BUYER’S FORUM

Relationship Building

Artisan Eyeworks creates a genuine experience for patients topped off by a cool collection of eyewear

Drs. Kimberly and Michael Hoyt

be genuine. That is the mantra of O.D.s Michael and Kimberly Hoyt.

After years of working in high-volume optometric practices, the husband-and-wife optometrist duo were burned out.

“We were seeing 45 to 50 patients a day,” says Dr. Kimberly Hoyt. “We had no say over how the practice was running. We were burned out by the volume and having no control over what our practice was like.”

Then her father passed away, and it made the couple re-evaluate the pace of their lives. It was time for the Hoyts to be genuine about both their lives and their livelihood.

In 2014, the O.D.s opened Artisan Eyeworks in Ashland, a mountain town situated in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley. The practice is dedicated to forming genuine relationships with their patients, providing top-notch eye care and offering unique eyewear collections.

Here, the Hoyts discuss building relationships with their patients, how they create a story for their frame collections, and what their customers expect when they enter the practice.

eb: What is Artisan Eyeworks’ practice philosophy?

mh: We started with one principle: to be genuine in what we do. Our pillar, or our mission statement, is to create genuine connections with our patients, to offer excellent care, and to offer unique and compelling eyewear.

We’ve had people ask us what we are going to do when we outgrow our space. We’ll never outgrow it. For us, we only want to see between eight and 10 patients a day.

We want our patients to have a fun experience. Because we don’t see a high volume of patients, we have enough time to have a friendly encounter with them. It’s more fun to have a conversation with an eye exam woven into it. It’s work, but work we enjoy.

eb: What’s your product philosophy?

kh: Our area is situated between San Francisco and Portland. Everyone in the Rogue Valley is offering the same eyewear. The optical industry is getting generic. Ashland is a very independent town, and we wanted the eyewear we carry to reflect that.

The interior of Artisan Eyeworks

eb: How did you curate your eyewear assortment?

mh: In our downtime between leaving the old practice and beginning our new practice, we delved into the Luxury Eyewear Forum. Then we went to [International] Vision Expo and visited with companies and decided which lines we should carry.

Now, going forward, we ask, “Is it a high-quality frame? Will it have longevity, and does it fit a niche in the stories we are trying to tell with our collections?” For example, for the classic elegant flat metals, we have OVVO. For a color story, we have Beausoleil.

eb: What services do you provide?

kh: We are an across-the-board classic optometry practice. We do all medical things—we treat those with macular degeneration, glaucoma, and diabetes.

We also keep up on the latest industry technology to provide our patients with the best care. For example, we use the Optomap retinal scanner, which shows about 85% of the retina without having to dilate the patient’s eyes.

eb: Best-selling frame collections?

kh: We really like everything we carry, or we wouldn’t carry it. Among them are Anne et Valentin and Kala, a line of handmade eyewear by a fabulous designer in the Bay Area. We also feature OVVO and Masunaga.

We try to have each eyewear line tell a different story so there’s not a lot of overlap.

eb: How do you display frames?

kh: We have a small area with a classic frame board. There are only about 100 frames on the board, and it’s movable so it doesn’t always look the same. The rest are in furniture, cabinets, and shelving.

eb: What qualities do you look for in your staff?

mh: Our staff is really small. We focus on relentless positivity. If we’re not having fun, one of four of us is having a bad day—that’s 25% of the staff! It’s important for us to have compassion, empathy, tolerance, and acceptance. We look for people who are genuine.

eb: What advice would you offer to O.D.s who are just branching out with their own practice?

mh: It’s important to choose a niche that is not easily replicated, one that is going to be different from any other optical office competing against you. It doesn’t matter if it’s pediatrics or specialty contact lenses, do something that is truly different, and really dive in feet first.

—Jackie Micucci