#(just in time for National Eyewear Day perhaps)

[noxcaelestia]

New bat boy incoming!🦇

Erembourc van Wijngaerden, a silver-haired bat who lives near a vineyard for the wineries…and the leafhoppers…

Loves flowery outfits with lots of ruffles and lace. He, um, wears a monocle sometimes, too just because but it’s spectacles mostly…

He has similar anatomy to the harpies I’ve created recently, just a bat version.:)

[newstfionline]

A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses

By Andrew Jacobs, NY Times, May 5, 2018

PANIPAT, India--Shivam Kumar’s failing eyesight was manageable at first. To better see the chalkboard, the 12-year-old moved to the front of the classroom, but in time, the indignities piled up.

Increasingly blurry vision forced him to give up flying kites and then cricket, after he was repeatedly whacked by balls he could no longer see. The constant squinting gave him headaches, and he came to dread walking home from school.

“Sometimes I don’t see a motorbike until it’s almost in my face,” he said.

As his grades flagged, so did his dreams of becoming a pilot. “You can’t fly a plane if you’re blind,” he noted glumly.

The fix for Shivam’s declining vision, it turns out, was remarkably simple.

He needed glasses.

More than a billion people around the world need eyeglasses but don’t have them, researchers say, an affliction long overlooked on lists of public health priorities. Some estimates put that figure closer to 2.5 billion people. They include thousands of nearsighted Nigerian truck drivers who strain to see pedestrians darting across the road and middle-aged coffee farmers in Bolivia whose inability to see objects up close makes it hard to spot ripe beans for harvest.

Then there are the tens of millions of children like Shivam across the world whose families cannot afford an eye exam or the prescription eyeglasses that would help them excel in school.

“Many of these kids are classified as poor learners or just dumb and therefore don’t progress at school,” said Kovin Naidoo, global director of Our Children’s Vision, an organization that provides free or inexpensive eyeglasses across Africa. “That just adds another hurdle to countries struggling to break the cycle of poverty.”

In an era when millions of people still perish from preventable or treatable illness, many major donors devote their largess to combating killers like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In 2015, only $37 million was spent on delivering eyeglasses to people in the developing world, less than one percent of resources devoted to global health issues, according to EYElliance, a nonprofit group trying to raise money and bring attention to the problem of uncorrected vision.

So far, the group’s own fund-raising has yielded only a few million dollars, according to its organizers. It has enlisted Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former Liberian president, Elaine L. Chao, the transportation secretary for the United States and Paul Polman, the chief executive of Unilever, among others, in an attempt to catapult the issue onto global development wish lists. They contend that an investment in improving sight would pay off. The World Health Organization has estimated the problem costs the global economy more than $200 billion annually in lost productivity.

“Lack of access to eye care prevents billions of people around the world from achieving their potential, and is a major barrier to economic and human progress,” said Madeleine K. Albright, the former secretary of state who is also involved in the group.

Hubert Sagnieres, the chief executive of Essilor, a French eyeglass company and a partner in the fund-raising campaign, said he often confronts ambivalence when pitching the cause to big-name philanthropists.

In an interview, he recalled a recent conversation with Bill Gates, whose foundation has spent tens of billions of dollars battling infectious diseases in the developing world. He said he reminded Mr. Gates of his own childhood nearsightedness, noting that without glasses, he might have faltered in school and perhaps never gone on to start Microsoft. Mr. Gates, he said, politely demurred, saying he had other priorities. A spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation declined to comment.

The initiative’s backers point out that responding to the world’s vision crisis does not require the invention of new drugs or solving nettlesome issues like distributing refrigerated vaccines in countries with poor infrastructure. Factories in Thailand, China and the Philippines can manufacture so-called readers for less than 50 cents a pair; prescription glasses that correct nearsightedness can be produced for $1.50.

But money alone won’t easily solve systemic challenges faced by countries like Uganda, which has just 45 eye doctors for a nation of 41 million. In rural India, glasses are seen as a sign of infirmity, and in many places, a hindrance for young women seeking to get married. Until last year, Liberia did not have a single eye clinic.

“People in rural areas have never even seen a child wearing glasses,” said Ms. Sirleaf, who was president of Liberia from 2006 to this year. “Drivers don’t even know they have a deficiency. They just drive the best they can.”

On a recent afternoon, hundreds of children in powder-blue uniforms giddily jostled one another in the dusty courtyard of a high school in Panipat, two hours north of New Delhi. The students, all from poor families, were having their eyesight checked by VisionSpring, a nonprofit group started by Jordan Kassalow, a New York optometrist who helped set up EYElliance, that works with local governments to distribute subsidized eyeglasses in Asia and Africa.

For most, it was the first time anyone had checked their eyesight. The students were both excited and terrified. Roughly 12 percent were flagged as having weak vision and sent to an adjacent classroom where workers using refractor lenses conducted more tests.

Shivam, the boy who dreamed of being a pilot, walked away with a pair of purple-framed spectacles donated by Warby Parker, the American eyewear company, which also paid for the screenings.

“Everything is so clear,” Shivam exclaimed as he looked with wonder around the classroom.

Anshu Taneja, VisonSpring’s India director, said that providing that first pair of glasses is pivotal; people who have experienced the benefits of corrected vision will often buy a second pair if their prescription changes or they lose the glasses they have come to depend on.

Ratan Singh, 45, a sharecropper who recently got his first pair of reading glasses, said he could not imagine living without them now. Standing in a field of ripening wheat, he said his inability to see tiny pests on the stalks of his crop had led to decreasing yields. He sheepishly recalled the time he sprayed the wrong insecticide because he couldn’t read the label. “I was always asking other people to help me read but I was becoming a burden,” he said.

Last month, after he accidentally broke his glasses, Mr. Singh, who supports his wife and six daughters, did not hesitate to fork out the 60 rupees, roughly 90 cents, for a new pair.

Most adults over 50 need reading glasses--more than a billion people in the developing world, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness--though the vast majority simply accept their creeping disability.

That’s what happened to D. Periyanayakam, 56, a power company employee whose job requires him to read electrical meters. His failing eyesight also made it hard to drive or respond to text messages from customers and co-workers.

“I figured it was a only matter of time before they suspended me,” he said during a visit to a mobile eye clinic run by Aravind Eye Hospital, a nonprofit institution that screened his vision and told him he would soon need cataract surgery.

Mr. Periyanayakam returned to work that day with a $2 pair of glasses. He was among 400 people who showed up at a daylong clinic in a high school run by ophthalmologists, lens grinders and vision screeners.

Aravind dispenses 600,000 pairs of glasses each year in India and has expanded its efforts to Nepal, Bangladesh and countries in Africa through local partners.

The hospital trains its own vision screeners, most of them young women; a separate program trains primary schoolteachers to test their students’ sight using eye charts.

Then there is the matter of road safety. Surveys show that a worrisome number of drivers on the road in developing countries have uncorrected vision. Traffic fatality rates are far higher in low-income countries; in Africa, for example, the rate is nearly triple that of Europe, according to the W.H.O.

Experts say a significant number of India’s roughly 200,000 traffic deaths each year are tied to poor vision. In a country with a huge number of drivers, among them nine million truckers, the government agencies that administer licenses are ill-equipped to deal with the problem of declining vision, critics say.

Sightsavers, a British nonprofit that has been treating cataract-related blindness in India since the 1960s, has spent the past two years trying to get glasses to commercial drivers. It operates mobile eye-screening camps at truck stops and tollbooths in 16 cities. A driver who has his eyes examined at a clinic in north India can pick up his glasses 10 days later at a clinic in the far south.

“These men are always on the move and they are pressed for time, so we try to make it as easy as possible for them,” said Ameen, a Sightsaver employee who uses a single name.

[giggledown]

Safety Measures Regarding Laser Hair Removal Process And Taking Care

NECESSARY CARE

Subsequent laser depilatory therapy, it's perhaps not unusual for skin to become somewhat bloated and reddish inside the treated location. Many folks describe it as feeling as a moderate bloating, together with slight swelling and aggravation. Inserting a heating prep such as being a cool compress, cool bunch, or aloe vera, even in the impacted location may facilitate the momentary light burning to feel. A few folks undergo that this burning feeling for just a couple of hours, though some might believe that it for each time or 2. This really is enough full time that it can take to your skin to come back completely into its regular condition.

The subject of treatment method must perhaps not be shaved for five or four times. After this moment, it's fine to start shaving. Tweezing, waxing, plucking, and waxing shouldn't be achieved in any respect throughout, or even in between laser epilation therapies.

After some time, you'll under normal circumstances see the hair which has been treated with laser epilation commences to lose. This is supposed to be anticipated and will be a more standard region of recovery and treatment.

Laser hair removal, though a very simple procedure, does take appropriate maintenance of skin while in the region which has been medicated. Ordinarily, there's not much recovery period needed about laser depilatory processes. Individuals are able to usually come back to usual activities soon after the treatment method. But it's crucial to select the opportunity to stick to the proposed instructions for after-care as a way to force away almost any possibility of a complication and also to decrease any distress which could possibly be seasoned.

If a furnace happens, instantly employ a topical antibiotic lotion or cream and then protect it using a non-adhering dressing table. Instantly notify your laser tech along with an own physician.

After having a laser epilation therapy, it's wise to choose hot, speedy showers. It's better to make use of a cleanser and also give a wide berth to harsh additives that can wash the epidermis. In case some region of your human body aside from the facial skin since was medicated, sexy tubs should really be avoided to get a handful of days.

Provided that skin isn't broken, then it's definitely safe to use makeup into the regions of your skin which have experienced laser depilatory therapies. The cosmetics used ought to be fresh and also implemented using fresh palms and also perhaps a brand new sponge. The label of additionally will help to function as another sun-block.

It's crucial to employ an overall entire sun-block into this area which has been treated using laser hair removal in case it's certainly going to become confronted with the sun. Even a sun-block using the SFP of either thirty or maybe more ought to be implemented. Irritation plus also a burning feeling of those treated locations may be a consequence of the smallest experience of sunlight. The sunlight ought to really be prevented for fourteen days after laser epilation. This may avoid hyper-pigmentation out of transpiring.

Moisturizing ointments also can be in possession of a favorable influence in the treated locations and also assist you to prevent tissue crusting or scabbing. These ointments could be purchased on the countertops or be approved by the physician. It typically isn't required to use anti-inflammatory lotion. The truth is that antibacterial ointments could lead to drying of skin while in the region which has been treated using laser epilation. Healthful skin is necessary for laser moisturizing and treatments every single day will assist you to keep skin like that.

SAFETY ISSUES REGARDING

All laser depilatory apparatus while in the USA are susceptible to some quite strict required performance criteria. Additionally, they must satisfy the national laser product performance quality, including placing their basic safety attributes, equally for the sake of their affected person and tech.

It is advisable to buy brand new laser epilation gear. If the utilized gear has to be bought, it will just be found out of the professional supplier using the confidence it has been extensively vetted and insured. The gear should likewise be ensured.

Your customer should get a detailed and in-depth appointment, pre and post-operative care directions, and also a patch evaluation ahead of the laser epilation remedy commences. In addition, it's essential that your client knows the advantages and dangers of the treatment. Throughout the laser epilation process, your customer should don ANSI approved protective eyewear and also be educated to maintain the eye on during the treatment.

It's essential that the owner of this laser epilation apparatus be nicely qualified and trained. This practice ought to maintain every area involving histology and consumer maintenance. The tech needs to maybe not ever wear some reflective jewelry or clothing. The tech and almost any other man inside the space are needed to have on ANSI permitted shielded our worry to be able to prevent laser blindness.

Laser epilation equipment ought to be around a level working surface and also have lots of venting throughout it. This tool needs to just be calibrated and calibrated in line with your maker's instructions for that specific gadget. It ought to really be regularly washed of almost any carbon buildup that might happen. After the laser gear isn't in use the important thing ought to be taken off.

The laser epilation room needs to possess a doorway that may be secured throughout the treatment method. There ought to be considered a caution light beyond the entranceway to let's recognize that cure is done and also they ought to perhaps not ever enter. There ought to really be protecting eyewear, out the door for those who might want to go into throughout a therapy. They need to be no windows inside the space, but when you should find dividers that they ought to be thinned outside using protective sheets. It's extremely vital that you this the electric socket has a unique circuit breaker. Additionally, it needs to be trained, and also possess the right amperage and endurance. Space must maybe not need any mirrors or reflective surfaces init.

Security problems with laser baldness relate to both technicians and clients. These security problems are different compared to people between different designs of epilation. You'll find not any worries of drawing blood, contaminating probes, or depriving disease. But there are worries pertaining to compromises and eye security. Several businesses have set down instructions to be sure of the security of the technicians and clients. These associations Incorporate The Occupational Safety and Health Administration,'' The American National Standards Institute, '' The Food and Drug Administration, The Center for Devices and Radiological Health, as well as The Society for Clinical and Medical Epilation.

The space that's employed for laser epilation might be properly used for different treatment options. But it has to be installed in compliance with all the strict principles which are connected by means of laser gear. Preparing the area the correct strategy is typically done from the apparatus distributor or producer.

SIDE EFFECTS

The pitfalls and negative effects related to laser epilation might be lessened by ensuring the remedies are complete with an experienced practitioner. In addition, it's essential to inform your physician of almost any family or hormonal ailments that might impact your cure. Tanning and unprotected contact with sunlight need to really be avoided for many weeks prior treatment method.

Blistering might become described as an exact debilitating, uncomfortable, and also conspicuous negative result of laser therapy. A few people don't really feel at ease being witnessed should they possess allergies. If you're certainly one of these simple folks, it's wise to organize your laser epilation treatments in some moment as it can lessen your vulnerability to additional men and women.

Nausea generally happens in, or even close the location which has been medicated to depilation. External treatment options, like lotions or lotions, usually facilitate the inflammation. The negative effect might or might well not be especially bothersome, but depending upon the spot which has been handled with laser epilation.

Laser baldness is recognized as hospital treatment, also only the same as other healthcare solutions, it also includes the chance of potential side results. The opportunity for growing at least one of the existent unwanted outcomes partially count upon skin faculties. The medial side effects of laser epilation might be permanent or temporary.

The prospect of creating a short-term side effect is quite a bit higher than just developing a long-lasting 1 soon after laser depilation. A short-term complication may persist anywhere from a day to a number of weeks until it moves off absolutely. The momentary unwanted effects which may be seasoned laser hair removals include things like soreness, tenderness, tenderness, swelling, redness, and hyperpigmentation.

When epidermis discoloration doesn't even come about, it's usually lasting lightning of their skin while in the region which has been medicated. The wavelengths of the laser column are designed to assault on the darkened pigmentation from the hair follicle. Some times dark-colored skin may likewise be impacted. The negative effect could be mentally harmful, but although it isn't debilitating.

If inflammation develops because of a negative consequence of laser epilation, it might be handled using a topical lotion or lotion. The negative effect normally looks like a moderate bloating.

Many folks clarify the distress that they believe throughout and following their laser epilation treatment for an atmosphere of soreness. This atmosphere is present, either throughout the process, also after it's completed. Throughout the procedure process, the impression of distress could be diminished by using a neighborhood anesthetic. For those weeks subsequent to the procedure, the discomfort might be relieved with using prescribed or over-the-counter pain drugs.

Scarring chiefly does occur by undergoing inadvertent during treatment method or simply by being medicated by someone with minimum practice. It's crucial to be certain the laser depilatory treatments have been achieved with a way of a capable, seasoned professional tech.

As well as these unwanted effects, there's, in addition, the chance of long-term longterm skincare damage. In the event you have made your choice to own laser epilation, you have to be ready to simply accept those pitfalls. Permanent unwanted effects include skin discoloration, scarring, also burns off.

Burns off certainly are an exact infrequent phenomenon, plus so they are usually brought on through an inexperienced, yet less capable tech.

A short-term darkening of your skin from this treated spot is popularly known as hyper-pigmentation. Broadly speaking, this momentary complication of laser epilation will evaporate by itself. Many times, the location influenced by hyper-pigmentation may be coated with cosmetics.

[wp-yahoo-style-1042-yahoopa-blog]

Melania Trump’s Gucci Sunglasses Spark Questions on Social Media

Melania Trump wears a black, military-inspired coat and Gucci sunglasses as she arrives at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Jan. 19. (Photo: AP)

For Thursday’s events ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing in as the 45th president of the United States, his wife, Melania, wore a knee-grazing black coat. Designed by Norisol Ferrari, the piece was fittingly military-inspired for a day of inauguration activities, including a stop at Arlington National Cemetery.

Another aspect of note in her ensemble? The fact that the future first lady accessorized with large, dramatic Gucci sunglasses.

Twitter users were quick to comment on the look.

Why is #Melania Trump wearing sunglasses at the wreath laying ceremony at Tomb of the Unknowns? Is that even appropriate?

— David J Wyatt (@monsieur66djw) January 19, 2017

Is Melania Trump part of secret service? Shouldn't she have taken off her sunglasses?!?!? No one told her?

— Sherry (@ms_sherryb) January 19, 2017

Sunglasses not a good look for Melania, especially not on overcast January afternoon at national cemetery

— Jennie Matthew (@jenniematthew) January 19, 2017

Most did not hold back their judgments. Some even interpreted the sizable sunnies as an elitist gesture, especially as the former model kept her shades on even after disembarking from the plane at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland and going on to participate in official duties, such as visiting the Tomb of the Unknowns.

Future First Lady @MELANIATRUMP and Future Second Lady Karen Pence attend ceremony at Arlington. pic.twitter.com/xaRImUt2s5

— Fox News (@FoxNews) January 19, 2017

@FoxNews @MELANIATRUMP cloudy day? Sunglasses? Hope you didn't run into any doors.

— Alban (@americafaithful) January 19, 2017

@MELANIATRUMP take off the damn sunglasses ! RUDE!! Hiding behind them

— ItsMe (@Leney_3) January 19, 2017

@MELANIATRUMP Can't bother to take off her sunglasses when visiting the #TombOfTheUnknowns.

— Ian Cluroe (@icluroe) January 19, 2017

.@MELANIATRUMP take off your sunglasses! Show some respect!

— Pistol Pete (@PistollPete11) January 19, 2017

And others … well, others just thought otherwise.

Noticed @MelaniaTrump was wearing sunglasses on her trip to Washington. Probable doesn't want anyone to know she's with Donald.

— Eleanor Lauck (@ellauck) January 19, 2017

Some were quick to applaud the almost-FLOTUS for her styling, which many speculated could have been a nod to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who favored exaggerated eyewear.

Melania wearing the big dark glasses is reminiscent Of Jackie. I wonder if that is intentional or just circumstantial? #TrumpInauguration

— Jerry Anderson (@MoneyTraderBlog) January 19, 2017

#MELANIATRUMP has her JackieO sunglasses ???? on and she looks marvelous! #TrumpInauguration

— Ole Miss® (@Allin4OleMiss) January 19, 2017

WOW!!! @MELANIATRUMP channeling Jackie Kennedy with those iconic black sunglasses! ????????????????

— mktgchic (@mktgchic) January 19, 2017

While it’s true that Jacqueline Kennedy’s sunglasses became the stuff of fashion legend, they did not become a part of her signature look until long after her time in the White House. She was regularly seen wearing the iconic, large-frame “Jackie O” sunglasses during the 1970s after her marriage to Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.

Etiquette expert Diane Gottsman notes on her website that when it comes to wearing sunglasses, always remove them when conducting any kind of business. Wearing sunglasses in a professional or official setting can create distance between the wearers and those around them and puts up a physical barrier, preventing eye contact, which is key for a feeling of connection.

Furthermore, Gottsman writes, “When in doubt, take them off. The bottom line … unless you are driving, working in the yard, lounging on the beach or doing something in the sun, professionally you’re creating a barrier between yourself and those around you. In conversation, people won’t be as easily able to listen to what you’re saying. Instead, they will wonder what your eyes are doing, what you’re really thinking about, what you are hiding — or perhaps what rock band you’re in.”

Melania’s actually a big fan of the Gucci sunglasses she was spotted in; she’s been seen in the $370 pair on multiple occasions.

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration, delivered fresh to your feed, every day.

[kadobeclothing]

17 Truly Inspiring Company Vision and Mission Statement Examples

Think about those brands you purchase from over and over, even when there are cheaper options out there. Why do you choose the ones you choose? Do you usually fly on a particular airline? Do you buy your coffee from the same place every morning? Do you recommend a specific restaurant whenever out-of-towners ask for suggestions? Well, there’s a good reason for it.

The reason we stay loyal to brands is because of their values. The best brands strive to combine physical, emotional, and logical elements into one exceptional customer (and employee) experience that you value as much as they do. Nowhere are those values more visible than in the company’s mission statement. When you successfully create a connection with your customers and employees, many of them might stay loyal to you for life. This helps you increase your overall profitability while building a solid foundation of brand promoters. But achieving that connection is no easy task. The companies that succeed are ones that stay true to their core values over the years and create a company that employees and customers are proud to associate with. That’s where company vision and mission statements come in.

Mission Statement vs. Vision Statement

A mission statement is intended to clarify the what, who, and why of a company. On the other hand, a vision statement describes where the company wants a community, or the world, to be as a result of the company’s services. A mission statement is the roadmap for the company’s vision statement.

What is a Vision Statement? A vision statement describes where the company aspires to be upon achieving its mission. This statement reveals the “where” of a business. Below are some vision statements from well-known companies to give you a sense of how a vision represents a brand. Vision Statement Examples Alzheimer’s Association: A world without Alzheimer’s disease. Teach for America: One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education. Creative Commons: Realizing the full potential of the internet — universal access to research and education, full participation in culture — to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity. Microsoft (at its founding): A computer on every desk and in every home. Australia Department of Health: Better health and wellbeing for all Australians, now and for future generations. LinkedIn: Create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.  Disney: To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world’s premier entertainment company. Facebook: Connect with friends and the world around you on Facebook. What is a Mission Statement? If the above examples are vision statements, what’s a mission statement? A mission statement is, in some ways, an action-oriented vision statement, declaring the purpose an organization serves to its audience. It often includes a general description of the organization, its function, and its objectives. As a company grows, its objectives and goals may be reached, and in turn they’ll change. Therefore, mission and vision statements should be revised as needed to reflect the business’s new culture as previous goals are met. Both mission and vision statements are often combined into one comprehensive “mission statement” to define the organization’s reason for existing and its outlook for internal and external audiences — like employees, partners, board members, consumers, and shareholders. With that in mind, what does a good mission statement look like? Check out some of the following company mission statements for yourself — and get inspired to write one for your brand.

Mission Statement Examples Life is Good: To spread the power of optimism. sweetgreen: To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food. Patagonia: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis. American Express: We work hard every day to make American Express the world’s most respected service brand. Warby Parker: To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses. InvisionApp: Question Assumptions. Think Deeply. Iterate as a Lifestyle. Details, Details. Design is Everywhere. Integrity. Honest Tea: To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages. IKEA: To create a better everyday life for the many people. Nordstrom: To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible. Cradles to Crayons: Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play. Universal Health Services, Inc.: To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns. JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground. Workday: To put people at the center of enterprise software. Prezi: To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act. Tesla: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. Invisible Children: To end violence and exploitation facing our world’s most isolated and vulnerable communities. TED: Spread ideas.

Best Vision and Mission Statement Examples From Real Companies 1. Life Is Good: To spread the power of optimism.

The Life is Good brand is about more than spreading optimism — although, with uplifting T-shirt slogans like “Seas The Day” and “Forecast: Mostly Sunny,” it’s hard not to crack a smile. There are a ton of T-shirt companies in the world, but Life is Good’s mission sets itself apart with a mission statement goes beyond fun clothing: to spread the power of optimism. This mission is perhaps a little unexpected if you’re not familiar with the company’s public charity: How will a T-shirt company help spread optimism? Life is Good answers that question below the fold, where what the mission means is explained in more detail, with links to programs implemented to support it: its #GrowTheGood initiative and the Life is Good Kids Foundation page. We really like how lofty yet specific this mission statement is — it’s a hard-to-balance combination. 2. sweetgreen: To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.

Notice that sweetgreen’s mission is positioned to align with your values — not just written as something the brand believes. We love the inclusive language used in its statement, letting us know that the company is all about connecting its growing network of farmers growing healthy, local ingredients with us — the customer — because we’re the ones who want more locally grown, healthy food options. The mission to connect people is what makes this statement so strong. And that promise has gone beyond sweetgreen’s website and walls of its food shops: The team has made strides in the communities where it’s opened stores as well. Primarily, it provides education to young kids on healthy eating, fitness, sustainability, and where food comes from. The sweetlife music festival attracts 20,000 like-minded people every year who come together to listen to music, eat healthy food, and give back to a cause — the sweetgreen in schools charity partner, FoodCorps. 3. Patagonia: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

Patagonia’s mission statement combines both the values that bring them market success (building safe, high-quality products) and the values that contribute to a better world (philanthropic efforts to help the environment). For the people behind the brand, “a love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them.” In the name of this cause, the company donates time, services, and at least 1% of its sales to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups around the world. If your company has a similar focus on growing your business and giving back, think about talking about both the benefit you bring to customers and the value you want to bring to a greater cause in your mission statement. 4. American Express: We work hard every day to make American Express the world’s most respected service brand.

Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first. — Simon Sinek (@simonsinek) April 16, 2014

The tweet above is from Simon Sinek, and it’s one that we repeat here at HubSpot all the time. American Express sets itself apart from other credit card companies in its list of values, with an ode to great customer service, which is something it’s famous for.

We especially love the emphasis on teamwork and supporting employees, so that the people inside of the organization can be in the best position to support their customers. 5. Warby Parker: To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.

Speaking of quirky, this “objective” statement from Warby Parker uses words that reflect a young and daring personality: “rebellious,” “revolutionary,” “socially-conscious.” In one sentence, the brand takes us back to the root of why it was founded while also revealing its vision for a better future. The longer-form version of the mission reads: “We believe that buying glasses should be easy and fun. It should leave you happy and good-looking, with money in your pocket,” which further shows how Warby Parker doesn’t hold back on letting its unique personality shine through. Here, the missions statement’s success all comes down to spot-on word choice. 6. InvisionApp: Question Assumptions. Think Deeply. Iterate as a Lifestyle. Details, Details. Design is Everywhere. Integrity.

These days, it can seem like every B2B company page looks the same — but InvisionApp has one of the cooler company pages I’ve seen. Scroll down to “Our Core Values,” and hover your mouse over any of the icons, and you’ll find a short-but-sweet piece of the overall company mission under each icon. We love the way the statements are laid out under each icon. Each description is brief, authentic, and business babble-free — which makes the folks at InvisionApp seem like trustworthy, B.S.-free types. 7. Honest Tea: To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.

Honest Tea’s mission statement begins with a simple punch line connoting its tea is real, pure, and therefore not full of artificial chemicals. The brand is speaking to an audience that’s tired of finding ingredients in its tea that can’t be pronounced, and have been searching for a tea that’s exactly what it says it is. Not only does Honest Tea have a punny name, but it also centers its mission around the clever company name. For some time, the company even published a Mission Report each year in an effort to be “transparent about our business practices and live up to our mission to seek to create and promote great-tasting, healthier, organic beverages.” 8. IKEA: To create a better everyday life for the many people.

The folks at IKEA dream big. The vision-based mission statement could have been one of beautiful, affordable furniture, but instead, it’s to make everyday life better for its customers. It’s a partnership: IKEA finds deals all over the world and buys in bulk, then we choose the furniture and pick it up at a self-service warehouse. “Our business idea supports this vision … so [that] as many people as possible will be able to afford them,” the brand states. Using words like “as many people as possible” makes a huge company like IKEA much more accessible and appealing to customers. 9. Nordstrom: “To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.

When it comes to customer commitment, not many companies are as hyper-focused as Nordstrom is. Although clothing selection, quality, and value all have a place in the company’s mission statement, it’s crystal clear that it’s all about the customer: “Nordstrom works relentlessly to give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.” If you’ve ever shopped at a Nordstrom, you’ll know the brand will uphold the high standard for customer service mentioned in its mission statement, as associates are always roaming the sales floors, asking customers whether they’ve been helped, and doing everything they can to make the shopping experience a memorable one. 10. Cradles to Crayons: Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play.

Cradles to Crayons divided its mission and model into three sections that read like a game plan: The Need, The Mission, and The Model. The “rule of three” is a powerful rhetorical device called a tricolon that’s usually used in speechwriting to help make an idea more memorable. A tricolon is a series of three parallel elements of roughly the same length — think “I came; I saw; I conquered.” 11. Universal Health Services, Inc.: To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns.

A company thrives when it pleases its customers, its employees, its partners, and its investors — and Universal Health Services endeavors to do just that, according to its mission statement. As a health care service, it specifically strives to please its patients, physicians, purchasers, employees, and investors. We love the emphasis on each facet of the organization, by capitalizing the font and making it red for easy skimming. 12. JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.

JetBlue’s committed to its founding mission through lovable marketing, charitable partnerships, and influential programs — and we love the approachable language used to describe these endeavors. For example, the brand writes how it “set out in 2000 to bring humanity back to the skies.” For those of us who want to learn more about any of its specific efforts, JetBlue’s provided details on the Soar With Reading program, its partnership with KaBOOM!, the JetBlue Foundation, environmental and social reporting, and so on. It breaks down all these initiatives really well with big headers, bullet points, pictures, and links to other webpages visitors can click to learn more. Finally, it ends with a call-to-action encouraging website visitors volunteer or donate their TrueBlue points. 13. Workday: To put people at the center of enterprise software.

Workday, a human resources (HR) task automation service, doesn’t use its mission statement to highlight the features of its product or how it intends to help HR professionals improve in such-and-such a way. Instead, the business takes a stance on the state of enterprise software in general: There’s a lot of great tech out there. But at Workday, it revolves around the people. We love how confident yet kind this mission statement is. It observes the state of its industry — which Workday believes lacks a human touch — and builds company values around it. 14. Prezi: To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act.

If you know Prezi, you know how engaging it can make your next business presentation look. According to its mission statement, the company’s clever slide animations and 3-dimensional experience aren’t just superficial product features. With every decision Prezi makes, it’s all about the story you tell and the audience that story affects. 15. Tesla: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.

A car company’s punny use of the word “accelerate” is just one reason this mission statement sticks out. The main reason Tesla makes this list is because of how its mission statement describes the industry. It may be a car company, but Tesla’s main interest isn’t just automobile sales — it’s promoting sustainable energy. And sustainable energy still has a “long road” ahead of it (pun intended) — hence the world’s “transition” into this market. Ultimately, a mission statement that can admit to the industry’s immaturity is exactly what gets customers to root for it. And Tesla does that nicely. 16. Invisible Children: To end violence and exploitation facing our world’s most isolated and vulnerable communities.

Tenacity is hard to come by in the non-profit sector, and that’s what makes this mission statement so distinguished. Invisible Children is a non-profit that raises awareness around the violence affecting communities across Central Africa, and the company takes quite a confident tone in its mission. The most valuable quality of this mission statement is that it has an end goal. Many companies’ visions and missions are intentionally left open-ended so that the business might always be needed by the community. Invisible Children, on the other hand, wants to “end” the violence facing African families. It’s an admirable mission that all businesses — not just non-profits — can learn from when trying to motivate their customers. 17. TED: Spread ideas.

We’ve all seen TED Talks online before. Well, the company happens to have one of the most succinct mission statements out there. TED, which stands for “Technology Education and Design,” has a two-word mission statement that shines through in every Talk you’ve seen the company publish on the internet. That mission statement: “Spread ideas.” Sometimes, the best way to get an audience to remember you is to zoom out as far as your business’s vision can go. What do you really care about? TED has recorded some of the most famous presentations in the world, but in the grand scheme of things, all it wants is to spread ideas around to its viewers. Here are 22 companies with really catchy slogans and brand taglines. Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2014 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Design Milk Travels to… Zürich, Switzerland

Coming back down from the bucolic, “the hills are alive” splendor of my adventures in the Swiss Alps, expectations were tempered arriving in northern Switzerland’s most famous lakeside city. How would any urban experience match the alpine dreams of crystal clear glacial lakes and (literally) breathtaking altitude I had just woken up from? But Zürich has a way of steadily imparting its appeal, especially in summer, when the entire populace seems to glow with the conscious confidence they’re living their best life. Soon enough, the city famous for its extravagant and upscale shopping, medieval architecture, renowned chocolatiers, and glorious waterfront lifestyle will have you imagining what it might be like making a home in one of the world’s most liveable cities.

WHERE TO STAY

The lobby of the Hotel Helveti \\\. Photo: Hotel Helvetia

The Hotel Helvetia is our favorite type of place to stay at: casual and unfussy, yet appointed with enough details to make your time there feel like the exception, rather than the rule in life. The heart of the city is only a short walk from the hotel’s doors, with both the Museum Haus Konstruktiv and Old Botanical Garden just across the bridge, making it an easy jumping off point for days while acquainted with Zurich.

Photo: Hotel Helvetia

The hotel’s main rooms were designed by local interior designers Atelier Zurich, with the contemporary pastel painted interiors a collaborative effort between Leopold Weinberg and architect Nele Dechmann.

The Scandinavian vernacular makes the absence of things feel like an addition in service of comfort. \\\ Photo: Hotel Helvetia

Each of the rooms riff playfully off the hotel’s historic Art Nouveau facade, with 35 rooms and two luxury business apartments on the attic floor to choose from (ask for a room overlooking the nearby River Sihl if you like to people watch). The interior decor at first may seem just north of spartan, but you’ll then notice they furnished your room with a handcrafted Hästens Luxuria mattress.

Photo: Hotel Helvetia

Photo: Hotel Helvetia

The Atlantis by Giardino is situated a little further from the beaten path, and for that reason we wholeheartedly recommend this mountainside hotel adjacent to the Zurich’s Uetliberg for anyone who likes to return from days spent in the city to accommodations of luxe civility.

Photo: Atlantis by Giardino

Photo: Atlantis by Giardino

That’s not to say the hotel is sleepy; with a history tied to the likes of guests like Grace Jones, Freddie Mercury, and Frank Zappa, you know this post-war modernist hotel operates within the realm where partying and privacy both hold court.

Downstairs the 2 Michelin stars awarded Ecco Zürich makes the promise of a memorable meal a surefire bet. \\\ Photo: Atlantis by Giardino

Photo: Atlantis by Giardino

Photo: Atlantis by Giardino

Photo: Atlantis by Giardino

The 92 rooms and suites of the Atlantis by Giardino do a convincing job of keeping guests willingly within their rooms. Decorated with an eye for the timeless by London-based hospitality design firm Gallery HBA, appointments include plush sofas custom-made by Molteni, with some rooms offering balcony views of the mountains in the distance, others of the cityscape just below. Comfort here is always appointed on the right side of class.

Design collective Monoplan is credited for updating the 1960s Hotel Atlantis architecture originally designed by architects Hans and Annemarie Hubacher and Peter Issler.

Notable mentions: Engimatt Hotel \\\ EMA House \\\ Hotel Zuri

WHERE TO SHOP

Zurich is a pleasantly walkable city, dotted with numerous opportunities for shopping along the famous luxury lane of Bahnhofstrasse and medieval Altstadt (Old Town). Perhaps indicative of the infamous high cost of living here, even the most touristy of spots are mostly free of cheap tchotchkes sellers.

Exploring the numerous narrow pedestrian cobblestone alleyways and stairs offers incentive to ditch the map and get yourself lost (the city center is easy to navigate thanks to the water and other architectural landmarks always offering a hint which way you should be going), and you’ll find yourself enjoying unplanned detours here and there for just a peek around the corner. One of our favorite shops in Zurich is also perhaps the smallest: Afrod’or, a sliver of a store dedicated to African designs.

Photo: Gregory Han

The Museum of Zurich University of the Arts was high on our list of design destinations in the city. With four collections representing Design, Graphics, Decorative Arts, and Poster composed of over 500,000 objects, it’s a designer’s paradise. Unfortunately, traveling for work rather than leisure meant our schedule dictated only the briefest of drop-in at the end of the day. Fortunately the museum’s gift shop was still open on our last evening, and any disappointment was washed away by the gift shop’s inspiring display of books and posters for sale.

Photo: Gregory Han

The Museum of Zurich University of the Arts \\\ Photo: Gregory Han

It’s nearly impossible to miss the towering container shop dedicated to all things Frietag – the perpetually popular purveyor of functional bags and accessories fashioned out of used truck tarps. Located in Zurich’s Industriequartier, you can see the assemblage of recycled shipping containers from a mile away. We recommend the flagship shop as a late afternoon destination; ascend up the tower of shipping containers and then come back down for a hearty communal meal with hundreds of locals in the adjoining outdoor dining garden.

Photo: Gregory Han

Photo: Frietag

Located in the heart of Zurich’s old town, at the Spiegelgasse near Neumarkt, LIMITED STOCK dedicates its selection to small batch, artisan crafted products with an emphasis placed upon functionality – everyday objects that aren’t merely coveted, but beloved because you’ll use them.

Photo: Limited Stock

Photo: Limited Stock

If your interests steer toward architecture, swing inside Hochparterre – Books on Architecture to check out both local and global publications and books dedicated to the field of architecture (just remember to consider the weight of any books you might purchase.)

Photo: Hochparterre

Photo: Fabrikat

Notable mentions: Fabrikat \\\ Soeder \\\ Viu Eyewear \\\ Im Viadukt

WHERE TO VISIT

During summer the inviting waters of Lake Zurich attract legions of locals to the waterfront where the handsome population bathe in both elements of water and light. As a tourist, it’s a great opportunity to promenade with a scoop of ice cream in hand, or drop into a lakeshore eatery for a bratwurst and beer before making way to several nearby sites.

We were taken aback by the retro-futuristic architecture near the shoreline of Lake Zurich. Locals explained it was merely a “medical office”. \\\ Photo: Gregory Han

With its colorful angularity parked upon a lawn of green, the Pavillon Le Corbusier gives all appearances of an enormous modernist dollhouse, and half the fun is journeying upward by the building’s center staircase and outdoor ramp. The final building designed by Le Corbusier, the exhibition pavilion was designed entirely according to the Modulor system, an anthropometric scale of proportions devised by Le Corbusier based on the human body and the golden ratio. The rooftop deck is an especially comfortable vantage point to take in many of the structural and site specific details of the pavilion, a shaded architectural oasis.

Tourists converge at the Pavillon Le Corbusier in waves during the middle of the day, so get here early or late in the day to enjoy the exhibitions and tour the building without the crowds. \\\ Photo: Gregory Han

The most memorable trips are painted by reminiscence of places and faces met unexpectedly. And so it was during a walk into the adjoining suburban neighborhood across the waters of Lake Zurich when we spotted a flora-lined path leading upward into the Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich, the home to 7,000 different plant species and a trio of dome-shaped greenhouses hosting the ecosystems of tropical mountain forests, tropical lowland rainforest, and tropical drylands within.

A trio of greenhouses at the Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich \\\ Photo: Gregory Han

Photo: Swiss National Museum

Notable mentions: Museum für Gestaltung \\\ Swiss National Museum \\\ Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO Park)\\\ Enea Tree Museum

FINAL THOUGHTS

Photo: Gregory Han

Zürich has a reputation as an expensive cosmopolitan destination, but it’s also dotted with a multitude of affordable museums, parks, and other public spaces interconnected by walkways, buses, and trains. Life here seems to unfold as fast or as slow as you want, with the city’s historic landscape living harmoniously with its contemporary attractions. It is expensive here, but the price of admission to a life less ordinary – even if for just a few days – seems reasonable once there.

If you’re fortunate enough to be making your way to Zürich soon, note the second annual Design Biennale Zurich opens this week. This year’s biennale focuses on the theme play, with the entirety of Switzerland represented as a design playground, with design projects and installations representing various disciplines, including: algorithmic music, analog scientific models, digital craftsmanship, intelligent textiles, interactive everyday products, collaborative design, material experiments, urban utopias, and virtual reality.

If you’ve traveled to Zürich, Switzerland and have any additional favorite spots or recommendations for first time visitors, let us know below so we can share (and also check it out ourselves the next time we’re there).

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17 Truly Inspiring Company Vision and Mission Statement Examples

Think about those brands you purchase from over and over, even when there are cheaper options out there. Why do you choose the ones you choose?

Do you usually fly on a particular airline? Do you buy your coffee from the same place every morning? Do you recommend a specific restaurant whenever out-of-towners ask for suggestions? Well, there's a good reason for it.

The reason we stay loyal to brands is because of their values. The best brands strive to combine physical, emotional, and logical elements into one exceptional customer (and employee) experience that you value as much as they do. Nowhere are those values more visible than in the company's mission statement.

When you successfully create a connection with your customers and employees, many of them might stay loyal to you for life. This helps you increase your overall profitability while building a solid foundation of brand promoters.

But achieving that connection is no easy task. The companies that succeed are ones that stay true to their core values over the years and create a company that employees and customers are proud to associate with.

That's where company vision and mission statements come in.

Mission Statement vs. Vision Statement

Let's start with a bit of a vocabulary lesson to differentiate between these two types of company statements.

Vision Statement

A vision statement describes where the company aspires to be upon achieving its mission. This statement reveals the "where" of a business -- but not just where the company seeks to be. Rather, a vision statement describes where the company wants a community, or the world, to be as a result of the company's services.

Below are some vision statements from well-known companies to give you a sense of how a vision represents a brand.

Alzheimer's Association: A world without Alzheimer's disease.

Teach for America: One day, all children in this nation will have the opportunity to attain an excellent education.

Creative Commons: Realizing the full potential of the internet -- universal access to research and education, full participation in culture -- to drive a new era of development, growth, and productivity.

Microsoft (at its founding): A computer on every desk and in every home.

Australia Department of Health: Better health and wellbeing for all Australians, now and for future generations.

Mission Statement

If the above examples are vision statements, what's a mission statement? A mission statement is, in some ways, an action-oriented vision statement, declaring the purpose an organization serves to its audience. That often includes a general description of the organization, its function, and its objectives. Ultimately, a mission statement is intended to clarify the "what," the "who," and the "why" of a company. It's the roadmap for the company's vision statement.

As a company grows, its objectives and goals may be reached, and in turn they'll change. Therefore, mission and vision statements should be revised as needed to reflect the business's new culture as previous goals are met.

Both mission and vision statements are often combined into one comprehensive "mission statement" to define the organization's reason for existing and its outlook for internal and external audiences -- like employees, partners, board members, consumers, and shareholders.

With that in mind, what does a good mission statement look like? Check out some of the following company mission statements for yourself -- and get inspired to write one for your brand.

Mission Statement Examples

Life is Good: To spread the power of optimism.

sweetgreen: To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.

Patagonia: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

American Express: We work hard every day to make American Express the world's most respected service brand.

Warby Parker: To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.

InvisionApp: Question Assumptions. Think Deeply. Iterate as a Lifestyle. Details, Details. Design is Everywhere. Integrity.

Honest Tea: To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.

IKEA:

Nordstrom: To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.

Cradles to Crayons: Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play.

Universal Health Services, Inc.: To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns.

JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.

Workday: To put people at the center of enterprise software.

Prezi: To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act.

Tesla: To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.

Invisible Children: To end violence and exploitation facing our world's most isolated and vulnerable communities.

TED: Spread ideas.

Best Vision and Mission Statement Examples From Real Companies

1. Life Is Good: To spread the power of optimism.

The Life is Good brand is about more than spreading optimism -- although, with uplifting T-shirt slogans like "Seas The Day" and "Forecast: Mostly Sunny," it's hard not to crack a smile.

There are a ton of T-shirt companies in the world, but Life is Good's mission sets itself apart with a mission statement goes beyond fun clothing: to spread the power of optimism. This mission is perhaps a little unexpected if you're not familiar with the company's public charity: How will a T-shirt company help spread optimism? Life is Good answers that question below the fold, where what the mission means is explained in more detail, with links to programs implemented to support it: its #GrowTheGood initiative and the Life is Good Kids Foundation page. We really like how lofty yet specific this mission statement is -- it's a hard-to-balance combination.

2. sweetgreen: To inspire healthier communities by connecting people to real food.

Notice that sweetgreen's mission is positioned to align with your values -- not just written as something the brand believes. We love the inclusive language used in its statement, letting us know that the company is all about connecting its growing network of farmers growing healthy, local ingredients with us -- the customer -- because we're the ones who want more locally grown, healthy food options.

The mission to connect people is what makes this statement so strong. And that promise has gone beyond sweetgreen's website and walls of its food shops: The team has made strides in the communities where it's opened stores as well. Primarily, it provides education to young kids on healthy eating, fitness, sustainability, and where food comes from. The sweetlife music festival attracts 20,000 like-minded people every year who come together to listen to music, eat healthy food, and give back to a cause -- the sweetgreen in schools charity partner, FoodCorps.

3. Patagonia: Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.

Patagonia's mission statement combines both the values that bring them market success (building safe, high-quality products) and the values that contribute to a better world (philanthropic efforts to help the environment). For the people behind the brand, "a love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them." In the name of this cause, the company donates time, services, and at least 1% of its sales to hundreds of grassroots environmental groups around the world.

If your company has a similar focus on growing your business and giving back, think about talking about both the benefit you bring to customers and the value you want to bring to a greater cause in your mission statement.

4. American Express: We work hard every day to make American Express the world's most respected service brand.

Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.

— Simon Sinek (@simonsinek) April 16, 2014

The tweet above is from Simon Sinek, and it's one that we repeat here at HubSpot all the time. American Express sets itself apart from other credit card companies in its list of values, with an ode to great customer service, which is something it’s famous for.

We especially love the emphasis on teamwork and supporting employees, so that the people inside of the organization can be in the best position to support their customers.

5. Warby Parker: To offer designer eyewear at a revolutionary price, while leading the way for socially conscious businesses.

Speaking of quirky, this "objective" statement from Warby Parker uses words that reflect a young and daring personality: "rebellious," "revolutionary," "socially-conscious." In one sentence, the brand takes us back to the root of why it was founded while also revealing its vision for a better future.

The longer-form version of the mission reads: "We believe that buying glasses should be easy and fun. It should leave you happy and good-looking, with money in your pocket," which further shows how Warby Parker doesn't hold back on letting its unique personality shine through. Here, the missions statement's success all comes down to spot-on word choice.

6. InvisionApp: Question Assumptions. Think Deeply. Iterate as a Lifestyle. Details, Details. Design is Everywhere. Integrity.

These days, it can seem like every B2B company page looks the same -- but InvisionApp has one of the cooler company pages I've seen. Scroll down to "Our Core Values," and hover your mouse over any of the icons, and you'll find a short-but-sweet piece of the overall company mission under each icon. We love the way the statements are laid out under each icon. Each description is brief, authentic, and business babble-free -- which makes the folks at InvisionApp seem like trustworthy, B.S.-free types.

7. Honest Tea: To create and promote great-tasting, healthy, organic beverages.

Honest Tea's mission statement begins with a simple punch line connoting its tea is real, pure, and therefore not full of artificial chemicals. The brand is speaking to an audience that's tired of finding ingredients in its tea that can't be pronounced, and have been searching for a tea that's exactly what it says it is.

Not only does Honest Tea have a punny name, but it also centers its mission around the clever company name. For some time, the company even published a Mission Report each year in an effort to be "transparent about our business practices and live up to our mission to seek to create and promote great-tasting, healthier, organic beverages."

8. IKEA: To create a better everyday life for the many people.

The folks at IKEA dream big. The vision-based mission statement could have been one of beautiful, affordable furniture, but instead, it's to make everyday life better for its customers. It's a partnership: IKEA finds deals all over the world and buys in bulk, then we choose the furniture and pick it up at a self-service warehouse.

"Our business idea supports this vision ... so [that] as many people as possible will be able to afford them," the brand states.

Using words like "as many people as possible" makes a huge company like IKEA much more accessible and appealing to customers.

9. Nordstrom: "To give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible.

When it comes to customer commitment, not many companies are as hyper-focused as Nordstrom is. Although clothing selection, quality, and value all have a place in the company's mission statement, it’s crystal clear that it’s all about the customer: "Nordstrom works relentlessly to give customers the most compelling shopping experience possible."

If you've ever shopped at a Nordstrom, you'll know the brand will uphold the high standard for customer service mentioned in its mission statement, as associates are always roaming the sales floors, asking customers whether they've been helped, and doing everything they can to make the shopping experience a memorable one.

10. Cradles to Crayons: Provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play.

Cradles to Crayons divided its mission and model into three sections that read like a game plan: The Need, The Mission, and The Model. The "rule of three" is a powerful rhetorical device called a tricolon that's usually used in speechwriting to help make an idea more memorable. A tricolon is a series of three parallel elements of roughly the same length -- think "I came; I saw; I conquered."

11. Universal Health Services, Inc.: To provide superior quality healthcare services that: PATIENTS recommend to family and friends, PHYSICIANS prefer for their patients, PURCHASERS select for their clients, EMPLOYEES are proud of, and INVESTORS seek for long-term returns.

A company thrives when it pleases its customers, its employees, its partners, and its investors -- and Universal Health Services endeavors to do just that, according to its mission statement. As a health care service, it specifically strives to please its patients, physicians, purchasers, employees, and investors. We love the emphasis on each facet of the organization, by capitalizing the font and making it red for easy skimming.

12. JetBlue: To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.

JetBlue's committed to its founding mission through lovable marketing, charitable partnerships, and influential programs -- and we love the approachable language used to describe these endeavors. For example, the brand writes how it "set out in 2000 to bring humanity back to the skies."

For those of us who want to learn more about any of its specific efforts, JetBlue's provided details on the Soar With Reading program, its partnership with KaBOOM!, the JetBlue Foundation, environmental and social reporting, and so on. It breaks down all these initiatives really well with big headers, bullet points, pictures, and links to other webpages visitors can click to learn more. Finally, it ends with a call-to-action encouraging website visitors volunteer or donate their TrueBlue points.

13. Workday: To put people at the center of enterprise software.

Workday, a human resources (HR) task automation service, doesn't use its mission statement to highlight the features of its product or how it intends to help HR professionals improve in such-and-such a way.

Instead, the business takes a stance on the state of enterprise software in general: There's a lot of great tech out there. But at Workday, it revolves around the people. We love how confident yet kind this mission statement is. It observes the state of its industry -- which Workday believes lacks a human touch -- and builds company values around it.

14. Prezi: To reinvent how people share knowledge, tell stories, and inspire their audiences to act.

If you know Prezi, you know how engaging it can make your next business presentation look. According to its mission statement, the company's clever slide animations and 3-dimensional experience aren't just superficial product features. With every decision Prezi makes, it's all about the story you tell and the audience that story affects.

15. Tesla: To accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy.

A car company's punny use of the word "accelerate" is just one reason this mission statement sticks out. The main reason Tesla makes this list is because of how its mission statement describes the industry.

It may be a car company, but Tesla's main interest isn't just automobile sales -- it's promoting sustainable energy. And sustainable energy still has a "long road" ahead of it (pun intended) -- hence the world's "transition" into this market.

Ultimately, a mission statement that can admit to the industry's immaturity is exactly what gets customers to root for it. And Tesla does that nicely.

16. Invisible Children: To end violence and exploitation facing our world's most isolated and vulnerable communities.

Tenacity is hard to come by in the non-profit sector, and that's what makes this mission statement so distinguished. Invisible Children is a non-profit that raises awareness around the violence affecting communities across Central Africa, and the company takes quite a confident tone in its mission.

The most valuable quality of this mission statement is that it has an end goal. Many companies' visions and missions are intentionally left open-ended so that the business might always be needed by the community. Invisible Children, on the other hand, wants to "end" the violence facing African families. It's an admirable mission that all businesses -- not just non-profits -- can learn from when trying to motivate their customers.

17. TED: Spread ideas.

We've all seen TED Talks online before. Well, the company happens to have one of the most succinct mission statements out there.

TED, which stands for "Technology Education and Design," has a two-word mission statement that shines through in every Talk you've seen the company publish on the internet. That mission statement: "Spread ideas." Sometimes, the best way to get an audience to remember you is to zoom out as far as your business's vision can go. What do you really care about? TED has recorded some of the most famous presentations in the world, but in the grand scheme of things, all it wants is to spread ideas around to its viewers.

Here are 22 companies with really catchy slogans and brand taglines.

[harryandmeghan0-blog]

To Hate-Watch Or Not To Hate-Watch: A Discussion Of 'A Christmas Prince 2' - HuffPost

New Post has been published on https://harryandmeghan.xyz/to-hate-watch-or-not-to-hate-watch-a-discussion-of-a-christmas-prince-2-huffpost/

To Hate-Watch Or Not To Hate-Watch: A Discussion Of 'A Christmas Prince 2' - HuffPost

Warning: Spoilers below!

Every good romantic comedy needs a sequel. How else will we find out about how that fluffy, swoony happy ending turned into a relentless morass of disappointment and misery? That’s entertainment!

So it was with immense excitement that audiences awaited the sequel to Netflix’s breakout 2017 holiday rom-com “A Christmas Prince,” titled “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding.” American blogger Amber Moore (Rose McIver) would finally be tying the knot with budget Armie Hammer and Aldovian King Richard (Ben Lamb)!

But is “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding” a frothy nuptial romp or a grim look at what comes after the whirlwind fairy-tale betrothal? Is it, as some viewers have suggested, an oddly timed cinematic attack on labor unions, a clumsy piece of pro-monarchy propaganda?

Claire and Emma, two “Christmas Prince” fans, talked through their complicated feelings about every second of this romantic comedy cum political procedural.

Emma: Claire! From one intrepid journalist to another, I can’t tell you how #blessed I feel to be talking about the instant holiday classic “A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding” with you. There’s a lot to dig into here. Cryptocurrency! Class tensions! Blogging! But let’s start with a general review. Did you … enjoy this sequel?

Claire: “Enjoyment” is such a simple metric to quantify my reaction to this movie. I felt a lot of emotions, such as irritation and confusion. I enjoyed tweeting my critiques. As a romantic, I felt no thrills when Amber and Richard were onscreen together, which saddened me. However, hate-watching is one of my favorite hobbies. In that sense, I did enjoy it. What about you? Was this the sequel you were hoping for?

Emma: As someone who both loves hate-watching terrible holiday rom-coms and has recently felt very bitter about love, who can even say what I was hoping for? I laughed several times, so that seemed like a plus ― though perhaps not during moments that the writers intended to be played for laughs. I also got a wry enjoyment out of watching a movie that so terribly portrays journalism writ large and specifically female journalists. (Although I did note that even in Amber’s fictional world, media seems to be falling apart. RIP, Beat Now magazine!)

You bring up an important point when you say you felt nary a flutter in your heart watching Richard and Amber’s chemistry. I was struck by how … un–in love they seemed to be with each other. They are supposed to be playing a couple that has just been through a yearlong long-distance engagement, and now they finally are in the same place and get to be married. And yet … they didn’t even make out until the very end of the movie??? Was this movie even a love story, or was it more like a story about saving an increasingly irrelevant and antiquated monarchy?

Claire: I think you already know the answer to that question. We see a montage of them romping through North America and Europe, holding hands and giggling like teenagers, but when they’re supposed to speak lines of dialogue to each other, they seem like distant acquaintances. Or maybe she’s his Uber driver?  

Netflix

The chemistry is undeniable!

She has arrived in Aldovia for the holiday season, which will apparently be spent feverishly planning a wedding for Christmas Day. (They’ve had all year to plan a royal wedding, and they’re just starting now, about three days in advance? Sure, fine.) Due to protocol ― keep an eye on protocol, it’s one of the central players in this drama! ― Amber has her own bridal suite instead of staying with her fiancé. But they also never, IDK, sneak off to make out? Have naughty assignations in the armory? Do these people feel visceral repugnance for each other’s bodies? It’s so bizarre.

When Amber arrives in Aldovia, we also see that her chemistry with Richard is not the only element from “A Christmas Prince” that has been downgraded in this sequel. We need to talk about Rudy. Emma, please explain what happened to Amber’s sweet diner-owning pops.

Emma: So this took me a beat after he was introduced ― I hadn’t watched the original since last year ― but I quickly realized that they had recast the father. I get it: It’s a Netflix holiday movie. Actors have conflicts. It happens. But more concerning than the fact that they made her father a totally different human ― something that the writers wink at the audience about when Richard’s little sister, Princess Emily, comments that “he looks different in person” (apparently it’s all about his shaved facial hair) ― is that this new Papa Rudy has a completely different personality from the old Papa Rudy.  

The new Rudy has zero sense of manners or decorum, constantly threatens to fight people when they do things like attempt to get a taxi from the airport, and decides that he is more qualified to cook for an official event than the (female) royal chef. This personality transformation is an inexplicable choice on the part of the writers. It added nothing to the plot and just made me even more aware that Rudy had been recast. All I could think was, “Oh, I guess her dad is a total asshole now. That’s weird.”

Another frustrating character that we desperately need to talk about is Sahil, the royal wedding planner who is flown in from India. Claire, please let the people know why we both were supremely peeved about Sahil’s portrayal.

Claire: Well, I’m not the expert here, but it’s pretty simple. He’s the only character of color with a significant speaking role, except for Amber’s friend who shows up halfway through and immediately starts trying to get with villainous dweeb Count Simon. Sahil is by turns obsequious and hysterical, as he caters to the grandiose vision of the queen mother and important secretary Mrs. Averill while ignoring poor, blond, innocent Amber, who doesn’t want his ridiculous high-fashion designs. He’s played by British actor Raj Bajaj, but he speaks in an exaggerated Indian accent. He’s a caricature and not a flattering one. His portrayal felt tone-deaf at best and, ironically, a reminder of how snowy white Aldovia is.

Though Sahil is in charge of the royal wedding, he actually spends most of the film off camera … because this movie isn’t about a wedding. It’s about Richard bumbling around like your grandmother with her spectacles pushed up on her head asking, “Now where have I put my spectacles?” ― but instead of his eyewear, it’s all of Aldovia’s money. Where did he put it? Why can’t he find it? Emma, what the ever-loving hell was the political plot of this movie?

Emma: Claire … The short answer is, I have no fucking clue. The longer answer is that I can list off some elements of the political plot, and they all add up to one excellent lesson: Monarchic rule is where it’s at.

1. All of Aldovia’s money is flowing mysteriously out of the country causing all of the working people to lose their jobs.

2. The biggest issue with said unemployment and the ensuing mass strikes is not, in fact, that Aldovian people are unemployed. Rather, the true tragedy of this loss of wage labor is that Emily might be denied her right to awkwardly flirt with one of her classmates in the upcoming Christmas pageant.

3. It will take Amber’s “journalistic instinct” that “something more” is going on with Aldovia’s bleeding economy to solve this economic crisis.

4. Also, hacking!

5. The answer to said economic crisis is ― dramatic pause ― CORRUPTION. But not the corruption of an antiquated government system in a nation that has a prime minister but for some reason gives its hapless king all power over its economic policy. The real corruption comes down to one powerful individual who no longer lives in Aldovia, the white-bearded Lord Leopold, who has created a shell corporation that is publicly registered under his name and is single-handedly draining all of Aldovia’s business profits.

This all seems very plausible and definitely has no holes, right? Shell corporations are bad, monarchies are good. The end.

Claire: I’m a monarchist now, thanks to this good, good propaganda movie. Let’s rewind this to the beginning: King Richard, having ascended to power thanks to an enormous acorn in the first movie, is trying to make his mark with a new agenda. That agenda is: modernization. Modernize Aldovia! This is supposed to be an investment in the country’s economy, but instead, the money is all going somewhere else, and the Aldovian businesses are all bleeding capital and laying off workers.

Where is the money going? Richard doesn’t know! He barely seems to care, to be honest. Much of the movie is just the king and his family and advisers standing around mutually affirming that modernization is very good for the economy in the long run and that unfortunately the workers just don’t see it. The plebs’ lack of foresight is ruining Christmas for the royal family; they’re sending mildly peeved holiday cards to the queen mother about their financial ruin, for example. Tween Princess Emily is meant to be starring in a Christmas pageant in which she’ll kiss a very cute boy. But then the theater workers go on strike. Those unbelievable assholes! Don’t they know the princess of the realm wants a smooch from her handsome subject? That is their job!

Amber, our little go-getter, brings her American no-nonsense approach to solving this little union problem: She orders the palace workers to be scabs. The pageant is held at the palace and staffed by palace employees. Strike busted! It’s honestly so heartwarming.

But Amber isn’t just a great anti-labor innovator; she’s also, as we know, a journalist. And being a reporter-slash-royal, she has all the tools to uncover what’s really going on. Emma, did Amber’s journalistic capers ring true to you?

Netflix

Amber does journalism!

Emma: Every good journalist knows that joining the royal family while reporting on the royal family and matters that intimately affect them is totally kosher. What are journalistic ethics, even? But seriously, all jokes about Amber’s completely egregious conflicts of interest aside, I want to talk about the way she does journalism.

To Amber, journalism isn’t so much a process as an instinct. She was born with that instinct, and she’ll have that instinct until she dies. That instinct is Amber. Amber is journalistic instinct. And that instinct leads her all over Aldovia, from the confines of the palace to the virtual Hall of Records to a dive bar where a bedraggled and beaten-down unemployed man is drowning his sorrows in beer. Oh, did I forget to mention that she found this source because he wrote a justifiably embittered holiday card to the royal family that they read aloud in their parlor as a fun Christmas activity?

Amber recruits her #journalism friends ― both of whom seem to exist solely to bolster Amber’s confidence in her journalistic skill rather than to do any reporting of their own despite the fact that they both worked at Beat Now mag with her ― to join her on her renegade reporting mission. They approach the man and give Amber, cleverly disguised with sunglasses in a dark bar at night, the in to talk to him. She asks him if he knows what the hell is going on with all of Aldovia’s money disappearing. And in a stroke of unbelievable luck, he does! This low-level worker not only names one of the three companies that seem to be behind all of the economic corruption, but he also tells her that the aforementioned company seems — what’s the word? — fishy. And being the investigative blogger that she is, Amber takes painstaking notes.

They read as follows:

– Meadowlark – Fishy

Netflix

Amber is very good at journalism!

Everything you need to write an explosive single-source story about high-level corruption in the Aldovian government! Naturally, our fair heroine does not write any pieces about this. Instead, she takes that info right to the king so he can save the day by announcing that corruption has been rooted out and everyone gets a Christmas bonus! One-time bonuses: the tried and true way to solve an entire nation’s labor issues. Long live King Richard!

Claire: Let’s not forget Princess Emily’s contribution: Staying up all night hacking into the Hall of Records database to find the incorporation documents for Meadowlark and the shell corporation. Why is this necessary? Wouldn’t these be public documents? Even if not, Amber is engaged to the king of the entire country ― is he not able to look at this?

The monarchy seems like a flawless system: He is completely in charge of the entire economy, but when it comes to questions like “Where is all our money?” he isn’t allowed to check or just doesn’t feel like checking in the most obvious possible places, like “Who owns all the companies that we’re giving huge government contracts to?” Amber, your man is useless.

But of course, Amber is also pretty much useless. Aside from her little corruption exposé ― which she uses to help a monarch consolidate political power ― her blog is not so much journalism as a platform for expressing her me-ness. After a year of engagement, she tells her readers at the start of the movie, she’s unaltered by proximity to royalty. She’s still … just her! Unlike Prince Harry, it seems, Richard did not have the hard conversation with his fiancée about shutting down her personal blog before joining the royal family. When she pisses off the protocol police by posting, er, a fun photo blog about the royals having humanizing holiday fun, the post is removed. “DID YOU CENSOR MY BLOG?” she asks. Yes, Amber, they did ― but finally Richard relents and lets her have it back.

At the end of the first movie, the idea that Amber could continue to be a hard-hitting journalist while being a queen seemed untenable. What’s weird is how the second movie keeps trying to make this work.

All this, and still there is a wedding ― planned in three days, only to be scrapped for something that Amber feels is just a little more “me.” Emma, what did you think of the fairy-tale wedding at the end?

Emma: So, one of the moments that I was truly on Amber’s side was when she objected to the heinous, fluffy cupcake dress that Sahil and Mrs. Averill wanted her to wear for the wedding. And yet ― even when presented with the chance to pick something new that would reflect her, with, one can assume, an essentially unlimited budget, Amber went with a dress that I found almost equally repellent. I think the first time we talked about this, you described it as the gown version of a white collared shirt that old women wear? And that summed up its aesthetic perfectly. 

Amber in her wedding dress! 

I’m sorry, but being a “normal girl” doesn’t mean having terrible taste. I know lots of normal women who got married in all kinds of traditional and nontraditional wedding outfits. And let me tell you, not a single one was as hideous as Amber’s get-up. It was ill-fitting, had lace stripes that served no purpose, aesthetic or otherwise, and was primarily made of a shiny fabric that showed every single wrinkle in excruciating detail. Whyyyyy, Amber? Why? Your coats are far better tailored than this blousy monstrosity!

Claire: If my mother-in-law wore this as a blouse to a summer dinner party (ideally in a linen-cotton blend), I would find it quite nice. The appeal just doesn’t translate to ballgown length. Not everything needs to be the same! That’s all.

This is perhaps supposed to convey that Amber is normal and not like the royals, but most of us boring heteronormative lady proles wear sweetheart necklines and heels for our weddings, so this didn’t exactly feel relatable. Nor did it feel like escapist, marshmallowy fairy-tale fun. So thanks for ruining royal weddings for me, Netflix.

This has been “Should You Watch It?” a weekly examination of movies and TV worth ― or not worth! ― your time.

RELATED COVERAGE

Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/a-christmas-prince-sequel-netflix_us_5c0aedb1e4b0ab8cf693490b

[deniscollins]

A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses

Experts estimate 1 billion to 2.5 billion people worldwide need eyeglasses but don’t get eye exams or glasses, which can cost just $1.50, due to poverty conditions and lack of eye doctors. Experts say a significant number of India’s roughly 200,000 traffic deaths each year are tied to poor vision. If you were an executive for an eye industry association, what would you do, if anything, in response to this? Why? What are the ethics underlying your decisions?

Shivam Kumar’s failing eyesight was manageable at first. To better see the chalkboard, the 12-year-old moved to the front of the classroom, but in time, the indignities piled up.

Increasingly blurry vision forced him to give up flying kites and then cricket, after he was repeatedly whacked by balls he could no longer see. The constant squinting gave him headaches, and he came to dread walking home from school.

“Sometimes I don’t see a motorbike until it’s almost in my face,” he said.

As his grades flagged, so did his dreams of becoming a pilot. “You can’t fly a plane if you’re blind,” he noted glumly.

The fix for Shivam’s declining vision, it turns out, was remarkably simple.

He needed glasses.

More than a billion people around the world need eyeglasses but don’t have them, researchers say, an affliction long overlooked on lists of public health priorities. Some estimates put that figure closer to 2.5 billion people. They include thousands of nearsighted Nigerian truck drivers who strain to see pedestrians darting across the road and middle-aged coffee farmers in Bolivia whose inability to see objects up close makes it hard to spot ripe beans for harvest.

Then there are the tens of millions of children like Shivam across the world whose families cannot afford an eye exam or the prescription eyeglasses that would help them excel in school.

“Many of these kids are classified as poor learners or just dumb and therefore don’t progress at school,” said Kovin Naidoo, global director of Our Children’s Vision, an organization that provides free or inexpensive eyeglasses across Africa. “That just adds another hurdle to countries struggling to break the cycle of poverty.”

In an era when millions of people still perish from preventable or treatable illness, many major donors devote their largess to combating killers like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In 2015, only $37 million was spent on delivering eyeglasses to people in the developing world, less than one percent of resources devoted to global health issues, according to EYElliance, a nonprofit group trying to raise money and bring attention to the problem of uncorrected vision.

So far, the group’s own fund-raising has yielded only a few million dollars, according to its organizers.  It has enlisted Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former Liberian president, Elaine L. Chao, the transportation secretary for the United States and Paul Polman, the chief executive of Unilever, among others, in an attempt to catapult the issue onto global development wish lists. They contend that an investment in improving sight would pay off. The World Health Organization has estimated the problem costs the global economy more than $200 billion annually in lost productivity.

“Lack of access to eye care prevents billions of people around the world from achieving their potential, and is a major barrier to economic and human progress,” said Madeleine K. Albright, the former  secretary of state who is also involved in the group.

Hubert Sagnieres, the chief executive of Essilor, a French eyeglass company and a partner in the fund-raising campaign, said he often confronts ambivalence when pitching the cause to big-name philanthropists.

In an interview, he recalled a recent conversation with Bill Gates, whose foundation has spent tens of billions of dollars battling infectious diseases in the developing world. He said he reminded Mr. Gates of his own childhood nearsightedness, noting that without glasses, he might have faltered in school and perhaps never gone on to start Microsoft. Mr. Gates, he said, politely demurred, saying he had other priorities. A spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation declined to comment.

The initiative’s backers point out that responding to the world’s vision crisis does not require the invention of new drugs or solving nettlesome issues like distributing refrigerated vaccines in countries with poor infrastructure. Factories in Thailand, China and the Philippines can manufacture so-called readers for less than 50 cents a pair; prescription glasses that correct nearsightedness can be produced for $1.50.

But money alone won’t easily solve systemic challenges faced by countries like Uganda, which has just 45 eye doctors for a nation of 41 million. In rural India, glasses are seen as a sign of infirmity, and in many places, a hindrance for young women seeking to get married. Until last year, Liberia did not have a single eye clinic.

“People in rural areas have never even seen a child wearing glasses,” said Ms. Sirleaf, who was president of Liberia from 2006 to this year. “Drivers don’t even know they have a deficiency. They just drive the best they can.”

On a recent afternoon, hundreds of children in powder-blue uniforms giddily jostled one another in the dusty courtyard of a high school in Panipat, two hours north of New Delhi. The students, all from poor families, were having their eyesight checked by VisionSpring, a nonprofit group started by Jordan Kassalow, a New York optometrist who helped set up EYElliance, that works with local governments to distribute subsidized eyeglasses in Asia and Africa.

For most, it was the first time anyone had checked their eyesight. The students were both excited and terrified. Roughly 12 percent were flagged as having weak vision and sent to an adjacent classroom where workers using refractor lenses conducted more tests.

Shivam, the boy who dreamed of being a pilot, walked away with a pair of purple-framed spectacles donated by Warby Parker, the American eyewear company, which also paid for the screenings.

“Everything is so clear,” Shivam exclaimed as he looked with wonder around the classroom.

Anshu Taneja, VisonSpring’s India director, said that providing that first pair of glasses is pivotal; people who have experienced the benefits of corrected vision will often buy a second pair if their prescription changes or they lose the glasses they have come to depend on.

Ratan Singh, 45, a sharecropper who recently got his first pair of reading glasses, said he could not imagine living without them now. Standing in a field of ripening wheat, he said his inability to see tiny pests on the stalks of his crop had led to decreasing yields. He sheepishly recalled the time he sprayed the wrong insecticide because he couldn’t read the label. “I was always asking other people to help me read but I was becoming a burden,” he said.

Last month, after he accidentally broke his glasses, Mr. Singh, who supports his wife and six daughters, did not hesitate to fork out the 60 rupees, roughly 90 cents, for a new pair.

Most adults over 50 need reading glasses — more than a billion people in the developing world, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness — though the vast majority simply accept their creeping disability.

That’s what happened to D. Periyanayakam, 56, a power company employee whose job requires him to read electrical meters. His failing eyesight also made it hard to drive or respond to text messages from customers and co-workers.

“I figured it was a only matter of time before they suspended me,” he said during a visit to a mobile eye clinic run by Aravind Eye Hospital, a nonprofit institution that screened his vision and told him he would soon need cataract surgery.

Mr. Periyanayakam returned to work that day with a $2 pair of glasses. He was among 400 people who showed up at a daylong clinic in a high school run by ophthalmologists, lens grinders and vision screeners.

Aravind dispenses 600,000 pairs of glasses each year in India and has expanded its efforts to Nepal, Bangladesh and countries in Africa through local partners.

The hospital trains its own vision screeners, most of them young women; a separate program trains primary schoolteachers to test their students’ sight using eye charts.

Then there is the matter of road safety. Surveys show that a worrisome number of drivers on the road in developing countries have uncorrected vision. Traffic fatality rates are far higher in low-income countries; in Africa, for example, the rate is nearly triple that of Europe, according to the W.H.O.

Experts say a significant number of India’s roughly 200,000 traffic deathseach year are tied to poor vision. In a country with a huge number of drivers, among them nine million truckers, the government agencies that administer licenses are ill-equipped to deal with the problem of declining vision, critics say.

Sightsavers, a British nonprofit that has been treating cataract-related blindness in India since the 1960s, has spent the past two years trying to get glasses to commercial drivers. It operates mobile eye-screening campsat truck stops and tollbooths in 16 cities. A driver who has his eyes examined at a clinic in north India can pick up his glasses 10 days later at a clinic in the far south.

“These men are always on the move and they are pressed for time, so we try to make it as easy as possible for them,” said Ameen, a Sightsaver employee who uses a single name.

On a recent morning, dozens of drivers, many wearing flip-flops and oil-stained trousers, lined up in front of an eye chart taped to the wall of a trucking company in the town of Chapraula. Asked why they had waited so long to have their vision checked, some shrugged. Others said they were too busy. A few cited fears they would be fired if an employer discovered that their vision was flawed.

About half the men, it turned out, needed glasses. They included Jagdish Prasad, 55, a father of nine with a deeply lined face who had never had his eyes tested.

“I haven’t had an accident in 35 years,” Mr. Prasad exclaimed — but then reluctantly admitted that he has lately been squinting to see whether a traffic light had changed.

Then he gestured to the cavalcade of honking vehicles behind him and told a story. Four days earlier, he said, a mentally ill man had been lying on the edge of the road, forcing drivers to swerve to avoid him. One of those vehicles, a truck not unlike his own, tried to avoid the man but ended up killing two students who were crossing the road on their way to school. The next day, the mentally ill man was also struck and killed, Mr. Prasad said.

He paused and then considered the piece of paper in his hand. It contained the prescription for his first pair of glasses. Mr. Prasad hesitated and then gently placed it in his pocket.

[cleopatrarps]

A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses

PANIPAT, India — Shivam Kumar’s failing eyesight was manageable at first. To better see the chalkboard, the 12-year-old moved to the front of the classroom, but in time, the indignities piled up.

Increasingly blurry vision forced him to give up flying kites and then cricket, after he was repeatedly whacked by balls he could no longer see. The constant squinting gave him headaches, and he came to dread walking home from school.

“Sometimes I don’t see a motorbike until it’s almost in my face,” he said.

As his grades flagged, so did his dreams of becoming a pilot. “You can’t fly a plane if you’re blind,” he noted glumly.

The fix for Shivam’s declining vision, it turns out, was remarkably simple.

He needed glasses.

More than a billion people around the world need eyeglasses but don’t have them, researchers say, an affliction long overlooked on lists of public health priorities. Some estimates put that figure closer to 2.5 billion people. They include thousands of nearsighted Nigerian truck drivers who strain to see pedestrians darting across the road and middle-aged coffee farmers in Bolivia whose inability to see objects up close makes it hard to spot ripe beans for harvest.

Then there the tens of millions of children like Shivam across the world whose families cannot afford an eye exam or the prescription eyeglasses that would help them excel in school.

“Many of these kids are classified as poor learners or just dumb and therefore don’t progress at school,” said Kovin Naidoo, global director of Our Children’s Vision, an organization that provides free or inexpensive eyeglasses across Africa. “That just adds another hurdle to countries struggling to break the cycle of poverty.”

In an era when millions of people still perish from preventable or treatable illness, many major donors devote their largess to combating killers like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In 2015, only $37 million was spent on delivering eyeglasses to people in the developing world, less than one percent of resources devoted to global health issues, according to EYElliance, a nonprofit group trying to raise money and bring attention to the problem of uncorrected vision.

So far, the group’s own fund-raising has yielded only a few million dollars, according to its organizers. It has enlisted Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former Liberian president, Elaine L. Chao, the transportation secretary for the United States and Paul Polman, the chief executive of Unilever, among others, in an attempt to catapult the issue onto global development wish lists. They contend that an investment in improving sight would pay off. The World Health Organization has estimated the problem costs the global economy more than $200 billion annually in lost productivity.

“Lack of access to eye care prevents billions of people around the world from achieving their potential, and is a major barrier to economic and human progress,” said Madeleine K. Albright, the former secretary of state who is also involved in the group.

Hubert Sagnieres, the chief executive of Essilor, a French eyeglass company and a partner in the fund-raising campaign, said he often confronts ambivalence when pitching the cause to big-name philanthropists.

In an interview, he recalled a recent conversation with Bill Gates, whose foundation has spent tens of billions of dollars battling infectious diseases in the developing world. He said he reminded Mr. Gates of his own childhood nearsightedness, noting that without glasses, he might have faltered in school and perhaps never gone on to start Microsoft. Mr. Gates, he said, politely demurred, saying he had other priorities. A spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation declined to comment.

The initiative’s backers point out that responding to the world’s vision crisis does not require the invention of new drugs or solving nettlesome issues like distributing refrigerated vaccines in countries with poor infrastructure. Factories in Thailand, China and the Philippines can manufacture so-called readers for less than 50 cents a pair; prescription glasses that correct nearsightedness can be produced for $1.50.

But money alone won’t easily solve systemic challenges faced by countries like Uganda, which has just 45 eye doctors for a nation of 41 million. In rural India, glasses are seen as a sign of infirmity, and in many places, a hindrance for young women seeking to get married. Until last year, Liberia did not have a single eye clinic.

“People in rural areas have never even seen a child wearing glasses,” said Ms. Sirleaf, who was president of Liberia from 2006 to this year. “Drivers don’t even know they have a deficiency. They just drive the best they can.”

On a recent afternoon, hundreds of children in powder-blue uniforms giddily jostled one another in the dusty courtyard of a high school in Panipat, two hours north of New Delhi. The students, all from poor families, were having their eyesight checked by VisionSpring, a nonprofit group started by Jordan Kassalow, a New York optometrist who helped set up EYElliance, that works with local governments to distribute subsidized eyeglasses in Asia and Africa.

For most, it was the first time anyone had checked their eyesight. The students were both excited and terrified. Roughly 12 percent were flagged as having weak vision and sent to an adjacent classroom where workers using refractor lenses conducted more tests.

Shivam, the boy who dreamed of being a pilot, walked away with a pair of purple-framed spectacles donated by Warby Parker, the American eyewear company, which also paid for the screenings.

“Everything is so clear,” Shivam exclaimed as he looked with wonder around the classroom.

Anshu Taneja, VisonSpring’s India director, said that providing that first pair of glasses is pivotal; people who have experienced the benefits of corrected vision will often buy a second pair if their prescription changes or they lose the glasses they have come to depend on.

Ratan Singh, 45, a sharecropper who recently got his first pair of reading glasses, said he could not imagine living without them now. Standing in a field of ripening wheat, he said his inability to see tiny pests on the stalks of his crop had led to decreasing yields. He sheepishly recalled the time he sprayed the wrong insecticide because he couldn’t read the label. “I was always asking other people to help me read but I was becoming a burden,” he said.

Last month, after he accidentally broke his glasses, Mr. Singh, who supports his wife and six daughters, did not hesitate to fork out the 60 rupees, roughly 90 cents, for a new pair.

Most adults over 50 need reading glasses — more than a billion people in the developing world, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness — though the vast majority simply accept their creeping disability.

That’s what happened to D. Periyanayakam, 56, a power company employee whose job requires him to read electrical meters. His failing eyesight also made it hard to drive or respond to text messages from customers and co-workers.

“I figured it was a only matter of time before they suspended me,” he said during a visit to a mobile eye clinic run by Aravind Eye Hospital, a nonprofit institution that screened his vision and told him he would soon need cataract surgery.

Mr. Periyanayakam returned to work that day with a $2 pair of glasses. He was among 400 people who showed up at a daylong clinic in a high school run by ophthalmologists, lens grinders and vision screeners.

Aravind dispenses 600,000 pairs of glasses each year in India and has expanded its efforts to Nepal, Bangladesh and countries in Africa through local partners.

The hospital trains its own vision screeners, most of them young women; a separate program trains primary schoolteachers to test their students’ sight using eye charts.

Then there is the matter of road safety. Surveys show that a worrisome number of drivers on the road in developing countries have uncorrected vision. Traffic fatality rates are far higher in low-income countries; in Africa, for example, the rate is nearly triple that of Europe, according to the W.H.O.

Experts say a significant number of India’s roughly 200,000 traffic deaths each year are tied to poor vision. In a country with a huge number of drivers, among them nine million truckers, the government agencies that administer licenses are ill-equipped to deal with the problem of declining vision, critics say.

Sightsavers, a British nonprofit that has been treating cataract-related blindness in India since the 1960s, has spent the past two years trying to get glasses to commercial drivers. It operates mobile eye-screening camps at truck stops and tollbooths in 16 cities. A driver who has his eyes examined at a clinic in north India can pick up his glasses 10 days later at a clinic in the far south.

“These men are always on the move and they are pressed for time, so we try to make it as easy as possible for them,” said Ameen, a Sightsaver employee who uses a single name.

On a recent morning, dozens of drivers, many wearing flip-flops and oil-stained trousers, lined up in front of an eye chart taped to the wall of a trucking company in the town of Chapraula. Asked why they had waited so long to have their vision checked, some shrugged. Others said they were too busy. A few cited fears they would be fired if an employer discovered that their vision was flawed.

About half the men, it turned out, needed glasses. They included Jagdish Prasad, 55, a father of nine with a deeply lined face who had never had his eyes tested.

“I haven’t had an accident in 35 years,” Mr. Prasad exclaimed — but then reluctantly admitted that he has lately been squinting to see whether a traffic light had changed.

Then he gestured to the cavalcade of honking vehicles behind him and told a story. Four days earlier, he said, a mentally ill man had been lying on the edge of the road, forcing drivers to swerve to avoid him. One of those vehicles, a truck not unlike his own, tried to avoid the man but ended up killing two students who were crossing the road on their way to school. The next day, the mentally ill man was also struck and killed, Mr. Prasad said.

He paused and then considered the piece of paper in his hand. It contained the prescription for his first pair of glasses. Mr. Prasad hesitated and then gently placed it in his pocket.

The post A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2KGOO7Q via News of World

[dragnews]

A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses

PANIPAT, India — Shivam Kumar’s failing eyesight was manageable at first. To better see the chalkboard, the 12-year-old moved to the front of the classroom, but in time, the indignities piled up.

Increasingly blurry vision forced him to give up flying kites and then cricket, after he was repeatedly whacked by balls he could no longer see. The constant squinting gave him headaches, and he came to dread walking home from school.

“Sometimes I don’t see a motorbike until it’s almost in my face,” he said.

As his grades flagged, so did his dreams of becoming a pilot. “You can’t fly a plane if you’re blind,” he noted glumly.

The fix for Shivam’s declining vision, it turns out, was remarkably simple.

He needed glasses.

More than a billion people around the world need eyeglasses but don’t have them, researchers say, an affliction long overlooked on lists of public health priorities. Some estimates put that figure closer to 2.5 billion people. They include thousands of nearsighted Nigerian truck drivers who strain to see pedestrians darting across the road and middle-aged coffee farmers in Bolivia whose inability to see objects up close makes it hard to spot ripe beans for harvest.

Then there the tens of millions of children like Shivam across the world whose families cannot afford an eye exam or the prescription eyeglasses that would help them excel in school.

“Many of these kids are classified as poor learners or just dumb and therefore don’t progress at school,” said Kovin Naidoo, global director of Our Children’s Vision, an organization that provides free or inexpensive eyeglasses across Africa. “That just adds another hurdle to countries struggling to break the cycle of poverty.”

In an era when millions of people still perish from preventable or treatable illness, many major donors devote their largess to combating killers like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In 2015, only $37 million was spent on delivering eyeglasses to people in the developing world, less than one percent of resources devoted to global health issues, according to EYElliance, a nonprofit group trying to raise money and bring attention to the problem of uncorrected vision.

So far, the group’s own fund-raising has yielded only a few million dollars, according to its organizers. It has enlisted Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former Liberian president, Elaine L. Chao, the transportation secretary for the United States and Paul Polman, the chief executive of Unilever, among others, in an attempt to catapult the issue onto global development wish lists. They contend that an investment in improving sight would pay off. The World Health Organization has estimated the problem costs the global economy more than $200 billion annually in lost productivity.

“Lack of access to eye care prevents billions of people around the world from achieving their potential, and is a major barrier to economic and human progress,” said Madeleine K. Albright, the former secretary of state who is also involved in the group.

Hubert Sagnieres, the chief executive of Essilor, a French eyeglass company and a partner in the fund-raising campaign, said he often confronts ambivalence when pitching the cause to big-name philanthropists.

In an interview, he recalled a recent conversation with Bill Gates, whose foundation has spent tens of billions of dollars battling infectious diseases in the developing world. He said he reminded Mr. Gates of his own childhood nearsightedness, noting that without glasses, he might have faltered in school and perhaps never gone on to start Microsoft. Mr. Gates, he said, politely demurred, saying he had other priorities. A spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation declined to comment.

The initiative’s backers point out that responding to the world’s vision crisis does not require the invention of new drugs or solving nettlesome issues like distributing refrigerated vaccines in countries with poor infrastructure. Factories in Thailand, China and the Philippines can manufacture so-called readers for less than 50 cents a pair; prescription glasses that correct nearsightedness can be produced for $1.50.

But money alone won’t easily solve systemic challenges faced by countries like Uganda, which has just 45 eye doctors for a nation of 41 million. In rural India, glasses are seen as a sign of infirmity, and in many places, a hindrance for young women seeking to get married. Until last year, Liberia did not have a single eye clinic.

“People in rural areas have never even seen a child wearing glasses,” said Ms. Sirleaf, who was president of Liberia from 2006 to this year. “Drivers don’t even know they have a deficiency. They just drive the best they can.”

On a recent afternoon, hundreds of children in powder-blue uniforms giddily jostled one another in the dusty courtyard of a high school in Panipat, two hours north of New Delhi. The students, all from poor families, were having their eyesight checked by VisionSpring, a nonprofit group started by Jordan Kassalow, a New York optometrist who helped set up EYElliance, that works with local governments to distribute subsidized eyeglasses in Asia and Africa.

For most, it was the first time anyone had checked their eyesight. The students were both excited and terrified. Roughly 12 percent were flagged as having weak vision and sent to an adjacent classroom where workers using refractor lenses conducted more tests.

Shivam, the boy who dreamed of being a pilot, walked away with a pair of purple-framed spectacles donated by Warby Parker, the American eyewear company, which also paid for the screenings.

“Everything is so clear,” Shivam exclaimed as he looked with wonder around the classroom.

Anshu Taneja, VisonSpring’s India director, said that providing that first pair of glasses is pivotal; people who have experienced the benefits of corrected vision will often buy a second pair if their prescription changes or they lose the glasses they have come to depend on.

Ratan Singh, 45, a sharecropper who recently got his first pair of reading glasses, said he could not imagine living without them now. Standing in a field of ripening wheat, he said his inability to see tiny pests on the stalks of his crop had led to decreasing yields. He sheepishly recalled the time he sprayed the wrong insecticide because he couldn’t read the label. “I was always asking other people to help me read but I was becoming a burden,” he said.

Last month, after he accidentally broke his glasses, Mr. Singh, who supports his wife and six daughters, did not hesitate to fork out the 60 rupees, roughly 90 cents, for a new pair.

Most adults over 50 need reading glasses — more than a billion people in the developing world, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness — though the vast majority simply accept their creeping disability.

That’s what happened to D. Periyanayakam, 56, a power company employee whose job requires him to read electrical meters. His failing eyesight also made it hard to drive or respond to text messages from customers and co-workers.

“I figured it was a only matter of time before they suspended me,” he said during a visit to a mobile eye clinic run by Aravind Eye Hospital, a nonprofit institution that screened his vision and told him he would soon need cataract surgery.

Mr. Periyanayakam returned to work that day with a $2 pair of glasses. He was among 400 people who showed up at a daylong clinic in a high school run by ophthalmologists, lens grinders and vision screeners.

Aravind dispenses 600,000 pairs of glasses each year in India and has expanded its efforts to Nepal, Bangladesh and countries in Africa through local partners.

The hospital trains its own vision screeners, most of them young women; a separate program trains primary schoolteachers to test their students’ sight using eye charts.

Then there is the matter of road safety. Surveys show that a worrisome number of drivers on the road in developing countries have uncorrected vision. Traffic fatality rates are far higher in low-income countries; in Africa, for example, the rate is nearly triple that of Europe, according to the W.H.O.

Experts say a significant number of India’s roughly 200,000 traffic deaths each year are tied to poor vision. In a country with a huge number of drivers, among them nine million truckers, the government agencies that administer licenses are ill-equipped to deal with the problem of declining vision, critics say.

Sightsavers, a British nonprofit that has been treating cataract-related blindness in India since the 1960s, has spent the past two years trying to get glasses to commercial drivers. It operates mobile eye-screening camps at truck stops and tollbooths in 16 cities. A driver who has his eyes examined at a clinic in north India can pick up his glasses 10 days later at a clinic in the far south.

“These men are always on the move and they are pressed for time, so we try to make it as easy as possible for them,” said Ameen, a Sightsaver employee who uses a single name.

On a recent morning, dozens of drivers, many wearing flip-flops and oil-stained trousers, lined up in front of an eye chart taped to the wall of a trucking company in the town of Chapraula. Asked why they had waited so long to have their vision checked, some shrugged. Others said they were too busy. A few cited fears they would be fired if an employer discovered that their vision was flawed.

About half the men, it turned out, needed glasses. They included Jagdish Prasad, 55, a father of nine with a deeply lined face who had never had his eyes tested.

“I haven’t had an accident in 35 years,” Mr. Prasad exclaimed — but then reluctantly admitted that he has lately been squinting to see whether a traffic light had changed.

Then he gestured to the cavalcade of honking vehicles behind him and told a story. Four days earlier, he said, a mentally ill man had been lying on the edge of the road, forcing drivers to swerve to avoid him. One of those vehicles, a truck not unlike his own, tried to avoid the man but ended up killing two students who were crossing the road on their way to school. The next day, the mentally ill man was also struck and killed, Mr. Prasad said.

He paused and then considered the piece of paper in his hand. It contained the prescription for his first pair of glasses. Mr. Prasad hesitated and then gently placed it in his pocket.

The post A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2KGOO7Q via Today News

[party-hard-or-die]

A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses

PANIPAT, India — Shivam Kumar’s failing eyesight was manageable at first. To better see the chalkboard, the 12-year-old moved to the front of the classroom, but in time, the indignities piled up.

Increasingly blurry vision forced him to give up flying kites and then cricket, after he was repeatedly whacked by balls he could no longer see. The constant squinting gave him headaches, and he came to dread walking home from school.

“Sometimes I don’t see a motorbike until it’s almost in my face,” he said.

As his grades flagged, so did his dreams of becoming a pilot. “You can’t fly a plane if you’re blind,” he noted glumly.

The fix for Shivam’s declining vision, it turns out, was remarkably simple.

He needed glasses.

More than a billion people around the world need eyeglasses but don’t have them, researchers say, an affliction long overlooked on lists of public health priorities. Some estimates put that figure closer to 2.5 billion people. They include thousands of nearsighted Nigerian truck drivers who strain to see pedestrians darting across the road and middle-aged coffee farmers in Bolivia whose inability to see objects up close makes it hard to spot ripe beans for harvest.

Then there the tens of millions of children like Shivam across the world whose families cannot afford an eye exam or the prescription eyeglasses that would help them excel in school.

“Many of these kids are classified as poor learners or just dumb and therefore don’t progress at school,” said Kovin Naidoo, global director of Our Children’s Vision, an organization that provides free or inexpensive eyeglasses across Africa. “That just adds another hurdle to countries struggling to break the cycle of poverty.”

In an era when millions of people still perish from preventable or treatable illness, many major donors devote their largess to combating killers like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. In 2015, only $37 million was spent on delivering eyeglasses to people in the developing world, less than one percent of resources devoted to global health issues, according to EYElliance, a nonprofit group trying to raise money and bring attention to the problem of uncorrected vision.

So far, the group’s own fund-raising has yielded only a few million dollars, according to its organizers. It has enlisted Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the former Liberian president, Elaine L. Chao, the transportation secretary for the United States and Paul Polman, the chief executive of Unilever, among others, in an attempt to catapult the issue onto global development wish lists. They contend that an investment in improving sight would pay off. The World Health Organization has estimated the problem costs the global economy more than $200 billion annually in lost productivity.

“Lack of access to eye care prevents billions of people around the world from achieving their potential, and is a major barrier to economic and human progress,” said Madeleine K. Albright, the former secretary of state who is also involved in the group.

Hubert Sagnieres, the chief executive of Essilor, a French eyeglass company and a partner in the fund-raising campaign, said he often confronts ambivalence when pitching the cause to big-name philanthropists.

In an interview, he recalled a recent conversation with Bill Gates, whose foundation has spent tens of billions of dollars battling infectious diseases in the developing world. He said he reminded Mr. Gates of his own childhood nearsightedness, noting that without glasses, he might have faltered in school and perhaps never gone on to start Microsoft. Mr. Gates, he said, politely demurred, saying he had other priorities. A spokeswoman for the Gates Foundation declined to comment.

The initiative’s backers point out that responding to the world’s vision crisis does not require the invention of new drugs or solving nettlesome issues like distributing refrigerated vaccines in countries with poor infrastructure. Factories in Thailand, China and the Philippines can manufacture so-called readers for less than 50 cents a pair; prescription glasses that correct nearsightedness can be produced for $1.50.

But money alone won’t easily solve systemic challenges faced by countries like Uganda, which has just 45 eye doctors for a nation of 41 million. In rural India, glasses are seen as a sign of infirmity, and in many places, a hindrance for young women seeking to get married. Until last year, Liberia did not have a single eye clinic.

“People in rural areas have never even seen a child wearing glasses,” said Ms. Sirleaf, who was president of Liberia from 2006 to this year. “Drivers don’t even know they have a deficiency. They just drive the best they can.”

On a recent afternoon, hundreds of children in powder-blue uniforms giddily jostled one another in the dusty courtyard of a high school in Panipat, two hours north of New Delhi. The students, all from poor families, were having their eyesight checked by VisionSpring, a nonprofit group started by Jordan Kassalow, a New York optometrist who helped set up EYElliance, that works with local governments to distribute subsidized eyeglasses in Asia and Africa.

For most, it was the first time anyone had checked their eyesight. The students were both excited and terrified. Roughly 12 percent were flagged as having weak vision and sent to an adjacent classroom where workers using refractor lenses conducted more tests.

Shivam, the boy who dreamed of being a pilot, walked away with a pair of purple-framed spectacles donated by Warby Parker, the American eyewear company, which also paid for the screenings.

“Everything is so clear,” Shivam exclaimed as he looked with wonder around the classroom.

Anshu Taneja, VisonSpring’s India director, said that providing that first pair of glasses is pivotal; people who have experienced the benefits of corrected vision will often buy a second pair if their prescription changes or they lose the glasses they have come to depend on.

Ratan Singh, 45, a sharecropper who recently got his first pair of reading glasses, said he could not imagine living without them now. Standing in a field of ripening wheat, he said his inability to see tiny pests on the stalks of his crop had led to decreasing yields. He sheepishly recalled the time he sprayed the wrong insecticide because he couldn’t read the label. “I was always asking other people to help me read but I was becoming a burden,” he said.

Last month, after he accidentally broke his glasses, Mr. Singh, who supports his wife and six daughters, did not hesitate to fork out the 60 rupees, roughly 90 cents, for a new pair.

Most adults over 50 need reading glasses — more than a billion people in the developing world, according to the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness — though the vast majority simply accept their creeping disability.

That’s what happened to D. Periyanayakam, 56, a power company employee whose job requires him to read electrical meters. His failing eyesight also made it hard to drive or respond to text messages from customers and co-workers.

“I figured it was a only matter of time before they suspended me,” he said during a visit to a mobile eye clinic run by Aravind Eye Hospital, a nonprofit institution that screened his vision and told him he would soon need cataract surgery.

Mr. Periyanayakam returned to work that day with a $2 pair of glasses. He was among 400 people who showed up at a daylong clinic in a high school run by ophthalmologists, lens grinders and vision screeners.

Aravind dispenses 600,000 pairs of glasses each year in India and has expanded its efforts to Nepal, Bangladesh and countries in Africa through local partners.

The hospital trains its own vision screeners, most of them young women; a separate program trains primary schoolteachers to test their students’ sight using eye charts.

Then there is the matter of road safety. Surveys show that a worrisome number of drivers on the road in developing countries have uncorrected vision. Traffic fatality rates are far higher in low-income countries; in Africa, for example, the rate is nearly triple that of Europe, according to the W.H.O.

Experts say a significant number of India’s roughly 200,000 traffic deaths each year are tied to poor vision. In a country with a huge number of drivers, among them nine million truckers, the government agencies that administer licenses are ill-equipped to deal with the problem of declining vision, critics say.

Sightsavers, a British nonprofit that has been treating cataract-related blindness in India since the 1960s, has spent the past two years trying to get glasses to commercial drivers. It operates mobile eye-screening camps at truck stops and tollbooths in 16 cities. A driver who has his eyes examined at a clinic in north India can pick up his glasses 10 days later at a clinic in the far south.

“These men are always on the move and they are pressed for time, so we try to make it as easy as possible for them,” said Ameen, a Sightsaver employee who uses a single name.

On a recent morning, dozens of drivers, many wearing flip-flops and oil-stained trousers, lined up in front of an eye chart taped to the wall of a trucking company in the town of Chapraula. Asked why they had waited so long to have their vision checked, some shrugged. Others said they were too busy. A few cited fears they would be fired if an employer discovered that their vision was flawed.

About half the men, it turned out, needed glasses. They included Jagdish Prasad, 55, a father of nine with a deeply lined face who had never had his eyes tested.

“I haven’t had an accident in 35 years,” Mr. Prasad exclaimed — but then reluctantly admitted that he has lately been squinting to see whether a traffic light had changed.

Then he gestured to the cavalcade of honking vehicles behind him and told a story. Four days earlier, he said, a mentally ill man had been lying on the edge of the road, forcing drivers to swerve to avoid him. One of those vehicles, a truck not unlike his own, tried to avoid the man but ended up killing two students who were crossing the road on their way to school. The next day, the mentally ill man was also struck and killed, Mr. Prasad said.

He paused and then considered the piece of paper in his hand. It contained the prescription for his first pair of glasses. Mr. Prasad hesitated and then gently placed it in his pocket.

The post A Simple Way to Improve a Billion Lives: Eyeglasses appeared first on World The News.

from World The News https://ift.tt/2KGOO7Q via Breaking News

[hollywoodjuliorivas]

Right Turn Opinion Trump exemplifies abuse of power By Jennifer Rubin August 28 at 3:00 PM Play Video 3:06 Inside the plan to develop a Trump Tower in Moscow The Washington Post's Carol Leonnig and Tom Hamburger explain the Trump Organization's efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. (Jenny Starrs, Meg Kelly/The Washington Post) President Richard Nixon faced impeachment not for any crime but, under the first article of impeachment, because, “in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, has prevented, obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice.” It does not say — and it was not established — that he committed a crime. In essence, the House of Representatives concluded that impeachment and removal would be justified if Nixon used the instruments of power not for the country’s benefit but to save his own political skin (“using the powers of his high office, engaged personally and through his close subordinates and agents, in a course of conduct or plan designed to delay, impede, and obstruct the investigation” of the Watergate break-in). As one charged with enforcement of the laws and the fair administration of justice, the president is not acting in the public interest when he uses his powers as a shield against inquiry. That seems particularly relevant as we begin to look at the case for impeachment against President Trump. Following on The Post’s blockbuster story that Trump was seeking a major deal with Russia at the time he was running for president, the New York Times reports: A business associate of President Trump promised in 2015 to engineer a real estate deal with the aid of the president of Russia, Vladimir V. Putin, that he said would help Mr. Trump win the presidency. The business associate, Felix Sater, wrote a series of emails to Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, in which he boasted about his ties to Mr. Putin and predicted that building a Trump Tower in Moscow would be a political boon to Mr. Trump’s candidacy. “Our boy can become president of the USA and we can engineer it,” Mr. Sater wrote in an email. “I will get all of Putins team to buy in on this, I will manage this process.” As the Times notes, there is no evidence Sater “delivered” for Trump, but what we do get is a clear picture, in conjunction with previous disclosures, of gross conflicts of interest and abuse of power. Now The Post reports: A top executive from Donald Trump’s real estate company emailed Vladi­mir Putin’s personal spokesman during the U.S. presidential campaign last year to ask for help advancing a stalled Trump Tower development project in Moscow, according to documents submitted to Congress Monday. Michael Cohen, a Trump attorney and executive vice president for the Trump Organization, sent the email in January 2016 to Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s top press aide. So Trump was taking a soft line on Russia at the time his personal attorney was asking Putin for help. Perhaps “collusion” is too kind a word for trading favors with an enemy of the United States. Consider the following: Opinions newsletter Thought-provoking opinions and commentary, in your inbox daily. Sign up Trump’s family, associates and campaign staff had numerous contacts with Russia during the campaign and post-election transition. Evidence exists that Trump’s personal attorney was seeking help from Putin as Trump was running a peculiar campaign that omitted any harsh talk about Russia. Trump lied in saying no such contacts occurred. Other members of his administration omitted mention of their Russian contacts on required security applications. Trump’s son and son-in-law met with Russian officials for the purpose of obtaining damaging information on Hillary Clinton. Trump openly encouraged Russian hacking of his opponent and in the closing days of the campaign made dozens and dozens of references to WikiLeaks. Once in office, he tried to pressure then-FBI Director James B. Comey, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers to curtail the investigation into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn. After Comey refused, Trump fired him, concocted a fake reason for the firing, attempted to intimidate him before his testimony (e.g. hinting at tapes, threatening to investigate for leaking information) and publicly continued to hint at his power to remove both the attorney general and special prosecutor. That is a pattern of behavior that goes to the core of his oath of office and his obligation to faithfully enforce the laws. He is using the powers of government for selfish, personal ends in an attempt to prevent scrutiny of his own affairs and conduct. Certainly special counsel Robert S. Mueller III will add to the portrait, filling in with illustrative detail. However, the contours of the case for impeachment are already there. As Benjamin Wittes and Jane Chong of Lawfare write: Trump has embarrassed the presidential office in innumerable ways, and members of the House and Senate are obliged to organize these incidents in their heads and get a handle on their constitutional significance. There is a wrong way and a right way to go about this task. The wrong way is to treat the launch of an impeachment inquiry as a matter of political popularity or opportunism. … The right approach is to commit to a clear-eyed and ongoing assessment of Trump’s words and actions against the obligations of the office and to trace out the effects of his misconduct on the security and welfare of the United States. When we consider the myriad other ways in which Trump has used and misused the presidency — e.g. praising police abuses, insulting federal (“so-called”) judges, pardoning someone who defied a court order, enriching himself while in office, putting unqualified relatives in office, refusing to reveal his financial dealings or to free himself of conflicts of interest — it becomes clear that Trump is not fulfilling his oath or faithfully executing the law; he’s enriching himself, deflecting inquiry and undermining the rule of law. How could impeachment not be on the table? Even if Republicans won’t do so, it is incumbent upon Democrats, especially those on the House Judiciary Committee, to begin considering how Trump’s conduct aligns with conduct that was the basis for impeachment (interrupted by resignation) of Nixon. They’d better start now to seriously assess what behavior should be considered an abuse of power and what evidence they would need to reach a definitive conclusion. If they win the House majority a year from November, the issue will no longer be hypothetical. Comments Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Post, offering reported opinion from a conservative perspective. Follow @JRubinBlogger The Post Recommends FBI investigated complaints that Bobby Knight groped women at U.S. spy agency Four employees accused the ex-coach of touching them inappropriately. In the end, no charges were filed. Jul 7 ‘20 seconds of burning’: Friends partly blinded after watching solar eclipse warn of dangers “We thought we were invincible, as most teenagers do,” said Roger Duvall, who briefly looked at a partial eclipse without protective eyewear. Aug 21 Opinion President Trump is deteriorating before our very eyes Here's one way this could all end. 5 days ago   Paid Promoted Stories The Reading Habits Of Highly Successful People Blinkist Magazine The Most Addictive Game Of The Year! Already 14 Million Players! AppStore Buffett Just Made A Billion Dollar Investment In… Why It Matters omegapiomega Recommended by Most Read 1 Opinion Trump is dragging us toward a full-blown crisis. Here’s what has to happen now. 2 Opinion Trump exemplifies abuse of power 3 Opinion ‘Game of Thrones,’ Season 7, Episode 7: ‘The Dragon and the Wolf’ 4 Opinion The Arpaio pardon could be a test run for shutting down the Russia investigation 5 Opinion Put Tillerson out of his misery, Mr. President — just fire him The story must be told. Subscribe to The Washington Post. Subscribe washingtonpost.com © 1996-2017 The Washington Post   Help and Contact Us Terms of Service Privacy Policy Print Products Terms of Sale Digital Products Terms of Sale Submissions and Discussion Policy RSS Terms of Service Ad Choices View standard mobile site

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Come with me whilst I take a step back in time, a journey through the depths of an 80s Dundee. I speculate 35 years should be suffice, or perhaps the year of 1983? Let’s take a stroll through West Port towards the Hawkhill. Past the suave grandeur of Da Vinci’s Studio and across to the Globe, take a sharp left into the quaint, Johnston’s lane. There, standing alone and snuggled in amongst a tenement close, sits a quirky wee shop, which is the outré toy-like home to a prolific local artist-  Stephen French. Selling abstract sketches, peculiar sculptures and an unconventional range of modern artefacts and paraphernalia, French’s holographic 3D absurdities engaged the lucrative audience of Dundee’s art trailblazers and fast-forward initiators. With a repertoire the length (or if not longer) than the Tay Road Bridge, French’s designs have since been exhibited in the V&A and the Barbican (London), the National Museum of Modern Art (Kyoto) and the Pomipdou Centre (Paris). Impressive, I know!

Take a jump to your left and then a step to your right, put your hands on your hips and bend your knees back into contemporary times. Because today in the very same spot, yes, that quirky wee lane and in that outré toy-like shop, resides an outfit with just as much splendour and attribute than it’s attractive past. Spex Pistols, Dundee’s one and only independent Optical Boutique. Established in 2011, founder Richard (Cookie) Cook has successfully matched the artistic opulence of number four’s previous owners, not only by exhibiting at London’s V&A museum but by combining a passion for vintage spectacles, toys and cameras, alongside music and movie memorabilia. Displaying his wares on 70’s sideboards and bare-brick walls, the shop is famed not just for it’s frames but it’s kitsch interior and kick-ass ambience too.

Considering all of the above, Spex Pistols ultimately stocks a nifty selection of frames and lenses alongside their frame repair service which fundamentally saves customer’s time and heartache, as well as breathing new life into your valuable or sentimental eyewear. Iconic brands such as William Morris, Prada and Ray-Ban adorn the the walls and the knowledgeable, warm and kooky staff are always on hand to share advice or pick out the perfect pair to suit not just your face but your personality and budget too. Still not enough? If you're desperately seeking more from the smallest yet undeniably the coolest four walls within Dundee’s Cultural Quarter, then Spex Pistols strong music influence makes it a hotspot for local musicians, with live and (if your lucky) impromptu gigs played upon the mezzanine floor.

RiverTown caught up with owner Richard to dig a little deeper, join us as wee explore the nooks and crannies of Spex Pistols’ history and take a nose dive deep into the kaleidoscope of Richard’s fashionable past…

RiverTown - Can you tell me a little bit about Spex Pistols’ history?

Spex Pistols -The shop was born right here in Johnston's Lane, West Port in 2011, but it was in the planning since I bought my first lot of really cool vintage glasses in 1991. I'd already trained as a specialist lens maker and I was running a factory in Glasgow with Danny McAfee, who is a Dundee legend in the true sense of the word. I bought the frames, all from the 50s in never worn condition, which is very important. It took me about 4 months from finding the right shop to opening the doors.

RT- What was the influence or inspiration behind setting up an independent optical boutique?

SP- I had been putting everything into my work for 20 years, and I was always surprised how interesting people found it; for a start, nobody knew how to take me seriously, especially with something so technical. When I worked in factory environments, there was lots to learn, but working for big retailers, there was lots they wanted me to forget.There was strict control over time spent and creativity. I never really fitted in and spent most of my time avoiding the sack. Working in the environment I wanted just wasn't available unless I set it up myself.

RT- The name obviously plays on the shortened term for spectacles, as well as a nod to the infamous Punk band The Sex Pistols. Is there a story behind the name? Who came up with it?

SP -This will sound dull, but a brand starting with no money has to have a name and identity which people will take notice of, to have the best chance of survival. 'Spex Pistols' just came into my head while driving down Perth Road one night. It was like a blinding flash of inspiration. From that very second, I knew it was going to happen. Also, I liked the Sex Pistols, they weren't my absolute favourite band, but they broke the rules so brilliantly and they were marketed perfectly, with practically no budget. I took that as inspiration.

RT- I’ve heard you have had a few musicians through the boutique’s door, most outstanding is Johnny Marr from iconic alternative rock band The Smiths. Mr Marr has championed Spex Pistols on twitter and has left a raving review on your website. How did you meet the stylish guitarist? what is your relationship with him now? Does he still commission his spex from Spex Pistols?

SP- We've been very lucky to have people of massive influence enthusing about the shop.That could be someone who loves their new look and tells all their family and friends to come in, or somebody like Johnny who seems to tell the whole world. Just today we had the head of a London PR firm in, with a  list of international household names on their rooster. He mentioned that Johnny had recommended us.There has been some communication with Johnny's gang, but we are always impressed when people tell us they've met him and he spoke about us, or he likes a picture of one of our customers on Instagram, but the time he sent my cat a get well soon message showed me what a lovely person he is.

RT- As well as Mr Marr, I've noticed your Instagram is teaming with trendy, quirky and fashion forward customers, why do you think Spex Pistols is so appealing? What is your unique selling point?

SP- Right from the start, there was a focus to be different from everyone else. Not just opticians, but all big retail firms. You can walk into any big firm's shop and get just about anything, but you can't always get something unique or cherished. People seem to love our service too. One of our customers, a cockney, who missed the football one Saturday just to visit us, bought a beautiful pair of Savile Row frames from the ALGHA works, a stone's throw from his family home. We fitted them with bespoke, hand made lenses in our lab. He said it was the best shopping experience of his life. That meant everything to us. Our customers are our friends and it's honestly great fun to be around them every day. Maybe they feel that too and that sets us apart from the rest.

RT- I can feel the warm relationship between staff and customers through social media and whilst visiting the shop, how do you ensure your team has a strong customer service ethos?

SP-We have always had people working in the shop who have an incredible understanding of customer service. We all want every customer to feel welcome. We know that not everyone wants to buy spex. Some people just want to come in and check us out. But they still have to have a good time. We like to look after the people who have always looked after us.

RT- The shop itself is brimming with kitsch, retro and vintage paraphernalia, what was your vision behind the shop’s unique interior? Where did you get all the stuff?

SP- It wasn't so much a vision. When Spex Pistols first opened, there was no big shop fitting budget. There was no money at all in fact. I've always collected things. Anything I liked the look of. Design isn't just functional, sometimes it just has to look incredible. So I had lots of old radios, toys and books to bring with me. I brought in stuff I'd found in skips, customers and friends have always donated brilliant pieces of furniture, which helped a lot. The first version of the shop was chaotic, but everyone loved that their childhood memories jumped out all around them. The shop now looks more organised and settled, with lots of interesting features, mainly because Sooz is an Interior Designer of note who never switched off, and we have incredibly accommodating landlords, but the nostalgia stays. It's part of us. We are planning another refurb in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

RT- Patti Smith famously said “My sunglasses are like my guitar”, and many other icons hide behind their big, black lenses. Who is your spectacle wearing hero and why?

SP- Morrissey. From the first time I saw him on The Tube and Top Of The Pops. This was all around my 13th birthday and I couldn't get enough of The Smiths. They had loves and hates, and passions just like mine, just like the line from Cemetery Gates. Morrissey did it all with incredible style. Swaggering and stuttering, with a lucky lisp and shy confidence which was utterly unique. He had lots of flowers, but hanging out the back pocket of his Levi's was a hearing aid and NHS glasses. He was the most incredible style icon. I was spellbound. It's no coincidence that we sell both the NHS 524s that  Morrissey wore and the vintage Ray-Ban Wayfarers which Johnny Marr had on beside him on those early tv appearances.

RT- RiverTown Clothing focuses on high end vintage and contemporary garments, we are continually inspired from people around us, predominately within our hometown of Dundee. Can you talk me through your personal style?

** SP- I first properly payed attention to clothing when I saw The Jam on TV and in No1 and Smash Hits, which were music magazines. It was all Sta-Prest trousers by Levi's, Crombie overcoats, 3 button suits, Brutus and Fred Perry  shirts, doc martens and paisley scarves. Grouchos also sold "official" Jam shoes. They were black and white or red, white & blue. All my pocket money and birthday money went on them. My first suit (which I still have) was from The Cavern in Carnaby Street. I saved up for about a year. It was incredible. Prince Of Wales checked, 3 buttons, 2 inch lapels, side vents and straight cut bottoms. Breaks from Grouchos ordered it in for me and let me pay it up. When it was all payed, I took it home on the bus, I felt like The Face. At that point, Mods were a dying breed. There were about 20 of us in Dundee, and about 6 from Cupar. We reformed The Shimmy and took our records into a cafe in a basement off City Square. We all dressed the best we could. It was a competition. All we cared about was clothes and music. Being a mod felt right. Since then, I've paid very little attention to current fashion trends. I don't care if something is second hand. As long as it's right for me. Last year, somebody in town said to me "why are you wearing those clothes?" It always feels good to be different. **

RT- We have a vintage obsession, can you create us a fashion timeline from your teens until now? what was your favourite look or style?

SP- When I turned 13, I loved music and clothes. I was obsessed with chart music as well as indie, which was pretty new, but I always dressed with a really mod style. That meant a side parting and neat hair, bowling shoes, desert boots or brogues, Levi's or straight cut dress trousers, a proper shirt with button down collars or Fred Perrys - there were about 6 colours available, Glen Alva cardigans or Y cardies. Socks were always white and trousers never came below the top of my ankle. I would rather die back then than have trousers at the wrong length. That was casual wear. Anything more formal would be a 3 button suit with a Ben Sherman (they were still quite rare back then) and a slim tie. But never a piano key tie. That was like telling the world you liked Status Quo. By the time I was 14, everybody was a casual. I never got it really, but I did like the Lacoste polo shirts and the trainers. I went to the north of England with my pals that summer and spent that year's pocket money on a pair of red adidas trimm trab’s and stone washed Levi's. I also wore a lot of band t shirts at that time. Mostly The Smiths, The Jam, David Bowie and, of course Frankie Says. I should point out though, I never looked cool. I wanted to, but I looked like Sam from Moonrise Kingdom. At 15 everyone around me was wearing really bright geometric prints and big hair, but me and a couple of pals were back trying to look like The Small Faces, with knitted shirts, paisley scarves, denim jackets and checked trousers. The Fred Perrys had dried up in the shops, but if you tried hard enough, you could find them. In fact, our clothes would have been quite expensive to buy new, but we had learned along the way that charity shops were the cheapest and the best place to find the stuff we liked. You could get a genuine Tootal scarf for about 25p from Oxfam. They sold them new in department stores for about £75. When something came from a charity shop in great condition, a commitment was there to care for it until somebody else got it. I still have clothes I got when I was a young mod in excellent condition. I still wear my first ever Tootal scarf, and my dad's old Crombie is still hanging up. Something happened when I was 16 which took me away from the recognised mod style I loved. I had new heroes to copy. They were all matinee idols, from Jack Lemon and Frank Sinatra I got to really like a more American, grown up Ivy League look. I copied the haircut from Hobson's Choice that John Mills had and then gradually, James Cagney's double breasted suits. By now I liked being the boy who dressed differently. The suits and now raincoats stayed until I discovered FLIP of Hollywood. They had shops in Glasgow and Edinburgh. Discovering FLIP was like finding Shangri-la. An earthly paradise of vintage clothing and accessories from America.  I'd found an inexhaustible supply of worn-in, faded original 501s and Chuck Taylor basketball boots. They also had incredible college team jackets and letterman sweaters, baseball caps, sports blazers and 1950s ties. I had to find a job to pay for all the stuff I wanted. There was a brief spell, maybe the whole of 1989 when I wore Stone Roses and Happy Mondays t shirts with flares and Travel Fox trainers. I'll never regret doing that. But as soon as I returned to my normal style, I've always been true to it. It's a pretty loose code, but as long as it's the right cut and a style i love, pre-owned, repro or brand new, I either wear it to death or keep it stored away.

RT- Why is fashion important to you? and how do you reflect that through your business? SP- Past fashion is more important to me, so It's important to me to listen to those around me. It's only the styles which really work or don't work that are worth reviving. In spex pistols, the styles we revive have to be great design, which means functionality and style over fashion. We've had some collaborations with suppliers which we always love. Each frame we buy in is carefully selected and approved by us. A modification usually makes it extra special and unique. We made a pair of oversized wooden sunglasses for London Fashion Week, and four months later, PRADA had something extremely similar. Accidental coincidence or not, it meant we were making good choices.

RT- Lastly, if you can pick 5 of Spex Pistols’ coolest frames available in store right now, which 5 would they be?

SP- That’s difficult! But I'll try:

1.There are our Savile Row collection. They are all seriously cool, with a pretty hot price tag. They are hand and machine pressed. Assembled by hand in The Algha Works in Fish Island in London's East End. They brought those machines over from Germany in the 1920s, and haven't changed much at all. Each one can be ordered with different finishes, sizes, trims and colours. If you were to order the Beaufort Panto in chestnut finish, with curl sides, for example, you'd get an exact facsimile copy of Harrison Ford's frame in the Indiana Jones series. If you ordered it in gold, you'd get a replica of John Lennon's trademark spectacles, from the same machine, assembled on the same workbenches. Even the round black rimmed frames with the "W" bridge Harry Potter wears are from there, but the coolest is the Beaufort Panto.

2. The Zoe. It was a multi million seller in the late 70s and early 80s and inspired a hundred copies, but the Zoe was the original and the best. It came in at least 300 colour combinations and 4 sizes each. Today, we have it in 120 colours. It was carefully constructed with purpose built machinery specifically for that frame only. There were 6 components designed and used exclusively. It was made from two thick layers of clear acetate with printed silk in between, which meant that every single frame was different. They also made them with 4 different denims. If they could be a song, it would probably be The Reflex by Duran Duran. In the summer, we saw a back page of Time Out on the Tube in London it was a promo poster for Be Charlotte and she was wearing a pair of Zoe’s from Spex Pistols. That was pretty cool.

3. We've always had a brilliant relationship with William Morris London, and they are always up for our schemes and ideas. One nice summer day, their sales director turned up. We looked through some of our really cool vintage frames and came up with a design we both loved. It was the William Morris London 9911. It came in 5 colours. We loved it so much, we ended up buying all the stock! We have 3 colours left and we only let them out sparingly

4. The Ray-Ban Original Wayfarer RB 2140, size 54 in light Havana. This has been available for decades but was previously called the Ray-Ban Wayfarer II. The original didn't have Ray-Ban written down the sides or on the lenses. They are engraved on the insides and the lenses have BL at the sides. These are the hardest to find in good condition, but the coolest for sure. They don't even make it in that colour and size combination any more, but we have them custom made. People want to have what they can't get, and we like to get it for them. If anybody wants these, we recommend polarised. The difference is remarkable, and people who try it never go back!

5. My personal favourite frame in the shop though is the pair Johnny Marr sent. They are  Ray-Ban "SIGNET: JOHNNY MARR LIMITED EDITION" RB3493. But these were his own personal pair. Ray-Ban still make the Signet, which is a very cool frame. We have them in the larger sizes and as sunspex or clear spex, but Johnny's ones will never be sold.

A HUGE thank you to Richard of Spex Pistols and his amazing team Sooz, Nicole, India and Baby Sadie. Please follow to keep up with the comings and goings of the quirky wee optical boutique…

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/spexpistols Instagram - @spexpistols Twitter - @spexpistols

or shop

www.spexpistols.com

Spex Pistols 4 Johnstons Lane, Dundee, DD1 5ET

by Holly Scanlan (gigibobsherhair.com)