Author Archives: Envision Magazine

Strength in Unity

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The Swedish company Scandinavian Eyewear has partnered with the independent lab Barrie Ophthalmic to offer a complete frame and lens package — an attractive alternative for eyecare professionals.

This new bundle is a premium offer in the budget category. The partnership was developed to offer a convenient, easy-to-sell, quality product at a competitive price and with quick service. Orders placed before noon can be delivered the next business day to most locations across Canada.

The package is available with single vision or progressive lenses, including AR coating, and Scandinavian Eyewear’s .SE line of frames.

Designing glasses since 1948, Scandinavian Eyewear has a heritage and history with which few eyewear brands can compare. With its classic Skaga brand, created over the years by a number of renowned Swedish designers, the company has made its mark on Scandinavian eyewear and is today a market leader in that sector.

Barrie Ophthalmic is an independent lab offering full surfacing and edging facilities, providing services to professionals for over 20 years. As an independent lab, the goal is to create limitless options by providing lenses from all major manufacturers.

Tura Launches Ted Baker “Just Kidding”

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Tura launches the Ted Baker “Just Kidding” kids eyewear collection. Eight ophthalmic styles for boys and girls are available for customers who want fashion-forward kids’ eyewear without the luxury price tag.

Known as the quintessentially British brand, Ted Baker eyewear is best described as quirky yet commercial with high-quality design detailing. The “Just Kidding” collection is a downsized version of the adult frames. Many styles mix retro with a contemporary flare, playful bright colours and signature bows. All models have spring hinges and sizing is for kids only.

Highlights from the collection include:

B906 Bow Road– Girl’s full acetate frame with laminates. Saleable colours on the front with very bright pop colours on the interior. Deeper yet soft flattering shape with a small metal bow on the front temporal corners – a quirky nod to retro pin hinges.

B911 High Gate – Girl’s contemporary, full rim metal frame with a three-dimensional bow at the hinge. Bold and cute with a playful girly spirit.

B910 Mile End – Boy’s updated retro, full acetate frame, using fresh laminate materials with pop colours in the middle layer, creating a modern racing stripe around the frame.

B908 Sloane Square– Unisex retro P3 acetate frame with a keyhole bridge. Pop colours on the interior. For the cool city kid who wants to stand out.

“The Ted Baker ‘Just Kidding’ collection has mischief and humor, but it also celebrates individuality,” says Tura Vice President of Brand Management Jennifer Coppel. “The new styles are hip, bold and tailored.”

The Ted Baker “Just Kidding” brand will be sold exclusively at independent ophthalmic retailers across Canada.

SPY Flashes Back With Psychedelic Fade to Black Collection

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SPY® has happily emerged from a trip down the rabbit hole with the Fade to Black collection – an amalgamation of black, translucent spectral colours and vibrant Spectra™ mirrored lenses. The line is distributed in Canada by Westgroupe.

Featured in the popular Discord, Helm, Flynn, Touring, and Carbine sunglass frames, SPY’s Fade to Black collection is swathed in five mind-altering colourways – Strawberry Fields, Rolling Hills, Blue Heaven, Deep Purple and White Lightning. Each style features radiant Spectra mirrored lenses etched with cosmic-inspired symbols, and inside temple pad printing over translucent cosmic overtones that burn bright, and fade to black.

“The Fade to Black collection shows SPY’s love of psychedelic music and the culture that surrounded it in the ‘60s and ‘70s,” says SPY Product Director Juliette Koh. “From the intricate lens and frame detailing down to the rock ’n’ roll concert poster-inspired packaging, the Fade to Black collection encompasses all that is good in the cosmos.”

Ice Cream for Summer

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Plan B Eyewear’s quintessential women’s line, Ice Cream, introduces its newest designs to the collection. Featuring the iconic pop of colour that makes ice cream so delicious, these new styles are lightweight and streamlined, while still maintaining that fun and sexy feel that defines the brand.

A new rubberized coating has been incorporated on the 8948 and 8949, giving them a soft, velvety-feel. This makes these frames incredibly comfortable and creates a nice matte finish.

The 8946 and 8947, composed of stainless steel, offer a sleeker, shinier look that incorporates laser cut outs to create flattering lines and dimension while remaining light, flexible and feminine.

Other new models, such as the 8941 and 8943 incorporate stunning acetate inlays that give these frames a real fashion accessory feel. Interesting colour marbling and painstaking attention to detail create head turning pieces that feel simultaneously classic and new.

All of these new models offer an array of gorgeous colour including summery pinks, purples and a hot lime green. The deep B measurement, petite sizing and trend-right designs make these frames a must have for today’s fashion-conscious modern woman.

New Marketing Director at OSI

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Marcel Brin, president and CEO of Optometric Services Inc. (OSI) is pleased to welcome Evelyne Lafontaine as Marketing Director. As of June 3, 2013, she is responsible for the overall marketing activities of the company and its subsidiaries.

Evelyne Lafontaine brings to OSI a wealth of marketing management experience thanks to her years with Yves Rocher, international cosmetics and personal care products company.

Be Yourself… With One Condition

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By James Ahola, B.A.Sc.

I enjoy watching American Chopper, a TV show about people who build custom motorcycles. It’s packed with drama as tempers flare and egos clash every week. The drama, though, provides background entertainment – the real stars of the show are the masterpieces created by the artisans in mechanics’ clothing.

Each week, a new machine is crafted to embody the personality, style and legacy of the owner. Like a sculpture or fine painting, these pieces are beautiful to look at and generate awe and amazement. And this is art you can ride down the road.

These finely crafted machines are not twice the speed of others, they don’t corner better, or get better mileage. In many ways, they are on a par with other bikes. Yet, as fully functioning pieces of art, these bikes command prices that are five to 10 times those of a stock motorcycle. Their individuality makes them very valuable.

In the service world, we see many people who can perform a job as required. We see it with professional speakers, actors, mechanics and salespeople. Each job has its rules and proven standards of success. Added to the mix are universal standards such as honesty, respect and hard work. Like the brakes, oil filter, and other parts of a motorcycle which help it to perform well, adherence to standards ensures safety, performance and quality. A missing brake can be as dangerous as a doctor who forgets to check your blood pressure. Arguably, both render the whole useless.

Yet, in the process of conforming to standards, something precious may be lost – the individual flair and style of the service provider. A true professional can meet standards at a high level and mix things up in their own unique way, without missing a beat. These professionals stand out from the crowd. They are unique, perform amazingly, and we love them.

These people are not just the speakers and performers we pay big money to watch. They are also the wait staff we love having serve us, those who we ask for and tip generously. They are the dental hygienists and accountants whom we actually enjoy seeing. They are the professionals everywhere who draw us back, not just because they did a good job, but because they infused it with their character and personality. Like a custom motorcycle, they wow us with their flair and style while providing performance that, pound for pound, meets or exceeds the rest.

Whatever you do, you are free to be yourself. If you provide a product or service that meets or exceeds standards, you can embellish it with your unique personality and style. Some may not like it but you can’t please everyone. Most, however, will appreciate the experience and eagerly return for more.

Be professional. Be unique. Be yourself.

Argyleculture by Frame Impresario Russell Simmons

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By Paddy Kamen

Russell Simmons

The story of Argyleculture is the story of Russell Simmons, design guru to young adults with an urban, hip hop sensibility. And, by the way, Argyleculture’s eyewear frames are stunning.

But how did a young man who grew up on the fringes of illicit business dealings become one of America’s leading designers and entrepreneurs?

After more than 10 years writing about eyewear designers, I can promise you I’ve never come across anyone like Russell Simmons. His background is far from art school, not at all couture. Simmons has a simple honesty about him that is disarming. When asked how he began establishing himself as a designer he is frank: “I would buy things I liked, borrow ideas, tweak them a bit and knock them off under my own label.”

Phat Farm Fashions was that label, now a well-known brand. Simmons sold his stake in that business for a hefty sum in the late ‘90s.

But fashion design and manufacture was Simmons’ second or even third career (you will see that it’s a challenge to pin down this fellow’s many ventures and story lines). Simmons first became famous as the impresario for hip-hop music back in the 1980s, with his concert promotion and artist management company, known as Rush Management, and his record company, Def Jam. He helped to launch the careers of leading artists like the Beastie Boys and Run-D.M.C.

Add film producer, cell phone designer, political activist, yoga practitioner, writer, energy soda creator, and prepaid Visa debit card (the Rush card) originator to Simmons’ list of accomplishments and you can perhaps see how challenging it is to keep an interview with him on the subject of eyewear fashion. Not that he isn’t focused and articulate. Simmons recently spoke with Envision: seeing beyond magazine while driving from one meeting to another in New York.

Argyleculture eyewear embodies the aesthetic of the brand, which began with apparel. Simmons realized that his primary market in the music business – hip hop lovers who were maturing – needed a brand they could identify with as adults. He went for preppy, but on ‘steroids’, emboldening a look that was done so well by Ralph Lauren, adding bolder colours and design features that spoke surprise, thereby redefining the term ‘American classic’.

“Hip hop brands made billions of dollars but then they went out of style and there were no more brands for the adults who had been hip hop youth,” he says. “I call this market the urban graduate. This customer was underserved. There was no design representation in the market.”

Simmons works with many designers on his apparel and accessories collections. The Argyleculture frames are designed by Laura Khligh for licensee The McGee Group, based in Marietta,GA.

Simmons is effusive about Khligh. “She is so talented and really does get our brand. For me, it is a luxury to have a designer who understands the DNA of our company. It’s a dream to work with her.”

The inspiration for each season comes from storyboards and apparel images sent from Simmons’ head office in New York. “I translate their storyboards into frame drawings and we get together several times a year,” says Khligh. “Russell is incredible to work with, because he knows immediately what will work for the brand’s customer.”

Diddley is one of Khligh’s favourite models for the current season. “This is an updated clubmaster style that will work for either male or female faces. We worked with beautiful Italian and Japanese acetates. One is a honey tortoise, triple laminated with bright blue in the middle. Many of the Argyleculture frames show a lot of colour when held in the hand but they blend in and become more subtle when on the face.”

Argyleculture frames achieve a perfect mix of art and design, with comfort and weight among the prime considerations. Says Khligh, “I’m always looking to achieve that blend of current fashion and great technological design. The larger frames may have a weighty look but they are light and comfortable.”

Simmons sums up his work with Khligh, the place of Argyleculture in the market and also hints at the secret of his success: “As a creative person, there are moments when I am very sure that what I am doing is original and new and will still be accepted. I feel that way about our frames. Khligh shows me inspiring frames, with combinations you do not see elsewhere. I can look at them and see the ‘wow’ factor and I know that they fill a gap in the market. The design is new, yet it belongs.”

An Argyleculture sunglass collection is expected next year. Stand by for something original, and keep on eye on Simmons as he redefines style for a new generation.

Tougher Rules for Credit Card Processing Companies

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By JoAnne Sommers


Canada’s small business community is applauding the announcement of tougher rules of conduct for credit card processing companies, including Moneris Solutions and Chase Paymentech.

In February, the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) issued a guidance document stating that it had observed three issues within the payment card industry that it believed were not in line with key principles set out in the Code of Conduct for the Credit and Debit Card Industry in Canada.

 

The issues were: 

Inappropriate sales and business practices

These included unilaterally changing or modifying agreements without providing advance notice; advertising and promising rates and fees that participants were not able to honour; and misrepresenting contractual terms. 

Disclosure to merchants in multiple provider agreements

In its report, the FCAC said merchants often find multiple service provider agreements hard to understand, in part because of the many different but interconnected payment services they require. “As a result, it is often difficult for merchants to make reasonable and informed decisions about the services they choose to receive, what their rights and obligations are and whom to contact in the event that something goes wrong,” the guidance statement said. 

Multiple contract cancellation penalties, costs or fee

The FCAC said its investigation found that some merchants signed agreements which they later discovered were linked to additional contracts for related services that contained different cancellation clauses and related penalties, fees or costs. While the merchant was able to cancel the agreement without penalty, he or she often faced additional costs or penalties to terminate related service contracts. In some cases, these penalties were enough to deter a merchant from invoking his or her right to cancel all contracts without penalty.

The FCAC outlined a summary form for payment companies that would disclose key information from the agreement they make with merchants. It is giving the payments industry until November 12, 2013 to put the appropriate measures in place to better protect merchants.

Payment transaction processor Interac has said it will adopt the increased disclosure practices.

In early 2012, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) raised concerns that some sales agents for the credit card industry were “working to trap small merchants in terrible credit card processing deals, often using separate lease agreements to increase fees to exorbitant levels.”

“FCAC has issued some draft guidelines that CFIB believes would go a long way to stop some of the unfair business practices that were creeping into the system,” says CFIB President and CEO Dan Kelly.

“We commend the FCAC and other industry players for siding with small merchants by clarifying acceptable business practices in the Canadian payments industry. The Code is doing what it was intended to do – protecting consumers and merchants.”

The business community is still awaiting an announcement in the Canadian Competition Bureau’s case against Visa and MasterCard, which alleges that some of their practices are anti-competitive: specifically requirements that merchants accept all types of cards regardless of cost, as well as a prohibition on surcharging.

Retailers have lobbied for permission to add a surcharge on purchases, so customers would be more aware of the costs. However, the contracts offered by major credit card companies prohibit such surcharges. They also forbid retailers from choosing a company’s low-fee credit cards while refusing its so-called premium cards.

The Competition Bureau’s case was filed in 2010 and a ruling by the Bureau is expected soon.

“CFIB’s support for surcharging in Canada was given a major boost when Visa and MasterCard settled out of court with U.S. merchants to allow surcharging in early 2013,” Kelly says. “We are expecting a ruling on this issue any day now and will be crossing our fingers.”

In a related development, Senate Public Bill S215 – An Act to Amend the Credit Card Payments Act – was sent to the Senate Banking Committee on May 7. It is awaiting further discussion this fall. The Bill would set limits on the fees that Visa and MasterCard can charge merchants for accepting their credit cards.

MasterCard Canada announced in January that it will increase merchants’ transaction fees on credit card payments this summer. That followed a 2012 announcement by Visa Canada that it was raising rates, which took effect in April.

Canadian merchants pay some of the world’s highest fees for the privilege of accepting credit cards. In May 2012, Kent Thomson, the lead counsel for the Canadian Competition Bureau, told the tribunal hearing the case against Visa and MasterCard that they add up to $5 billion annually.

Thomson described Canada’s credit card system as a “perverse” place where shoppers who pay with cash or debit subsidize purchases made with credit cards because merchants pay high fees for accepting credit cards and those costs are passed on to all consumers.

CFIB says that, depending on the card used, credit card transactions add 2 to 3 per cent to the cost of a transaction, of which 80 to 90 per cent goes to the bank that issues the card.

Confusing Side Effects: Drug Interactions and Contact Lenses

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By Shirley Ha, BSc. (Hons), O.D.

The number of medications prescribed by Canadian doctors is steadily rising. According to the global market research company, IMS Health, 522.4 million prescriptions were dispensed in Canadian retail pharmacies in 2011, representing a 4.8 per cent increase from 2010 and a whopping 32.8 per cent increase over 2006. The top three drug types were for heart disease, mental illness/mood disorders and gastrointestinal/genitourinary illnesses.

When a systemic drug unintentionally reaches the cornea, lens and vitreous through the uveal and retinal circulations, it can cause unwanted secondary ocular effects. These can affect patient satisfaction with contact lens wear and the contact lens itself.

Eyecare professionals should have a working knowledge of these drug-related effects in order to distinguish them from those caused by the contact lens itself or its improper use and care. Keep in mind not everyone who takes medication will experience side effects and not all side effects are undesirable, especially with medications that have multiple indications and/or have off-brand uses.

In general, patients can experience many eye-related drug reactions, including corneal opacities and deposits, cataract, pigmentary retinopathy and optic neuropathy. Conjunctival hyperaemia, dry eye and mydriasis are examples of common conditions that may be wrongly attributed to contact lens wear.

A careful review of the patient’s case history and medications (dosage, duration and the systemic condition being treated) at each follow-up visit is the key to clarifying the nature of any problems that arise. It also allows for better patient education, collaboration with other health care professionals, and healthier contact lens care.

The following chart shows the relationship between several commonly prescribed medications and eye/vision conditions.

Finishing Line: On-Site Edging Shouldn’t Mean a Change in the Lenses You Dispense

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By Brian P. Dunleavy

Daniel Bédard, OD, knows how to work an edger, the central piece of equipment used in lens finishing. He also knows that any piece of equipment an eyecare professional (ECP) brings into his optical store needs to work well with the lenses he dispenses. At Dr. Bédard’s practice, for example, 90 per cent of the lenses dispensed are treated with anti-reflective (AR) coating and a high percentage of patients opt for free-form lenses in both single-vision and progressives. Yet, the optometrist says the practice is still able to finish 99 per cent of the lenses it dispenses on-site.

“Finishing equipment has improved so significantly that we can do drill mounts, wrap sunglass lenses or lenses for frames with unique geometry fairly easily,” explains the partner at Kanata Bridgewood Optometric Centre in Kanata, ON. “The technology has enabled us to provide our patients with fast service, without compromising on quality.”

Finishing lenses is nothing new for ECPs – the technology has been around for more than 25 years – but the ever-expanding array of new lens designs (think free-form) and materials (high-index, mid-index) has presented new challenges when it comes to bringing service into the practice. However, thanks to new technology and software upgrades, optometrists and opticians who want to speed up eyewear turnaround time by installing a finishing lab don’t have to change the lenses they dispense to make the labs viable.

Today, most finishing systems – which include a tracer, a blocker and an edger (costs for all the equipment typically run in the $30,000 to $60,000 range) – run with on-board computers that can be programmed to work with almost any lens product and frame design available, and they can be operated with minimal training. Most optometry practices that finish in-office have an optician on staff run the lab (Dr. Bédard recommends cross-training all optical department staff in dispensing and lens processing, both to increase efficiency and develop a working knowledge of lens and lens finishing technology and processes). Opticians who run their own shops typically train multiple staff members as well.

Before he decided on his current finishing system, which he purchased last year, Dr. Bédard visited Vision Expo East in New York in March 2012 to try out the equipment himself. His practice has had its own finishing lab for more than 10 years but it was time for an upgrade. The equipment they had been using couldn’t provide them with the needed throughput, or capacity, and some new frame designs (with unique shapes) were giving them problems.

Given that a finishing lab is a significant investment, he wanted to make sure he was purchasing equipment that wouldn’t be outmoded with the release of a new lens design or material. For his practice, finishing on-site hasn’t meant a change in the lenses they dispense, only in the services they offer the patients who buy them, and that was key. In particular, he notes, he sells a premium free-form progressive design and wants to be able to finish these lenses in order to offer his presbyopic patients the same convenience as his single-vision patients.

“Today, time is money,” he says. “Finishing our lenses here has enabled us to speed up delivery to our patients. We can give lenses back to some of them the same day, which has meant a huge increase in patient satisfaction. I am very happy with my decision on the new equipment, and I think my patients are, too.”