Choosing your new glasses

Sometimes choosing new glasses can seem like a major task, there are all sorts of "rules" and style guides available to help you.

A really good example of one such style guide is available on the Salt. Optics website, http://www.saltoptics.com/fit-guide.php.

For many people this is a great way to start looking for new glasses, it gets you thinking about the shape of your face, about your own style and can also get you to think about things like colours - what colours do you wear, what is your skin tone like, what colours work well for you and which colours do you avoid.  What is a little worrying, though, is that some people in the eye industry use these guides as a method of almost choosing someone's new glasses by formula.

At Ocean Optometry, though, we like to think that life is not all about rules and guides.

So how would we recommend choosing your new glasses?

A lot has to do with what we do day to day in our office in Halifax.  Firstly we ask questions and, importantly, we listen to the answers.

Some questions we may ask can include:

• Are you currently a glasses wearer?  If so, what do you like about your current glasses and what do you not;
• What are you wanting to use your new glasses for?  For example are they for all day every day; for a bold statement to change things up a little; perhaps just in the evening when watching TV.
• Do you have any comfort preferences - some people like acetate frames or keyhole bridges, some prefer titanium or love nose pads.
• Do you use them for any specific tasks ...

... and so the questions can go on.  It isn't a formula, it isn't a questionnaire, it's a conversation.  During the conversation we will probably be having lots of fun trying on lots of different glasses.  Some will look great, some may be "What were you thinking!".  Going through this interaction will make sure that when you decide on your new glasses you will love them!

So throw away the rule book ... come on in ... and let's chat!

Featured in fashion

It was a real treat to be asked to take part in a Summer fashion feature for Halifax's Line Magazine.

We are all fans of the magazine here in the office, the photography is stunning and articles are always worth a read, so we were wowed when we were asked to be involved.  A few Smith Optics sunglasses later ... well you can see for yourself!

Choosing quality sunglasses is good for your eyes for so many reasons.  Cutting through the glare and harsh conditions created by bright sunlight enhances vision and provides extra clarity, vital for such things as driving or simply enjoying our wonderful scenery.  Even during the winter months, when the sun is low in the sky and wet or snow covered ground conditions tend to reflect more glare, sunglasses can be an essential aid to vision.

The quality of crisp optics really stands out when you are looking for the most from your sunglasses, but sometimes the biggest effect is on the light we don't see - Ultra-Violet.  The damage that this high-energy light can do is well known and we are all much better at slapping on the SPF sun cream to protect our skin.  The damage that UV does to the eyes is also well documented, but perhaps less well known.

So sunglasses enhance how we see and protect our eyes from what we can't see, but when it comes to vision, there is another element to consider - do the sunglasses enhance how you look?

Here's a link to Line's article, enjoy the styles!

Line Magazine, Summer 2013

Reviewed in Halifax Magazine!

Is this a little surreal?  We are blogging about featuring in a blog!!

Halifax Magazine's shopping blogger, Nicole Trask, recently came to visit when a friend was looking for new glasses.  Although she was just there to help her friend, she couldn't resist an opportunity to review Halifax's newest optometry office.

Here's a link to her article: http://halifaxmag.com/2013/07/blog/an-ocean-view/

Thanks for the review, we were incredibly proud of it!

Paint What Matters - Scientific Significance

Title:     Paint What Matters – A Blowers Street Flashbulb moment.

Abstract:
The excitement caused by the Paint What Matters win for Halifax has led to some interesting research into the thought process and outcome of voting for local voters.

It is often considered a flashbulb moment of society when a single event causes the mutual coming together of a large network of thought processes, emotions and lives around a single occurrence.  With the support for Paint What Matters generated by the videos by Mayor Mike Savage, which attained a viral status on YouTube and social media, and the subsequent win for Halifax for a streetscape makeover the potential for such a flashbulb moment was upon us.

The further decision by Halifax Regional Municipality to further the contest fever by adding in a new vote to decide which street would benefit from the makeover then our flashbulb moment was truly created.  It was at this point that our researchers choose a random location within the HRM to ask a random group of people to undertake both a short survey and also to ask them some further open ended questions.  The results quite clearly show that the consensus over a single winning street has been achieved and that those who share the consensus gain within their lives.

Method:

A random location was chosen (for this experiment we chose Ocean Optometry’s office on Blowers Street, Halifax).

A random group of people were subject to investigation, n=4.

Results:

Section 1 – Survey results

The results of the survey questions are shown as below:

1 – Question: Have you voted daily in the HRM “Paint What Matters survey”?
      Results:        Yes    100%        No    0%

2 – Question: Did you vote for Blowers Street?
      Results:        Yes    100%        No    0%

3 – Question: Do you feel that your vote for Blowers Street has made you a better person within yourself?
      Results:        Yes    100%        No    0%

4 – Question: Do you feel that your vote for Blowers Street has made you a more admirable person to people you meet?
      Results:        Yes    100%        No    0%

5 – Question: Would you recommend everyone else to also vote for Blowers Street?
      Results:        Yes    100%        No    0%

Section 2 – open question responses, a selection of responses are quoted

1 – Question: Has anything positive happened in your life since you started to vote for Blowers Street?
     

      Responses:

• • “Since voting for Blowers Street, I really feel like my life has turned around and I have the ability to win friends and influence people”
  • “I have noted that since voting for Blowers Street my hair has been glossier and easier to manage”
  • “Nothing really, however, I do know that my friend who didn’t vote has just been deserted by their dog.  It was almost as though the animal knew and was embarrassed; I’m not taking that risk!”
  • “I can’t really say that it is necessarily connected, but the  Ferrari parked outside wasn’t there before I started voting for Blowers Street, just saying”

2 – Question: Would you recommend for other people to also vote for Blowers Street?
   

      Responses:

• • “With this kind of positive energy, people would have to be mad to not vote for Blowers Street!”
  • “If they want to look beautiful and attractive, then YES!”
  • “I don’t think that we could categorically say that not voting for Blowers Street would necessarily mean that something bad would happen to them, however, I would caution them that if they did not choose to vote for Blowers Street they may want to make sure that their affairs were in order.”
  • “Feeling the love, voting for Blowers, it’s where it’s at”

Conclusion:

It is quite obvious to perceive the positive outcomes from voting for Blowers Street in HRM Paint What Matters street selection.  While individual benefits from voting may vary compared to the results seen in this research, the only conclusion that we can draw is that to vote for any other location would appear to be quite perilous.

While trying to understand the decision making process better, we asked a forensic artist to interpret the vision of our subjects while on the HRM’s Paint What Matter’s website, here are the images:

Image 1	Image 2
Image 3	Image 4

So, in conclusion, vote daily and vote for Blowers Street! http://www.halifax.ca/surveys/paintwhatmatters.html


We would also like to apologise to anyone who has been upset by the forensic artist’s images!
We would also like to reassure people that this scientific article has no bearing on real science at all!

Main Street Matters

It is great news that Halifax is one of the twenty winners in North America to get a three block makeover thanks to Benjamin Moore.  The campaign to help win in this competition was no doubt helped by Mayor Mike Savage starring in some YouTube videos which gained the cult status of "going viral" and spreading the word about the competition and Halifax's desire to win.  You can see one of the videos here:


Well done!

Winning the competition gets us past the first hurdle, but now the streets to benefit from the makeover have to be decided and we are really excited to see our very own Blowers Street listed as one of the possibilities.  So it is time to vote again and, here at Ocean, we'd be really grateful if you would vote for Blowers Street.
The Halifax website for voting is here: http://www.halifax.ca/surveys/paintwhatmatters.html and you can vote once a day until the 19th of July.

So, come on, let's make this happen for Blowers Street!!

Press Release - Slow Food Eyeglasses come to Halifax

Ocean Optometry, Halifax (July 02, 2013) - Eyeglasses, like many other products, can often travel thousands of miles before arriving at the final retailer for sale. A more environmentally responsible alternative has arrived at Ocean Optometry.

 “When we first met with Drift Eyewear and were introduced to the range, we were blown away by the ethos of the company and the ingenious design solutions at which they have arrived,” commented Dr. Euan McGinty.  Drift Eyewear’s hand-made frames have created a unique solution in eyeglasses combining a natural acetate front and timber sides.  The frames take their design ingenuity from the architectural world as well as from nature.

“While wooden frames aren’t new”, optician Michael Bonang added, “Drift’s solution has allowed for the combining of more fragile reclaimed or sustainably sourced woods with perfectly managed weight distribution throughout the frames. This makes the frames comfortable and well-fitting”.

Drift Eyewear frames have an acetate front, definitely the look of the season, and timber sides.  “We felt that these frames also provided a great connection with the Maritimes”, said Dr. John Wilson, “There are several different options for the temples. I t was great to see a maple wood option and we were incredibly excited by the range called 12 Meter which uses reclaimed boat timbers”.

Ocean Optometry is an independent optometry office recently opened on Blowers Street in downtown Halifax.  Working with other independent companies is incredibly important to their business and Drift Eyewear is a perfect fit for this philosophy.  Being pioneers in eyewear fashion, Ocean Optometry is delivering options which have never before been available, not just within the HRM, but the across the whole of Atlantic Canada.  Assistant Erin Hensler explained, “Drift Eyewear supplies only a few retailers in the whole of Canada and none east of Ontario.  From initial order to arrival, we have waited almost three months for these frames, but when you are selecting a hand-made, small-run speciality product it is definitely worth the wait.”

The range is available to view at:

Ocean Optometry

5240 Blowers Street
Halifax
Tel: (902) 446-4470
ww.oceanoptometry.ca