50 years and counting

Dispensing optician and practice director, Ian Silverberg, celebrated 50 years in the industry after starting aged 13 at his father’s independent practice in 1972.

Silverberg worked on Saturdays as a teenager and today, aged 63, he works at the practice alongside his wife and business partner Martine.

His father, Harold, owned five Silverberg Opticians in Liverpool and the independent joined the Hakim Group in 2019.

‘Some of my patients I see now have been coming since they were 12 and now they’re bringing in their kids who are 15 and 16. It makes me feel very old. I think they keep coming back because they feel like a part of the practice. When they come in, we chat to them, have a coffee and a contact lens check-up. We talk about their families, our families; they’re definitely more like friends,’ Silverberg said.