April #SpringForLunch with I Love Local HFX

We're proud to be members of I Love Local HFX, being an active part of this great community of local businesses has helped us make many good business friends since we opened.  I Love Local HXF brings awareness of the best local businesses in our city to a large audience and also inspires the businesses to think of different ways to think collaboratively so that we all benefit from having a diverse and thriving business community.

This winter has been a harsh one and I Love Local recognised that and the feeling that we all need to get out and about, shake off those winter blues and enjoy what our fine city has to offer.  To encourage us to do that, they're turning April into #SpringForLocal month!  Throughout the entire month lots of different businesses and restaurants will be providing customers and guests with specials and promotions to get folks out from behind their desks and exploring the wonderful businesses within the city.

If you take part in this city wide promotion, you may even be lucky enough to have your lunch paid for you!  You could also pay it forward, when was the last time that you sprung for a co-worker's or a friend's lunch?

To help really enjoy the opportunity to #SpringForLunch we've teamed up with our pals down on Barrington Street, 2 Doors Down.

At Ocean, what we do really well can be summed up in three phrases:

• Eye Examinations
• Fine Eyewear
• Contact Lenses

So during April, if you partake in any of these fine offerings from ourselves, you will be automatically entered in to one of four draws for a $50 gift card for 2 Doors Down.  If you're one of the lucky winners, we'll #SpringForLunch for you!

We'd like to thank 2 Doors Down and I Love Local HFX for their support of what we do!

NB - only one entry per person for the whole month and there are no alternatives or substitutions available.

Win what you wish!

One of our hopes when choosing our location was that we would be involved in an active community and this couldn't have turned out to be truer for Downtown Halifax - it's a great location!  There are many lovely local business all around us, offering great services, people with lots of knowledge and expertise and prices which compare well globally.

We obviously try to choose local suppliers when we can, but what we have also found rewarding is that the local businesses have embraced us in Downtown and we have many good folks from the local Downtown business coming in to see us as well.

Two things that have been particularly fun to be involved in is the I Love Local Hfx movement and the Downtown Halifax Business Commission.  Both have proven to be great resources for information, activities and ideas to help establish our business.

The fun thing about having been involved with both of these organisations is that they too believe in the importance of local businesses and can see why they benefit the local economy and community much more than faceless corporations do.  To keep up to date with all of these we'd really recommend that you follow both organisations on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/downtownhalifax/ and http://twitter.com/ILOVELOCALHFX.

One fun activity happening at the moment is the Downtown Halifax's Win What You Wish competition.  This is a great way for the great products and services available within the Downtown community to be showcased virally.  Getting involved couldn't be simpler and you get the opportunity to win things as well!  All you need to do is take a photograph of an item that you'd like from any of the Downtown businesses, share it with the tag #WinWhatYouWish.  As a side benefit, those people who always claim that your "So hard to shop for" will get a sneaky preview as to what you may actually like.

So ... what are you waiting for?  Get out there, get snapping and get sharing it on the internet!  To get some ideas as to what's out there, have a look at www.winwhatyouwish.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:

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Why Buying Local is Worth Every Cent Infographic by CustomMade