What we learned while we were away…

Wow!  In the past few months, CraftOptics attended (that means I attended) VisionExpo & MJSA (with Rio Grande) in New York, SECO in Atlanta, an optical conference in Austin, the Art Glass & Bead show in Madison, the JCK in Las Vegas (with Rio Grande) and the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee.

There is nothing like meeting with customers face to face.  There is no better way to get information on your market and product than by hearing it directly from hundreds of customers, evaluators and opinion leaders at trade shows. Talk about market research!

What did we learn from all of this running around?  Some very important stuff:

• Many still think that our product is a clip-on telescope for their own glasses.  That is not the case.  The complete unit is a set of binocular telescopes that are attached to a specially designed titanium eyeglass frame.  
• There remains some confusion about how prescriptions work with the telescopes.
  • Many still don’t realize that their prescriptions are to be installed in the titanium frames that are delivered with the telescopes, either by us or by a local optical professional.
  • The telescopes work very well with bifocals/reading glasses
    

    Bifocals / Reading Rx in lower portion of frame. Distance correction above.

    installed in the eyeglass frame.

  • Many want to use the telescopes as a substitute for their own personal correction and this is a no-no.  As we always say: CraftOptics Telescopes are an enhancement to your corrected vision, NOT a substitute for your corrected vision.  The telescopes and your prescription work together to create a terrific, custom optical device.
• Jewelry artists and bead artists are adapting quickly to CraftOptics magnifying eyeglasses.
• These groups taught us more about the ergonomics of their work-spaces and their different preferred working distances:
  • Jewelry artists working on jeweler’s benches tend to prefer the 13” working distance on their telescopes.
  • Bead artists working on table tops generally prefer the 16” working distances.
• The ability of artists to look above the telescopes to easily see their tools, bench, customers, TV, etc. was a feature that turned out to be more important than expected.

As we travel around the country we will keep you posted on any new information we receive from our friends.  In the meantime, please call us at 888 444 7728 if you have any questions or feedback.  We want to hear from you! Your thoughts are important and I guarantee your voice will be heard!

Jeff

p.s.  We will be at Beadfest Philadelphia August 19-21, so if you are in the area, please stop by!