Blog

March 30, 2018April 24, 2018

Prisme Optical to Distribute RÉDÉLÉ, Laura Biagiotti in North America

Prisme Optical Group will distribute the RÉDÉLÉ collection and Laura Biagiotti eyewear in Canada and the US.

The RÉDÉLÉ collection includes 22 styles in 4 colours (men, women and unisex) designed by a team based in Los Angeles and manufactured in Italy.

Laura Biagiotti is a prestigious Italian fashion house, one of the largest in Italy. The eyewear collection, made by the Jet Set Group in Italy, offers 20 optical frames and 8 sunglasses for women in 4 colours in iconic and elegant styles.

Click HERE for the full Laura Biagiotti press release.

Click HERE for the full RÉDÉLÉ press release.

March 30, 2018April 24, 2018

Alternative Eyewear Announces Exclusive Distribution Agreement

Alternative Eyewear and Thema Optical are teaming up to bring the beautiful and customizable collections, IGREEN and OSIX to the Canadian marketplace.

Paul Storace, President of Alternative Eyewear had this to say about the merger: “We are seeing more and more that people love customized eyewear, it is a unique display of an individual’s personal style to be able to customize every piece of their frames. IGREEN offers this customization in a beautiful, high-quality way with such a wide swath of options that the combinations are truly endless. It offers the ultimate eyewear wardrobe. With OSIX, exceptional acetate is the key, offering brilliant colour and absolutely stunning design. Their focus on eyewear as art is inspiring to us and we found a common ground between these collections and their mission as a company.”

Starting in March of 2018, these collections will be available for independent ECP’s who are looking to offer unique and superior product selection in their dispensaries.

March 29, 2018April 24, 2018

Homère: A Trendy Acetate Frame

In 1880, Jules Morel created his very first eyewear. These frames were the inspiration for the Marius Morel 1880 collection, and the Homère concept.

The highly-structured acetate fronts offer a colour palette with a very retro look:

– Honey and brown tortoise shell.

– Very bright, solid black.

– And also, a double-layer finish with a beautiful contrast between the solid colours on the surface of the front and tortoise shell inside.

Homère is also available in four panto and rectangle shapes. It features very chic details. The tapered acetate temple gives way to a metal guilloche work temple engraved with an “M” for Morel and the final detail that signs the frame is an “M” hidden in the hinge.

Distributed by Lanctôt: www.rlanctot.com

March 29, 2018April 24, 2018

CNIB Celebrates a Century of Change

CNIB commemorated a century of remarkable change and progress for Canadians who are blind or partially sighted and ushered in a bright new future at its 100th anniversary national celebration on March 21.

More than 400 guests, including clients, volunteers, donors, staff and community partners, joined the charity for an inspirational reception at the Canadian War Museum, a fitting venue for an organization founded in 1918 in the wake of the First World War.

“When our seven founders came together a century ago, they envisioned a future of ability, opportunity and equality for every blind and partially sighted citizen,” said John M. Rafferty, President and CEO of CNIB. “That vision has been at the centre of CNIB’s work ever since, propelling us to drive powerful change for the millions of Canadians we have served. That impact is their legacy, and we’re proud to celebrate it.”

The evening’s celebrations were hosted by Craig Oliver, with a key focus on acknowledging trailblazers who shaped the CNIB of today, and forged new paths of opportunity for people with sight loss in Canada. These individuals and organizations were presented with the Century of Change Award, a special award created to honour extraordinary contributions to CNIB and Canada’s sight loss community.

Speakers included including the Honorable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, CNIB National Board Chair Ronald J. Kruzeniski and Minister of Public Services and Procurement Carla Qualtrough.

The event also featured special exhibits on CNIB’s past, present and future. Highlights included a meet-and-greet with CNIB guide dogs in training Barney and Danson, a look back at blind literacy through the years, and assistive technologies from early tools to leading-edge digital devices and apps. Also on display were a newly released coin set created by the Royal Canadian Mint and designed by partially sighted artist Meghan Sims and a commemorative envelope created by Canada Post, both paying tribute to CNIB’s 100th anniversary.

While the evening emphasized CNIB’s storied history, the century-old organization also set out its bold ambitions for the future, renewing its original mission with a new vigour and purpose.

Source : CNIB

March 28, 2018April 24, 2018

Treating Microbial Keratitis with Germicidal Contact Lenses

Microbial keratitis is an infection of the cornea that can result serious consequences, including increasing the opacity of the cornea, and eventually blindness. Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research found that this infection could be treated using germicidal contact lenses.

Early symptoms of microbial keratitis include the eye turning red and watery, and blurred vision. Microbial keratitis caused by acanthomoeba is particularly difficult to treat because acanthomoeba is resistant to available drugs.

“Acanthamoeba are essentially everywhere. And contact lenses that are not completely clean are an excellent breeding ground for these parasites. The amoebae literally eat into the cornea,” explains Dr. Joachim Storsberg, scientist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Polymer Research IAP.

The researchers manufactured plasma-activated silicone hydrogel contact lenses, which they say have a gentle germicidal effect, able to oxidize and destroy the membranes of the amoebas.

“Plasma is known as a germicide. It has already been successfully used for several years in the treatment of skin diseases. So it made sense to develop contact lenses with germicidal properties and see whether they attack the amoebae and prevent them from multiplying,” says Storsberg. Successful tests of the contact lenses were carried out using donor corneas that were infected by a solution of acanthomoeba.

The group’s goal is to begin clinical trials in the summer of 2018.