Big Optometry Blog

It's show time

2013-04-08T13:39:27Z

If it has escaped your notice Optician is now the joint organiser of Optrafair London 2014 . With just days to go before Optrafair Birmingham 2013 plans are underway to reveal as much as possible about the plans for the capital in a year's time. Lots of work has been going into the exhibition stand to make sure everyone knows what is happening at the optical show in the heart of the metropolis. Let's just say visitors to Optrafair will not be able to miss it....(read more)

Show business is hotting up

2013-04-02T13:30:45Z

There are some really exciting developments emerging around Optrafair London 2014. More soon....(read more)

What does one wear to the ball

2013-03-16T08:30:29Z

As the Optician Awards get closer I am faced once more with the conundrum of what glasses or contact lenses to wear while on stage. I'm stuck with the unbiquitous dinner jacket so eyewear is about the only creative outlet open to us chaps. It also seems to be a topic of conversation on the night too but I suppose it is an optical do after all. In the past I have gone with Fabio Capello's Zero RH+, a beautifully minimalist Hoya Pinfeel II from Riviera Rimless, a bespoke TD Tom Davies and various...(read more)

Optrafair is just around the corner

2013-03-15T16:01:26Z

It hardly seems possible but Optrafair is less than a month away. Optician is the official media partner for the show so we have been busy completing the show guide . Look out for your copy in the March 22 issue. This year we decided to get all modern and develop some new media products to support the show. A dedicated webpage on opticianonline.net will let you know everything there is to know in the run up to the event. For those lucky people with an iPad or a smartphone we have also developed a...(read more)

Bobs and jobs week

2013-03-12T11:06:17Z

It's funny how news groups itself together sometimes. This week sees a job for Henrietta Alderman as the new chief executive of the Association of Optometrists . The last incumbent, Bob Hughes, also found himself a new job this week at a Surrey based vision charity. Alderman's previous experience includes work for the British Bobsleigh Association....(read more)

Don't play misty for me

2013-03-06T09:55:39Z

Researchers at MIT in the US are claiming a breakthrough in the development of coatings that prevent glass from steaming up. Although the coverage surrounding the finding concentrates on car windscreens the technology may be suitable for spectacle lenses as well. The change is centred around a testing regime but as the paper describes both hydrophobic and hydrophillic properties are needed to achieve an optically sound solution to misting and, in cars, freezing of water droplets that form on glass...(read more)

Counterintuitive contact lenses on the web?

2013-02-22T16:33:25Z

Dean Butler's challenge to the British Contact Lens Association over online contact lens compliance poses some interesting questions. One the one hand it could be argued that if a wearer buys their contact lenses online they have less interaction with an optical professional and are therefore less well-versed in care and hygiene. They are not quizzed over how they look after their lenses or given a telling off for overwear. They are not checked for sign of overwear or infection. Many contact...(read more)

No show pow wow

2013-02-21T16:49:40Z

The failure of The Eye Show may have come as a great disappointment to many but it has demonstrated that a London optical show has legs. It's been an exciting time for the optical show business but it's time to start talking turkey. There are two protagonists now offering an event for the capital. Is it peace on or peace..... One has the contacts and heart of the industry on its side, the other has a venue and a background in the exhibition business. It is now time for the two of them to...(read more)

Positive press for contact lenses

2013-02-18T10:17:09Z

It's been a bad few weeks for contact lenses in the national media following a rash of infection stories. There was better news this weekend when the Mail revealed that drinking contact lens solution saved the life of 18 year old Sam Woodhead the gap year student who decided to go for a yomp in the Australian outback. The hapless youngster got lost in the bush and survived by drinking contact lens solution, the only liquid to hand. So what was his tipple of choice? A cheeky bottle of renu? Perhaps...(read more)

Phoenix from the Frames

2013-02-04T16:43:04Z

Following the demise of The Eye Show a pop up exhibition called Frame will take place in Soho on February 12 and 13. The show is the brainchild of Tom Davies who was let down by the failure of TES but wanted to salvage the situation as he had staff and clients who would still be travelling to London. He linked up with Media Ten to stage the show in in the capital and was quickly joined by other stranded exhibitors. Media Ten had previously linked up with The Eye Show's orgainser, Dawn Kime of...(read more)

A pop up exhibition for London?

2013-02-01T15:56:01Z

If you have cleared your diary for the defunct Eye Show don't write off that time just yet. Rumour has it that some of the more entrepreneurial exhibitors are planning to make the most of a bad job and do their own thing. The smart money is riding on a pop up boutique eyewear show somewhere in central London on one or more of the dates of the original show, February 12-14. With top clients from around the world coming to London to visit some of the best UK eyewear designers all at the same time...(read more)

The true cost of online contact lenses?

2013-02-01T12:40:26Z

Practitioners will no doubt be aware of the horrific story in the Sun of Jacqueline Stone who lost an eye following contact lens wear . It is aways going to be difficult to prove decisively what the cause of the infection was, indeed all reports point out that she used the lenses in a proper way. However Stone is planning to sue the provider of the contact lenses and the manufacturer plus two hospitals. The obvious questions to be asked in court are how she came by the lenses, proof that the lenses...(read more)

The Eye No Show, status quo?

2013-02-01T09:48:05Z

What is going on with an optical show in London? This issue manages to split those in optics more than virtually any other issue but it is an issue that needs to be addressed. The now defunct Eye Show had its supporters and clearly captured the imagination of those who wanted to see an expo in the capital. I doubt that the failure of TES proves the idea of a London show is a bad one....(read more)

How easy is it to get snow blindness?

2013-01-24T10:13:33Z

Along with most people in the country I have spent a fair amount of time out in the snow over the last week. At the weekend, when things were at their worst in my area, I spend a good few hours clearing the snow, putting out food and water for the birds and walking in the white stuff. As it was snowing I opted for contact lenses and after a while I noticed that my vision was becoming unusual. Small objects in high contrast situations became difficult to focus on and I also noticed some visual disturbances...(read more)

This new CET malarkey

2013-01-22T12:21:07Z

Despite all of the talk towards the end of last year about changes to the CET rules there still seems to be a lot of confusion on the issue. In an effort to get some discussion going within the profession and to answer readers question Optician has set up CET Talk . In this area questions can be posted and our clinical editor, Bill Harvey, will attempt to answer them. Other readers will also be free to share their experiences and give their views. Bill Harvey will also start a series in this Friday's...(read more)