Welcome to Götti

We are thrilled at North to be the exclusive stockist of the stylish brand Götti in Chichester.

The  collections cultivate simplicity in its most beautiful form,  providing expression of a person’s individual character. We’re very excited to introduce this beautiful brand to you.

Götti combines traditional craftsmanship and industrial innovation at the highest level; precise carefully chosen details result in the ideal fit. With their harmonious proportions and an insistence on state-of-the-art technology, the frames stand equally for timeless design and functionality.

Handmade in Switzerland

The company was founded by designer Sven Götti in 1993. From the beginning, Götti has worked with renowned manufacturers of eyeglasses. The development of their own eyeglass production in Wädenswil, Switzerland, began in 2016. First and foremost, the objective was to make their own ideas a reality.

Sven Götti says of his brand, ‘When I look at everything that has changed here, and how much we have learned so far, I sometimes feel amazed. It gives me a sense of confidence in our ability to reinvent ourselves over and over again and thus meet the needs of our customers around the world. Innovation is always positive and something other projects benefit from as well.’

Handmade in Switzerland

Every acetate frame is hand-polished–with the polisher’s personal quality seal. Their names are Barbara, Ludmilla, Renate, and Waltraud, and their hands bear the traces of many years of experience. With trained movements, talent, and precision, they create the unmistakable Götti shine on their acetate frames. Moving with precise hands, the nuances of each pair of Götti glasses are lovingly brought to life.

Gotti Melia

Götti Melia

The Melia is a beautifully feminine soft cat eye, available at North in the purple shown above.

 

Gotti Waby

Götti Waby

Waby is a fantastically contemporary unisex frame; the soft square is dramatic, but tempered down with its use of natural colours. Currently available at North in the olive green shade.

 

Come into North and explore our range for yourself. We have Covid policies in place for your comfort and safety.  We know you’re going to be as impressed as we are!

Screens, screens, screens!

We have been surrounded by them and staring at them like never before!

During the Pandemic many families have been stuck at home using a screen as their access to the world. The world of work, education, for video conferences, family quiz nights, even for home-schooling; screens have been a lifeline of communication, and helpful for our general well-being.

However, they can be a strain on your eyesight, so good habits and an awareness of how you consume your information will protect your eyes for the future. Many people will experience vision discomfort and eye problems when viewing digital screens for long periods of time. Here are the top tips from the team at North to protect your eyesight.

1.Follow the 20, 20, 20 rule! For every 20 minutes you look at a screen, look away for 20 seconds and at something 20 feet away.

2. Minimise glare. Light can reflect off walls and from other surfaces as well as reflections from your screen. To minimise the glare it’s worth considering fitting an anti-glare screen for your monitor.

3. Adjust the display settings of your screen. Reduce the brightness. Make the text bigger.

4. Blink more often! When you stare at a screen you tend to blink less and this can make your eyes tired and scratchy.

5. Book an eye test! North can make sure that your current prescription is doing the best job for you.

6. Take a break of at least 10 minutes every hour. Walk around, stretch your arms and shoulders to reduce tension.

7. If you are a contact lens wearer, give your eyes a rest by wearing your glasses.

If you have any concerns about using screens and your visions please, telephone us. We are always happy to share our advice to keep your vision safe.

Easing out of Lockdown

As the country nervously starts to ease out of Lockdown, we are opening our doors once again to the world.

 

North Opticians shop frontage

North Opticians and Eyewear

We know that in years to come people will ask the question, “what did you do in the Pandemic?” and we’ll say, “we served.”.

Throughout this Pandemic, North Opticians has provided it’s friendly essential and emergency eyecare service. Of course, we had to dramatically change our working environment to keep the Team and you safe, but we couldn’t let our clients down at this time.

Our Optician Iain continued to commute into the practice. The rest of the team worked from home to keep safe and help protect the NHS at this time. Any clients that had essential or emergency needs were invited to come into our safe environment. We take the well-being of our clients very seriously, and while the world slowed down and stayed home, we undertook measures to ensure that our practice continued to offer a safe service.

We know some of you will be nervous about the brave new world we are slowly starting to embrace, and we want to reassure you that we haven’t just been sitting around! We’ve been learning and training. We’ve been sourcing PPE, and we’ve had a spot of refurbishment to update the shop and stay safe.

North's till area featuring new wallpaper, distance markers and a protective screen

Here you can see North’s till area featuring new wallpaper, distance markers and a protective screen around the till

North's dispensing room

North’s dispensing room has also been given a makeover

While most of our clients were staying home, here are some of the measures we were busy putting in place:

  • We have all undertaken extra training to ensure your visit and service is compliant with Covid 19 awareness, infection prevention and control.
  • We can reassure you that North will be a safe and uncrowded environment, with clear social distancing signage.
  • We have implemented increased hygiene measures.
  • Every frame will be disinfected after it has been tried on.
  • Masks are a requirement in store and can be provided.
  • We have installed protective screens throughout the shop and our staff will be wearing PPE.
Iain Thompson wearing a face mask and apron

We will be wearing PPE, as shown by Iain

We hope that you have been safe and well throughout this period. And we are very much looking forward to serving your eyecare needs going forward. Please don’t hesitate to call us if you have any concerns or questions.

North is ready for our new normal. We’ve been here all along.

Coronavirus Information

What’s happening in our practice…

COVID-19: College of Optometry update, 19th March 2020.

Telephone-based consultancy for replacement glasses and contact lenses

“We are encouraged by the GOC’s response to our concerns regarding patients’ need for eye care during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, we want to ensure patients can still access replacement contact lenses and spectacles safely. This guidance gives members confidence that they will be able to work within the GOC’s standards of practice and act in the best interest of the patient.

The ability to supply optical appliances by telephone review when an eye examination or contact lens aftercare is due is both a sensible and proportionate approach to achieve this. We have developed contact lens and spectacle telephone review forms to help support professionals to deliver the best possible care during this time, when some patients may not be able to attend the practice due to self-isolation.”

Due to the government-mandated suspension of business, we are currently closed to the public except for emergency appointments; for example if you’re suffering from double vision, painful eyes, loss of vision or light flashes, please call us on 01243 940180 and we can arrange for you to come in.

We are also able to offer telephone reviews, as mentioned above; again, if you require this, please call us on 01243 940180.

If you require an emergency replacement of glasses, we have a small selection of frames and basic lenses which we can use in order to tide you over. Please call us for more information and to make arrangements.

  We are working with our glazing labs to get orders to our patients as soon as possible, but there will be unfortunate delays as a result of the government mandate.

Due to the customised nature of these orders, we are unable to offer refunds but as stated above we will monitor each order closely and advise you of its progress and collection options.

All contact lens orders will now be delivered to our patients homes. If you require contact lenses, we can take payment over the phone. Our contact lens provider is remaining open, but if there is a change to this, we will let our customers know as soon as possible.

If you are unable to collect your glasses, please let us know and we will keep them safe until it is possible to collect them. Alternatively, at this time we are also offering delivery to homes, so if you would like this, please call us and we can make arrangements.

Everyone here at North wishes you the best of health at this time.

Kindest regards

 Helen

 

Fun Vision Facts!

We searched the internet to bring you some fun vision facts. Which is your favourite?

 

Humans can see more shades of grey than another colour.

Gorgeous greyscale lion

Gorgeous greyscale lion.

 

Dolphins can sleep with one eye open.

What a smiley chap!

What a smiley chap!

 

The most active muscles in the body are in the eyes.

Look at those blues!

Look at those blues!

 

Some people are born with two different colour eyes.

Siblings with heterochromia - two different coloured eyes.

Siblings with heterochromia – two different coloured eyes.

 

Brown is the most common eye colour  in the world.

People with brown eyes are said to appear more trustworthy too!

People with brown eyes are said to appear more trustworthy too!

 

An eye condition may have been responsible for Leonardo Da Vinci’s artistic genius!

A very stern looking Da Vinci.

A very stern looking Da Vinci.

 

Do you have any fun eye facts? We’d love to hear from you!

 

 

 

SCHOOL’S OUT! How to protect children’s eyes from the sun during the holidays

School’s out for summer! The beach beckons and long sunny days in the great outdoors are ahead. It all sounds idyllic.  But the holidays can only go with a swing when we know the children are having fun safely.

Children need protecting from so many things; life, monsters, busy roads and the sun!  We know that sunshine is essential for growth and our general wellbeing, and we know that our children’s skin needs protecting from it’s harmful rays – we know what appropriate action to take to ensure protection.  However, often overlooked are young eyes.  The sun’s rays can be very harmful to our eyes, so we recommend some simple steps to  keep them in tip top condition while the kids are having fun in the sun!

Nano Sol sunglasses, available at North Opticians

Nano Sol sunglasses, available at North Opticians

  1. Sunglasses should be worn in bright conditions. Parents are always quick to put on their own sunglasses but very often you see a family where the adults are wearing them but children aren’t!
  2. Choose a good quality pair. In order to block out harmful UV rays you should look for the CE quality mark when choosing.
  3. Sunglasses can have a prescription lens or just glass.
  4. Always discourage your children from looking directly at the sun.
  5. Take care when playing in the sand; remember the light can be intensified on the beach so make sure you take plenty of shade breaks.

So there you have it! Our top 5 tips to keep kids eyes safe in the sun. For more information you can look at the NHS article here.

Any frame at North Opticians can be made into sunglasses, with or without a prescription, so why not pop in today and have a look?

Myth Busters!

We all know an urban myth or two! They are great entertainment value and here at North Opticians we enjoy a joke as much as the next optometrists; but children’ eye health is no joking matter. Here, we dispel some of the more common myths we hear at our clinic so that you can be reassured that a free NHS eye test with us is the key to looking after your child’s eye health.

Toddler looking through a magnifying glass

Children always get their eyes tested at school.

Some do at about 5 years old, but is is a vision screening not a comprehensive eye test. The provision of vision screening is patchy at best. A comprehensive eye test is a thorough ocular health examination.

There’s no point until children can read the alphabet.

An experienced optometrist will employ a variety of methods to ascertain how well your child can see. Problems picked up early can be treated very successfully and we’d encourage all parents and guardians to book a child’s first appointment at around three years old.

Children are too young for contact lenses.   

Well, it really depends on the individual child. A sporty child might find them much more practical. Many children are responsible enough once taught how to handle and look after them.

Mum and Dad don’t need glasses so their children won’t either.

Not true! A mix of genetics and environmental factors contribute to eye health. City living, time spent indoors and family history all play a part in the make up of children’s eye health.           .

Wearing glasses will make my child’s eyesight lazy or give them a lazy eye.

Glasses will not make your children’s eyes dependent. When an expert optician prescribes glasses for your child, it can relax eye muscles and relieve strain. It’s always important to encourage children to wear their glasses as prescribed to maintain optimum eye health.

 

So there we have it! Now that we’ve busted some myths for you, you can book your children in with us by following this link.

 

Information found at Optometry Today.

 

 

Children’s eye tests in Chichester! Are we the best?

Here at North we’re proud to offer free NHS children’s eye tests. It’s a big statement to make, but here’s why we think we offer the best children’s eye tests in Chichester!

  1. We LOVE kids. Helen and Iain have their boys, Gayna and Bina have young children, and Ellie and Angie adore nieces and nephews. It brightens up our day when children come in the shop!
  2. Experience. Between us all here at North, we have over 50 years of experience in working at an opticians, including Iain who has been a fantastic optician for 12+ years. In that time he has been awarded Most Trusted Optician in the UK, and was Contact Lens Retailer of the Year.
  3. Family run = family friendly. Since opening, it has been a point of pride here at North to be described by our patients as warm and welcoming. We want to make you feel at home, and as mentioned before, having young children gives our team first-hand experience of what works and doesn’t work when caring for children’s needs in a retail/medical environment.

Added to those points, we have a gorgeous collection of kid’s frames. Look!

New at North, we have Nano. These frames have been described as ‘kidproof’ and are incredibly hardy. They have patented S-shaped hinges which means no more snapping arms, a soft padded bridge, and you can have the arms 3 different ways – regular arms, a band that attaches to the arms and keeps the glasses firmly on your child’s head, or you can take the arms off altogether and have a band instead! Perfect for sports, playtime, or even a fidgeter.

Blue Nano kid's glasses with descriptive text

Nike frames have proven very popular here, especially for older boys. They look grown up, are sporty and have that all-important brand name.

Kid's Nike frame in grey and blue

Bulget frames bridge the gap between very young and almost teenage children. They come in lots of fun colours and a variety of frame shapes!

Pink Bulget kid's frame

So look no further for children’s eye tests in Chichester – you’ve found the perfect place.

What is an OCT scan?

Here at North Opticians we offer an advanced eye test, which includes an OCT scan. But what is it?

OCT imaging is offered to give your eyes a thorough examination using a 3D scan of your retina. OCT is painless and very quick!

Far superior to traditional retinal photography, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is an extremely advanced health check for people of all ages. It is quite different to digital eye photographs offered by your doctor or other opticians, since they only image the surface of the back of the eye. OCT scans all the different layers of the retina revealing parts that cannot be seen by any other instruments at the opticians.

How does an OCT scan work?

It’s similar to an x-ray, though the OCT scan uses light waves rather than sound waves to map the surface of your eye. It’s completely safe as there are no harmful x-rays involved! It’s basically a powerful 3D photo of your eye.

What does it show?

An OCT scan can help diagnose the following:

  • Age-related macula degeneration
  • Glaucoma
  • Macula oedema
  • Macula pucker
  • Central Serous retinopathy
  • Diabetic retinopathy
  • Epiretinal membranes
  • Macula hole

As well as this it can be used to search for nerve disorders such as the beginning of glaucoma, though as it uses light waves the OCT scan is not effective in diagnosing cataracts.

We pride ourselves here at North on offering fantastic in-depth services at competitive prices, so if you’re looking for peace of mind and a thorough exam, look no further!

Why not book an advanced eye test with us today? Simply follow the link at the beginning of this post or use the navigation bar and find advanced OCT scanning under eye care services.