Journal

Take a moment and imagine:
 
Steve Jobs. 
Mahatma Gandhi.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 
Malcolm X.
John Lennon. 

What do you see?

A group of visionaries? Nah, more like a  group of revolutionaries who made their own rules. They transformed the world, how we interact, how we think and feel, and what we do. They were daring, bold, rebellious, and unapologetic. They conquered the world and they did it all while wearing glasses. 

Now that we’ve got your attention, let’s dive into our story which starts way, way back.

The year: 1284. 
The place: Italy.
The event: An accident leads to the first corrective lens. 

An Italian dude by the name of Salvino D’Armate was working with light refractions. In the process of manipulating the light, he got distracted and he injured his eyes in what seemed like an irreversible catastrophe (it was 1284 after all). 

What did Salvino do? Instead of accepting his fate as many others would have, he thought, F*ck that, and decided to take matters into his own hands. Salvino was about to change the world.

As the legend goes, he started with a humble tool invented by the Romans―the magnifying globe. He took this simple device and flipped it on its head―literally. And the rest is history. 

From that singular moment of inspiration emerged a solution for the farsighted. The monocle, the grandfather of modern-day reading glasses, was born. 

Life was no longer a blur. Folks could now see clearer, read closer, and marvel in the smallest details. The monocle caught on quickly in Italy and eventually took Europe by storm. Embraced by socialites, the eyepiece became a symbol of wealth and status (can you say bougie?). 

We’re not done yet.

Because like most things we once found interesting, new, and different, we eventually get used to them. And well...why mess with a good thing? So industries hum and haw, churning out more of the same but rarely anything truly novel. Afterall, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But innovators gotta innovate. And that’s when cool sh*t happens.

Enter Benjamin Franklin.

The year this time: 1784. 
The place: the US of A.
The event: The world of glasses is about to get shook up.

Ben’s vision wasn’t all that hot to begin with and was only getting worse with age (we feel ya, Ben). The only solutions out there corrected just one problem at a time―either near or far sightedness. 

No bueno, thought Ben.

He challenged his optician to solve both problems, simultaneously. Together, they took his two pairs of glasses, sliced their lenses in half, and then put them back together. Voila! Bifocals were born. A bold, straightforward solution that fixed a problem people had simply accepted for centuries.  

Revolutionary. 

This cycle of innovation, of challenging the norm, of pushing the established limits has gone on for centuries in the world of glasses. Another rebel in 1948 had the brilliant idea of contact lenses. And yet another visionary came up with laser eye surgery in 1988. Who knows what’s next? These significant moments―derived from individual frustration, rebellion, and inspiration―pushed the world of vision correction into areas no one would have thought possible, but that in retrospect, seem so logical.

These rebels dared to try something new, to challenge the norm, to question the status quo, and take an idea one step further. 

Can you imagine where the world would be now if we all approached problems this way? If this commitment to innovation didn’t come solely from those who dared to dream big and take matters into their own hands? Well, there’s one way to find out. 

Join the band of rebels who see beyond what’s already been done. Even if the world doesn’t fully understand us; if we have to fight hard to be heard; if our contribution makes a difference only after we’re long gone. The time is now to look further and pave a new wave. 

Join the rebellion. We’re right there with you.