LUXURIOUS LENSES

IN THE CUT

4 unique things to consider when marketing artistic, customized lenses to a select audience

BY AMY SPIEZIO

for patients looking for something truly individual, the ability to offer custom lens work can be the differentiating factor between delivering an average eyewear-buying experience and something extraordinary. And the potential for selling to this market might be larger than you think—the number of opticians and labs offering bespoke lens work is clearly on the rise.

While you may expect older patients looking for some fun looks to be drawn to custom eyewear, millennials’ growing buying power makes this next generation of buyers also a potential market for custom lenses.

By 2017, millennials—those born between 1982 and 2000—are expected to spend more than $200 billion annually. In addition, it is projected this generation will spend over $10 trillion in their lifetimes. Add their buying power to the group’s passion for all things thoughtful, personalized, and handcrafted, and you’ve got a whole new world of prospective business for beautiful, customized lens product.

Wondering how to get involved in crafting and selling customized lenses?

Consider the following tips from lab and optical experts who have written their own customized lens success stories.

tip one:
Every Patient Has Custom Potential

Lens customization is par for the course for almost every patient who visits Tommy Libert, ABOC, owner of Central Eyeworks in Phoenix. Most of his patients are referred to him and are seeking custom work. In particular, Libert’s iconic stonework and lens “tattooing” draws special attention.

While some custom-lens customers are seeking a unique look and the latest technology, many of them are simply seeking better vision. Often, Libert’s custom work features lenses that are fit specifically to each patient’s face.

“I hardly ever do what comes with the frame,” he notes. “I want it to fit you well, so sometimes it needs just a millimeter wider to fit perfectly.”

Paul Garcia, owner and CEO of Charlotte’s Optical in Colorado Springs, CO, says he also sees unlimited potential in custom lenses. “Too many times we have suffered the cost of eyewear that is either too small, too big, or a shape that does not accommodate a given customer’s features,” he explains. “Almost anything is possible—and available at your fingertips—if you are willing to offer it to your customers.”

Custom lens cutting and tattooing adorn a Silhouette Titan Minimal Art — The Icon rimless sunglass created by LUXE Laboratory

ABOVE: Paul Garcia’s custom stone and drill work on a Silhouette Titan Next Generation frame

tip two:
Consider What Your Patients Really Want

Not everybody wants pig-shaped lenses, but when they do, why shouldn’t they have them? Danielle Crull, owner of A Child’s Eyes in Mechanicsburg, PA, broke into the world of custom lenses working with a pig-rescue farmer who said, “I wish I could get something with pigs.”

Crull worked with her lab, K-Optical in Hummelstown, PA, and notes that the lab was “happy to have the opportunity to use their new machine. It didn’t take very long. They jumped right on it, and they were excited.” The success of the project, which also worked in the technicalities of a bifocal, has inspired Crull to look at future customization work.

“You think about the potential,” she says, especially considering the fun imaginations of children, who are the majority of her patients. “Right now a big request is horses, and there aren’t any glasses with horses, so a lens shaped like that might work out nicely.”

Danielle Crull and K-Optical created this pig-themed look

tip three:
Charge What It’s Worth

Matt Johnson, an optician with Parrelli Optical in Cambridge, MA, can work for up to a year creating one custom project, and he recommends that eyecare professionals “charge what it’s worth.” Hand building frames and lenses from the finest materials can mean charging upwards of $5,000 per pair for something completely bespoke. Creating these projects helps Johnson build relationships that last for years.

Making those relationships happen, he notes, means really listening and getting to know your patients. “A lot of people see my book and say, ‘I want it.’” But he screens carefully, sitting with the patients for an initial one-hour consultation for which he charges $50.

“It takes a lot of time, and you want to find the right people,” he says. “We grab coffee, we talk, and I will sketch. It’s an exclusive club, and the end result is a top-of-the-line lens with the best optics and best design. People look at it and know it’s custom.”

tip four:
Reconsider Rimless

One obvious place where eyewear customization really shines is with rimless styles, which are in vogue in a fresh, new way, notes Richard Wilhelm, owner of LUXE Laboratory in Anaheim, CA.

Anaheim, CA-based LUXE Laboratory created these heart-shaped rimless Cartier frames

“There’s one new thing we are doing for Silhouette that’s pretty amazing—creating the faux rim look,” says Wilhelm. Designing lenses that look like a full rim is just one new trend and is becoming popular for customization. “People are also starting to look into untraditional facets and things that are understated.”

Other fun options for rimless include details such as tattooing, for which LUXE Laboratory uses a laser to apply art—such as a signature, a flower, or lace—onto a lens.

Wilhelm stresses that to keep custom work ahead of the curve, you should always opt for quality in the lens—and frame. When a client selects a superior-quality frame, a custom lens is a natural match that can help you nurture the customer relationship.

“Don’t compromise on luxury, because when you do that the end user has to compromise,” says Wilhelm. “It says nothing about the lens—it says everything about the frame that falls apart.”

INTERESTED IN TRYING CUSTOMIZATION FOR YOURSELF?

Check out our website, where optician Matt Johnson from Parrelli Optical in Cambridge, MA, takes us step by step through the customization of a rimless sunglass style.

eyecarebusiness.com