New longer opening hours

It's been a great first four months here at Ocean Optometry, the time has really flown by.  We've had lots of lovely people come in and see us, with so many of them being incredibly flattering and gracious in their feedback about our office and about the frame ranges we carry.  It's all quite humbling to feel that we are doing something rather special and that it is being appreciated.

It is with great excitement, then, that we want to share the news about our new longer opening hours.  This will make it even easier for folks to come in and share in their little bit of Ocean!

Our new hours are:

• Mon  -  9:00  - 5:30
• Tues  -  9:00  - 5:30
• Wed  -  9:00  - 5:30
• Thur  -  9:00  - 8:00
• Fri     -  9:00  - 5:30
• Sat    - 10:00 - 4:00

Hopefully we will see you in Blowers Street real soon!

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

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

Our local outlook

It may seem a strange thought to hear Ocean Optometry talking about loving things local, especially when you hear our accents!

Although it is true that Dr John Wilson and Dr Euan McGinty are "from away", they bring with them a global perspective and a broad reaching level of experience and importantly a deep rooted understanding of why local is so important.

One of the main reasons that using local businesses is vital for any community can be seen from cold hard statistics.  Recent studies have demonstrated that generates 3.5 times more wealth for the local economy compared to chain owned business.  What does this mean beyond the statistics?  That the money spent within the community stays within the community - it is used in other local businesses, it is used to support local community projects and activities, it creates jobs and opportunities within the community and it enables the community to grow and flourish.  With chain owned business a good proportion of the same money is syphoned off to support the very existence of the chain itself, it's corporate needs and offices, the corporate staff and perhaps on activities such as national advertising, etc.

What may be thinly hidden from the general public, however, is where the ownership of an office lies.  At times offices can be owned by national or multi-national chains.

This is one of the reasons that Ocean Optometry takes its responsibility as a local business seriously, we try to work with other local businesses first and foremost.  We recognise that this isn't always possible and we also need to consider where the ethos of local is.  So we very much look at our local responsibility on a global scale.  Having a desire to bring the best products to the local community we have ensured that we look at the companies we work with and, where possible, will choose a company with a local ethos similar to our own.  We like to work with independent companies who share the same ideals and principles as ourself.

We encourage you to share our love of local, consider where you make your purchase and take on a local outlook, with a global twist (funny accents optional).

A great source for all things local in Halifax is I love local Halifax:



Keep up to date with their website and follow them on twitter, you'll be amazed as to how busy the local scene is.

More info on local V's chains can be found here:

Click to Enlarge Image



Why Buying Local is Worth Every Cent Infographic by CustomMade

Bespoke - but not eyewear

We were very excited when these arrived at our office this morning:

Best of all is that they're peppermint flavour, so they're probably good for you as well!

We're now open for business

Ocean Optometry opens its doors!

After what seems like a lifetime of preparation, we are finally opening our doors for the first time in a few short minutes.  In the clinic today is Dr John Wilson, with Erin and Mike there to keep everything running smoothly.

All of the preparation will hopefully serve us well, everyone is really fired up to ensure we provide the highest level of attention to detail and service quality possible.

If you would like to make an appointment then please feel free to call on (902) 446-4470 or use our contact form, you can also now call in to the office as we are open!

Many thanks to everyone involved in getting us to this point.

Gatecrahsers, Glasses & Getting Funky

On Friday night we had our opening party to celebrate getting everything together.  It was a great success, with many friends joining us to share in the celebration and we partied into the late night!  We attracted quite a bit of attention and some passing revelers called in, some taking a little time to browse around, with a promise to call back when we were open properly!

The office simply looked amazing!

With the bright, airy open dispensary it made a great area to have a party (and has given us inspiration for future events!).  Several hours of funky tunes were already selected in our play list, which kept everyone grooving along.  We were also visited by Snap Halifax, who knew it would be that kind of a party!

Our photographer-in-residence, Brad Avery, spent a lot of time with everyone, getting a great selection of photos for us to view later.  Brad has some great ideas of photo shoots when some of our ranges come in, so it is going to be exciting working with him as our go to guy for Ocean Optometry images.

We were even gatecrashed by a local star of screen and stage - once we have the photographic evidence we'll update our news!

Here's a photo from the night with the Ocean Optometry eye geeks crew altogether:

John, Erin, Mike & Euan

Remember, we are open for real from the 8th of April, please feel free to send us an e-mail or give us a call for an appointment.

Thank you!

We are just about to enter our final day of preparation, before we go live on Monday (although there still is the weekend).

This seems like a perfect opportunity to thank some of the people who have got us to this point:

Castone Construction have been our principal contractor in all of the renovations, owner Dean Shea was keen from the outset to provide us with a turnkey solution and project manage the build for us - we're glad that he did.  A big thank you goes to Castone, they have done a superb job, on time and on budget.  They have met deadlines, followed-up, shown when promised - ideal contractors.  A special thanks goes to Wendell who has been hands on managing the job-site for us.

Their contact details are on their website: http://www.castoneconstruction.com/ Telephone: (902) 406-3395

Millroi Construction specialise in decorative concrete solutions and they have really worked a miracle on our floor.  There is no doubt that a good reason that our office feels so bright and spacious is thanks to the hard work of Matt and his team at Millroi Construction.  They have been meticulous in the project planning, ensured that they have managed to dovetail around the other construction people at the various stages of the build and even helped us out when we had a flood!  Perhaps the nicest finishing touch to Millroi's work has been the inlaying of our logo on the office floor, simply beautiful.

Their contact details are on their website: http://www.millroi.ca/ Telephone: (902) 482-2480

It's been great fun working with EyeCandy Signs - they are going through their own crazy time at the moment with moving to a new location.  Even with all of their own activity they have managed to pull together our order with little fuss at all.  Awesome job, guys!

Their contact details are on their website:  http://www.eyecandysigns.ca/ Telephone: (902) 429-8281

It's started!

John, Erin & Mike hard at work.  Euan's supervising!

We all arrived at 7.30am this morning, keen and eager to get into the finishing week and to meet with the truck delivering our equipment.

Guess what ... no truck!  They'd forgotten and should be with us, oh, about an hour ago!  Never mind.

We got cracking with putting together some of the furniture and cleaning up the windows.  The first collections of frames have already arrived, but we're good and not opening the box until we get some of this work done first.

We've got some great Eye Tunes to keep us motivated this morning - so far it's been Fat Boy Slim and The Human League.  I suspect it's going to get more 'eclectic' as the day goes on!

Almost there!

Well, we are moving into the final phase of our preparations.  All of the renovations are completed and the fab four (as I'm calling us just now!) have cleared our diaries for next week.  We are starting very early on Monday morning to meet a truck with 3 palette loads of ophthalmic instruments on them, before the downtown traffic gets busy.  To eye geeks like us, three palette loads of ophthalmic instruments is almost better than Christmas morning!  Almost!!

We're now not allowed to enter the unit before Monday as Millroi have put the last sealant on the floor and it would ruin the finish, so we are left with peaking in the windows - so close and yet untouchable!  I've included a sneaked picture from the work being done.

It's going to be a great week next week!

Finding our location

It was the 13th of September, surely that shouldn't be a lucky day.  Perhaps because it wasn't a Friday, for us it has turned out to be a great day!

This is the day that we first visited the location on Blowers Street which would become our office. 

I have to admit, when I first saw it from the outside I wasn't holding out much hope.  It was a tired looking building with all of the signage from a business which had just failed.  We had taken the time come to see the unit, though, so we may as well have a look inside.

Wow!

What you may not realise from the outside and what I certainly didn't appreciate is how beautiful the building is on the inside.  There is exposed brickwork which is original, over 100 years old.  The space is fantastic with thirteen foot ceilings.  From the moment we walked around inside we were excited.  This was not the first time, though, we had been excited about other locations as well.  5240 Blowers Street was unique, though, it offered us a completely blank canvas.  Rip up the tired looking laminate, take down the rickety partitions and we were left with 2000 square feet of space which was open, fresh and so, so usable (okay, it took a little imagination too see that).

Over the next coming weeks and months we planned, considered, negotiated, formulated.  The winter set in and things seemed to take four times as long as we'd originally estimated.  Through it all, though, was a vision of what we could do.

We were excited!