Optician: How did it feel to win?
Kim Walker: It feels like an absolute dream. To be nominated was overwhelming but to actually win is a privilege and an honour. It still hasn’t hit me because it happened so quickly.
O: How do you differentiate eyewear styling at Allegro Optical?
KW: We have all completed the Eyewear Academy eyewear styling course based on the Colour Me Beautiful styling ethos. After we have taken our clients detailed facial measurements, we go through a personality questionnaire. We then choose the colours that complement the client’s colouring, styled individually to their criteria. We also dispense custom-made glasses. If a client wants a particular colour and sizing, we can do that for them. We do iGreen and O.Six, you pick your shape and there’s different sizes to get a really well-fitted pair of glasses. They have hundreds of colours and you can fully customise the size of the sides with different lengths. Everything’s completely tailor-made to each individual patient. We also use Premiere Optical Services to create really individual frames.
I always ask, do they want something to blend in? Do they want something to stand out? If it’s a colour styling, I’ll find out whether they’re a dramatic personality or if they have a classical personality they usually prefer something quite smart with clean lines. The questionnaire leads us into whether they want something a little bit more flamboyant or something a little bit more subdued. We take the colouring into account after that. Then we bring a selection of frames for the client to view.
O: Why is it important to create an experience for each patient?
KW: When you get a pair of glasses, and it’s been me in the past, you think, “Oh, I’ll go safe”. It’s easy to do until you’re opened up to the possibilities of different colours, shapes and designs or until somebody’s really got to know your personality and what your day-to-day is like. It’s about taking you outside of that comfort zone and showing you something you’ve never worn before. People are so happy that they’ve not just been given a generic tortoiseshell, gunmetal or brown frame. They appreciate being taken out of that comfort zone and actually shown something that lights up their face and mirrors the rest of their day-to-day image.
Allegro Optical is also the only optical practice to gain registration with the British Association of Performing Arts Medicine (BAPAM). Performing arts eye care is the foundation of all we do and the reason Sheryl Doe and Stephen Tighe set the business up in 2017.
Allegro refers to a fast movement of music. Many performing arts job roles require the professional to concentrate on multiple things at the same time. They need to rapidly change focus and most roles demand a wide field of view. So many eye conditions can drastically impact a performing arts career, often having serious implications for the performer. The team at Allegro Optical now works with some of the major musical institutions, such as the Royal Society of Musicians, The Royal College of Music, York University Music Department and, of course, BAPAM.
O: What’s your approach to dispensing?
KW: For a first-time spectacle or multifocal wearer, I always discuss the lenses first. That’s the most important bit when they’ve not had glasses before - to talk about the lenses, based on the prescription. I consider what would look better from a glazing point of view and a finished product, whether they need thinner or flatter lenses, photochromic or an additional pair of sunglasses, I have this discussion with every patient. We speak about what they want from their glasses.
I don’t just look at the spectacles that they’re wearing for day-to-day or outside of work life. I also look at if, say, they’re a dairy farmer because wearing a pair of designer, custom-made glasses while working in a dairy farm is not ideal. They would need a pair of safety glasses with tougher lenses because you’d be surprised at how many people get kicked in the head.
O: How did the practice respond to Covid-19?
KW: Ian Walbeoff from Bolle Safety contacted Sheryl and asked if Allegro Optical would be willing to help on the frontline and deliver some new Covid secured safety specs to NHS workers. They were sealed unit safety specs. They got approval for the Baxter and Tracker frames and can be disinfected quite easily with wipes and distributed to all frontline workers.
I started working within the mid-Yorkshire Trust on my own for eight months. The amount of people that initially wanted to come for the goggles - they were queuing out of the door. Some days we were seeing up to 60 people in the clinics. It was a very emotional time because we were in the peak of Covid. I was trying to see as many patients as I could. We then took on Leeds Trust, Calderdale and Kirklees Trust and I was joined by some of my Allegro Optical colleagues.
I got snowed in, so I’d just stay in a hotel and then walk back the next day and see more patients again, from eight o’clock in the morning. They’d stayed over in snowy conditions just so they didn’t miss their appointment. I feel privileged to have helped these people and am quite emotional about it because these people can’t see to do their job. I was helping so that they’re not fogging up in the PPE and that they can see to put an IV in a patient that’s dying from Covid. It was a massive privilege to be able to help those people.
O: What’s next for you and Allegro Optical?
KW: Allegro Optical is opening its third practice in April. That’s going to be based in Marsden, which is a 10-minute drive from the original practice in Holmfirth. I am going to be a shareholder. I’m so excited but it’s very scary as well.
O: What would you say to any DO thinking about entering the Optician Awards?
KW: I would never have said that I would win dispensing optician of the year. If I can be nominated and win, anybody can. I’m just a normal dispensing optician from Yorkshire just doing my job at the end of the day.