-person CE events will be sparse
Interview: Carrie Wilson, Master Optician
Carrie Wilson is a prominent figure in the Optician world as she is actively social online with her Master Optician expertise and business experience as she holds a Masters degree. Somehow she found the time to write a book, National Opticianry Certification Exam Preparation, all while working her ‘day job’ as the Optician: Lab liasion for Walmart, specifically as a Senior Manager of Quality Assurance. That’s an impressive mouth-full. You can see why I wanted to pick her brain! Take
Interview: The Social Eye’s Peggy Gartin
Our industry has an enormous social media presence, specifically Instagram, where we can visually market ourselves and our practices. While there are so many practices utilizing these platforms, many are not. How do I, an industry resource, help guide those who need advice on social media? I get an expert and ask them the real questions you want answers to. Meet Peggy Gartin, founder of The Social Eye, an optical industry social media marketing consultant. She has spent the last
Hindsight: 2019 turned out how I had hoped
I started Optician Now in quarter 4 of 2018. I tried to structure the brand with a solid platform so adding to it as time goes on would be easy. Let me give you a summary of where I began. Website I put a lot of time into researching what opticians search for online. One of the priorities was ABO exam prep so I scoured the internet for resources and put them all in one place. NCLE was not far
I Know I’ll Never Love a Frame Again
Yes, the song. I was going through a sad time when I realized that I would never love a frame the way I have loved my Scott Harris 462 over the past few years. I’ll never get rid of my SH462 but I am wanting to spice things up a bit and wear something new to sell. I’m a tough face to fit and I’m quite the critic. I’m always looking for new frames but I’ve really been looking hard
How to Recycle Lenses From Glasses
Costa Del Mar recently launched their “Kick Plastic” Recycling Program which raises awareness and provides solutions for reducing plastic waste in the oceans. Costa was #BornOnTheWater by a group of fishermen in 1983. Since then, they have supported causes that contribute to the preservation of our watery world. Lately they’ve seen an increasing amount of plastic pollution on their adventures. Plastic is not only clogging our landfills but is finding its way into our waterways and oceans at an unprecedented
Building Loyalty With Patients
I take a lot of pride in building relationships with patients and the community and I was very fortunate to share my perspective on this with Women in Optometry Magazine. It’s so important to remember that our experiences with patients help create a relationship between them and the practice. Take a moment to read the article on Women in Optometry – you can also get a free download to share on social media!
Opticians From Behind Bars
This post is to introduce you to Akeel, a.k.a. Mr. 0ptix. I met him on social media when I was impressed by the photos of the excellent lab work he does, and he does quite a variety of different lenses and tints. Akeel also started hosting Gucci frame giveaway contests and I started to see his social presence take off as he found the voice he wanted to present to the world. He mentioned to me that he wanted to
Contact Lenses with Transitions Now Available
Yes, you read that right. Acuvue Oasys 2-week contact lenses are now available with the same light adapting Transitions technology that you’re used to seeing in glasses lenses. TIME magazine has recognized ACUVUE® OASYS with Transitions™ as one of their Best Inventions of 2018. I’ve tested these out and have shared later in this article but first you need to know the FAQ’s: The lenses become darker when activated by UV and/or HEV light. They were specifically designed to provide patient
Free Download for Your Practice to Share
Up your service game! I’ve created this simple image for you to share on your practice’s social media and website for your patients. Often patients aren’t aware of the variety of services their optometry or optical store offers. Most of these services are offered at many offices but if your office does not offer a service listed, no worries, click the links on how to get info on how you can get started. Feel free to download the image below