Author Archive

Yesterday I received a copy of the “Summary Results from the 2009 Health Workforce Annual Survey”. The survey is conducted by the Ministry of Health in an effort to provide statistical data about health care professionals in this country. What I found particularly interesting are the numbers of eyecare professionals actively practicing in the Nelson/Marlborough area. The 2009 statistics show that in 2009 there were 13 Optometrists and 4 Dispensing Opticians practicing. ... read more

People sit on their glasses. Happens all the time. How can it happen? Easy! You are taking your glasses off and put them on your bed so you can slip your jumper on or off. Then you want to put on your sox and then your trainers. Ooops, there was something you forgot and yes, you can feel it on your bottom. You just sat on your glasses. Now they either broke or are badly out of shape. ... read more

Earlier this week we had a client come to see us who required “only reading glasses”. These were his exact words and what he meant was that there was nothing wrong with his distance vision. In fact he could see really well in the long distance and was able and legally allowed to drive without glasses. However, he found that he was struggling to see close up and had come across the “arms are getting too short” syndrom a few years earlier already. We examined his eyes and found that indeed, he didn’t require a distance prescription and for his close distance (to read at a distance of 35 to 40cm) he required a correction of +2.25. Easy, right? Just get some +2.25 readers and the problem is solved, right? Well, as is our duty, we tried to find out a little more about his day to day work, just so we could confirm that this was indeed all he required. ... read more

It’s incredible, really, how we all seem to get quite attached to everyday things. For many women these items typically include shoes, handbags and jewellery – men on the other hand can get excited about cars, motorcycles and boats (they sometimes even get named!). For our iPhone and MP3 player we get special covers to protect them from getting damaged. Lovingly we call these covers “skins”, some are even made from luxurious leathers. So why is this? Why can we get so attached to every day items? ... read more

Wouldn’t you agree that accidents usually happen when you least expect or need them? Of course they do. This also applies to glasses. It makes no difference if it’s a standard Saturday afternoon, Sunday morning, Christmas Day, or New Years Day. If you do have an accident with your glasses it will most probably happen on one of those days. How do I know? Easy, because every Monday or Tuesday the emergencies arrive in our workshop for first aid treatment.Today is no different, in the contrary. After the long New Years Weekend, there seem to be a lot of “unlucky” glasses and sunglasses wearers about. Could be an indication that the partying did get out hand, who knows….. ... read more

The new buzz word in the world of optical spectacle lenses is “Freeform“. The term “Freeform” in relation to lenses is often misinterpreted as just a new design concept for progressive added lenses. This is actually not so. Strictly speaking, the term relates to an exciting new manufacturing process for spectacle lenses that allows to create optimised and individualised lens designs taking into consideration not only the actually required prescription of the wearer (say distance and/or near power), but also, amongst others, the frame parameters and, most importantly, the user’s lifestyle and work requirements. ... read more

Everyone knows we love ic!berlin! Why? Simply because the ic!berlin design concept is so unique, simple, flexible and sturdy. It’s funny really – when I meet another ic!berlin wearer, we end up admiring each others frames. It doesn’t really matter if I had known this person before or not, a bond is formed almost instantly, be it only by way of a smile or a positive eye contact (but probably both). “So you are wearing an ic!berlin as well? Great choice! I love mine. How long have you had yours?”… and so it usually goes. ... read more

Two questions we get asked quite often. Unfortunately there are no easy answers, in particular to the first part of the question. So why is this? Well, it’s a bit like asking “how much is a car and why are some more expensive than others?”. Even that question cannot be answered easily, because let’s face it, all cars, will get you from A to B, eventually, but some will do it more reliably than others, or in more comfort than others, or faster than others, or more economically than others. The list goes on. It’s a bit like that for progressive lenses as well. ... read more

Congratulations to Brawn GP and Jenson Button for winning the 2009 F1 Championship! It was a real pleasure seeing how Ross Brawn managed to transform the “old” Honda team and take both, the drivers and constructors championship, in his first year as owner of the team. Already looking forward to next season. ... read more

Let’s say you are shopping for prescription sunglasses. A good way to do it is to use a “normal” pair of sunglasses and replace the lenses with your prescription. Ideally you want the final product to look as close as possible to the original pair you selected when they still had non-prescription lenses in them. We have already discussed the basic requirements that prescription sunglasses should fulfill. That includes a good coverage, good glare protection and certainly good UV protection. We are very fortunate at the moment that the sunglasses fashion is big, beautiful and many of them even wrap around the face nicely. But can we fit all prescription lenses into frames like that? ... read more