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Industry’s Most Valuable Education Program Unveiled: VEW Presents Premier Conference Program

Vision Expo

Experience the pinnacle of eye care education at Vision Expo West. This September’s educational program is now unveiled offering attendees new insights and knowledge on a diverse range of topics, from disease management and practice growth to lens innovations, the latest eyewear trends and more.

Kicking off Wednesday, September 18, the day before the exhibit hall opens at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, Vision Expo’s VisionEd, will feature a line up of clinical Optometry education and the return of OptiCon @ VisionExpo. The four-day conference and trade show will welcome thousands of eye care professionals, ophthalmic experts and industry innovators.

This year’s program promises to deliver an unparalleled blend of robust top-notch presentations from the industry’s most respected experts designed to inspire, educate and elevate.

Vision Expo West will offer the industry’s leading continuing education and accreditation programs, led by world-renowned experts in 150+ hours. In addition to the education, attendees can explore and forge business opportunities in the expansive exhibit hall featuring over 350 brands, designers and manufacturers from around the globe showcasing groundbreaking innovations in frame design, lens advancements, diagnostic instruments and practice management solutions.

“We are thrilled to offer such a high-caliber educational program at Vision Expo West. The quality of our educational sessions reflects our unwavering commitment to advancing the knowledge base of vision care professionals. We believe that these sessions will provide significant value and inspire attendees to excel in their practice.”

Fran Pennella, Vice President of Vision Expo at RX

“Our courses have been carefully developed by an advisory board of thought leaders in the industry and are designed to address the critical areas of vision care. We have made concerted efforts to bring in top speakers who are at the forefront of their fields to ensure that our program remains relevant and provides ample opportunities for accreditation and professional growth.”

Mitch Barkley, Vice President of Trade Shows, The Vision Council

OptiCon @ Vision Expo:

Opticians and other Allied Health Professionals can unlock a world of knowledge and growth with the OptiCon @ Vision Expo education package. This comprehensive education package is the gateway to professional advancement and success. OptiCon @ Vision Expo West 2024 will introduce new courses covering trends and developments in the profession, with 100+ hours of content available over four days, allowing attendees to customize their learning experience from five tracks: clinical concepts, spectacle lens, contact lens, allied health and business.

“We are honored to host a spectacular lineup of distinguished speakers who will share their expertise and experiences, inspiring us to think creatively and critically about the challenges and opportunities facing opticianry today as well as in the future,” says OptiCon Advisory Board Co-Chairs, Lanard Atkins and Phernell Walker. “Attendees will have ample opportunities for networking and collaboration to connect with old friends and forge new relationships; it is through these connections that we can collectively drive progress and create a lasting impact in our industry.”

View package details »

Accredited Course Highlights: 

Ask the Experts – A three-part course series eligible for a total of six accredited hours focusing on trending topics including: ‘When Your Patient Has OSD’, ‘When You’re Treating Your Glaucoma Patients, ‘When You Are Managing The Retina’

Top 15 Diagnoses You Should Never Miss – These are the top fifteen diagnoses that eye care professionals do not want to miss.

Unveiling Uveitis – This course describes a modern approach to uveitis management and will provide a thorough review of common etiology, risk factors, systemic and ocular manifestations, and management and treatment strategies. Case examples will emphasize relevance.

Case Files: The Glaucoma Chronicles – This course will discuss a broad range of glaucoma cases from three unique settings. Tools for diagnosis, risk assessment, and management of disease will be highlighted across the spectrum of glaucoma severity with multiple perspectives provided.

Telehealth is Here to Stay. Really! – Telemedicine has quickly become the most practical way for health care providers to stay connected with patients, provide needed care, and still receive reimbursement. Once past the technical, system and billing issues, most patients and providers found the interactions productive and even preferable for many types of visits. Now we are asking, is this a stop-gap solution? Will this become more mainstream long-term? Will patients respond positively to a virtual visit? Can office and staff make this a productive, efficient component of the workflow and care delivery systems? The answers to these questions are yes, yes, and yes!

Selling Efficiently and Effectively in a Busy Practice – This course helps opticians in a very busy practice combine exemplary customer service while maximizing the limited time that may be available to work with a patient in a very busy dispensary.

View the full list of courses »

“With hands-on workshops and interactive case discussions you become part of the meeting rather than just merely attending. With over 100 courses filling over 150 hours of education, Expo positively has something for all in attendance,” shares Marc Bloomenstein, OD, FAAO, Education Planning Committee Chairman.

Professionals interested in attending the Vision Expo West education program are encouraged to register early to secure their spot. For more information and to register, please visit https://west.visionexpo.com/en-us/seminars/education-pricing.html

Click HERE for the full press release.

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BITTER: The Perfect Blend of Sculptural Beauty and Bold Colours

GIGI Studios Bitter

Introducing the BITTER sunglasses from the Odd Fruits capsule collection; a women’s model with a handcrafted frame made of high-quality Italian acetate. The oval-shaped BITTER stands out for the variety of thicknesses and laminations that add depth and new nuances to this design.

Meticulously created by the GIGI STUDIOS team in Barcelona, the Odd Fruits collection incorporates bold colours and delicate sculptural shapes with soft bevels and geometric silhouettes, a statement of style and personality.

Distributed by GIGI STUDIOS: gigistudios.com

About GIGI STUDIOS:

GIGI Studios is a brand founded in Barcelona by a family that has always been surrounded by glasses. This family spirit has led to partnerships with independent eyewear sellers and distributors in more than 45 countries. At GIGI Studios, we transmit knowledge and experience while passionately embracing the future.

Without distinction, GIGI Studios wants to support people in their self-expression by making them feel more creative and self-confident. GIGI Studios’ designs are the result of constant improvement, a process of exploration through materials, shapes, and colours seeking designs that enhance the uniqueness of the individual.

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Angela Bonfanti Becomes First Female President and CEO of CNIB

CNIB announced that Angela Bonfanti, a 13-year veteran of the CNIB team, became the organization’s first female president and CEO. After holding several leadership positions at CNIB – including, most recently, the position of Chief Operating Officer – Angela succeeds John M. Rafferty, who has been CNIB’s president since 2009. 

“It’s an understatement to say that I’m excited and honoured to be taking on this role. After 13 years with CNIB, I know what we’re capable of as a team, and it’s absolutely limitless. I’m thrilled to discover what we’ll accomplish together in the years to come for our community of people impacted by blindness from coast to coast to coast.”

Angela Bonfanti, President and CEO, CNIB

CNIB Angela Bonfanti
Angela Bonfanti

As the daughter of a person who is blind, Angela has been a lifelong champion of the rights of Canadians living with blindness or low vision. And with more than a decade of experience with CNIB, she not only understands the nuanced challenges facing people who are blind, Deafblind, or who have low vision, but she has been instrumental in tackling those challenges – from implementing innovative community programs to driving crucial changes to legislation affecting Canadians who are blind to leading the urgently-needed development of CNIB’s virtual services during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“She is a skilled, passionate, experienced, and forward-thinking leader who has proven, time and again, that she puts the needs and goals of our community first, always. Although we reviewed a wide range of strong candidates for this role, including both external and internal candidates from across Canada and internationally, Angela is the one who fully encapsulated the qualities we need in CNIB’s next president.” 

Robert Fenton, Chair of the Board of Directors, CNIB

In taking on the presidency of CNIB, Angela also proudly becomes the first female president and CEO of our affiliate organization, CNIB Deafblind Community Services (DBCS). 

To learn more about Angela, visit cnib.ca/ceo

Source: CNIB

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2024 Optical Design Contest: Discover the Selection of Nominees

SILMO Paris 2024

Enhancing expertise, stimulating innovation and championing the sector: SILMO also promotes tomorrow’s talent with the Optical Design Contest. Open to design school students around the world, the third edition of the contest focuses on accessory glasses that, aside from correcting and protecting the wearer’s vision, explore new functionalities and uses.

Chaired by Olivier Jault and made up of optics and design professionals, the jury met at the start of July to assess the projects submitted from various design schools and select the most pertinent to the theme.

A renowned shoe designer, Olivier Jault joined the fashion and accessories sector after passing the entrance exams for the Duperré School of Applied Arts. With an applied arts degree in his back pocket, he presented his first shoe collection. He then collaborated with many prestigious brands such as Martin Margiela, Givenchy with Alexander McQueen, Saint-Laurent with Tom Ford, J.M. Weston, Repetto, Jean Paul Gaultier and many others. With a great passion for shoes, Olivier Jault is also co-commissioner of the “Jean-paul Gaultier pour Stéphane Kélian: Roman d’une rencontre” exhibition at the Shoe Museum in Romans-sur-Isère, which can be visited until 3 November 2024.

Jury members reviewed the projects, taking into account their creative, innovative design dimension and the proposed product’s use and function within the scope of the theme. The project’s feasibility, including the production of a 3D printed prototype, was also assessed.

The jury will meet at SILMO on the morning of 20 September to choose the winner from among the selected designs:

DISTROAL by Thomas Deneufbourg – École de Design Nantes Atlantique

Glasses as support accessories for users that have specific needs, including people affected by disorders on the autism spectrum and anxiety disorders. Distroal means “calming’ in the Breton language.

 LUCID by Perrine Payen – Rubika

“Forgotten objects” like the pocket watch and the monocle are recycled and find a new life by being transformed into elegant magnifying glasses.

RHOÉ by Theo Vanpoperynghe – ISD Rubika

An original designer device to help with eye strain.

SOUND SIGHT by Nolan Guenot -Ecole Supérieur De Design de Troyes

Bone conduction glasses, proven technology that is reinvented here with an aerial aesthetic.

SPECTAPOP by Camille Grand – ISD Rubika

Glasses with an uncompromising, attention-grabbing, fun design for visual hide-and-seek.

VIEWPROJECT by Amélie MEERSSEMAN – École de design Nantes Atlantique

Innovative, designer protective eyewear, imagined as fit-over glasses for prescription eyeglass wearers.

We invite you to learn more about these innovative projects at SILMO Paris and join us in celebrating tomorrow’s optical design talent.

Source: SILMO Paris

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AYA Eyewear + Corrine Hunt’s New Eyewear Collaboration is Wearable Art that Celebrates the Extraordinary Iris Apfel

AYA optical IRIS BLUE TORTOISE

AYA announces the launch of their latest collaboration, “Iris” – a new addition to their eyewear collection that honours the rich tapestry of indigenous art with a distinct nod to fashion. Inspired by the late legendary style icon Iris Apfel, these bold round frames are poised to inspire the optical world to embrace their inner Iris, with this unique blend of fashion forward style, craftsmanship and cultural significance.

Crafted from luxurious acetate, “Iris” boasts a design that pays homage to the distinctive round frames that have become synonymous with Ms. Apfel’s fearless sense of style. Iris was a true visionary, who saw the world through her own lens, with her maximalist approach to style and her trademark dramatic, chunky round-framed specs. Iris’s adage? “More is more, and less is a bore.”

Claudia Alan- AYA Optical Iris

Iris is available for $185 in glossy black or a mesmerizing tortoise pattern infused with hints of blue, gold, and brown.  Each pair of “Iris” frames is a masterpiece in its own right. But what truly sets “Iris” apart is its homage to indigenous artistry. Adorning the temples of these exquisite frames is a stunning gold heron design, meticulously crafted by contemporary Indigenous artist Corrine Hunt. This intricate motif not only adds a touch of elegance to “Iris” but also serves as a celebration of indigenous culture and heritage.

“We are incredibly proud to introduce ‘Iris’ to the optical trade. Representation has always been a non-negotiable at AYA, in our pursuit of change within the mainstream fashion realm. This latest collaboration is a celebration of cultural heritage and a means of fostering cross-cultural understanding. It is a fusion of art and fashion, and much like Iris herself, a challenge to pre-conceived notions of fashion. With ‘Iris,’ we aim to honor the legacy of Iris Apfel while also paying tribute to the rich traditions of indigenous artistry.” 

Carla D’Angelo, AYA founder

With its durable construction, distinctive, wearable style, and cultural significance, “Iris” is poised to make a lasting impact on the optical industry. Whether worn for fashion or function, these frames are guaranteed to turn heads and spark conversations.

For more information, visit Claudia Alan.

Click HERE for the press release.

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