10/31/2025
Hi everyone! I was just at Evanston Repair Cafe on Tuesday. I had a great time. I helped a lady fix her husband’s nose pads on a frame that needed a specific gauge of screw that I didn't have on me. So I put a temporary fix on them, immediately ordered the screws and invited her back to the next repair cafe session.
Another woman needed an adjustment. It was hurting her, but she couldn't figure out why. She took it to the optical she bought them from many times and it still bothered her. I noticed a few things right away. The temple was rubbing against the back of her ear, the screws were sooooo tight on the frame, and the frame was front heavy so it left marks on her nose. Well let’s break down why that happened.
1. The temple rubbed her ears because of a poor adjustment. At some point it was probably digging into her head and someone moved it to touch her ears thinking it would relieve her of her problem. What they didn’t realize was it created a different problem. I adjusted the frame so it gently cradles her head. Touching, but not pressing.
2. The screws were EXTREMELY tight. So at some point someone decided if I tighten these really hard, the patient won’t deal with loose screws anymore. While a great sentiment, it actually caused a big problem. They were so tight it physically made one side of the frame push way out. So now the patient’s Rx is altered. In addition, tight screws actually wreak havoc on your hinges. It will break your frame faster than the screw will back out.
3. Her frame was so front heavy it left marks on her nose. Well this is a design problem. A decade or two ago, it was brought to the industry’s attention that we didn’t have enough frames for the low bridge/small bridge community. So we started randomly putting nosepads on acetate frames. That is exactly what this patient had. What some opticians don’t realize, is if the front of the frame is thick, and you put nosepads, the frame will put a lot of pressure on the bridge. Therefore defeating the purpose. There isn’t much for me to help at this point. However, if this patient would come to me next time she is ready for a pair, I would ensure her frame is balanced and lightweight.
I truly wanted Framed Optical Boutique to be the kind of company where you see the owner physically give back to the community. It is so important to me, so we do a lot of volunteer work and donate to different causes that are near and dear to my heart.
So this is a little taste of the knowledge I can bring to your own situtation. Join me on zoom the first Wednesday of every month at 6:30pm. This is a little way for me to give back to the community by offering free optical advice from an industry expert.
Nov. 5 - 6:30pm
Nathan Hill is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88130119993?pwd=th7S94uDgMvGbF9dz9isLtNdLECb1F.1
Meeting ID: 881 3011 9993
Passcode: 699095
Hope to have more chats with the community! Always feel free to message me or leave me a comment.
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