Young and talented sculptor Bayne Peterson, that resides in our own beloved state of Rhode Island, has released new series of deconstructed optical frames inspired by his study of the artwork of native peoples in North America and the arctic region.

It all began a year ago, when Peterson was awarded a trip to Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa to study the art of inuits, or natives of the arctic regions of Greenland, Canada, Alaska and Chukotka. He was so impressed by their ivory carving, that he later went to Baffin Island in Canada for further studies.  World interest in the art of arctic natives is growing every year and, as a result, Peterson made a presentation at the archaeological conference at the University of Illinois and produced a series of wooden sculptures to capture the essence of what he had learned from the inuits.

 Peterson’s passion led him down an intriguing path.  Rather than create sculptures that reside in private homes where few can see them, he chose to create wearable art that brings this artistic tradition out into the everyday world, where all can experience and enjoy it.  Thus was born his sculpture-temples for eyeglass frames. Despite their impressive size, their style and proportions clearly reveal the source of their inspiration.

In the tradition of native peoples who cherish the gifts of nature, they are carved of wood. Some are covered with layers of painted matte epoxy to echo the vibrant colors of native art.  Others, honoring the tradition of caring for Mother Earth by reusing her gifts, include pieces of colored plastic reclaimed from cups, knives and forks from a local deli. To avoid the caustic process of melting and reshaping this plastic, the dinnerware is milled in a coffee grinder.

Though based on centuries of tradition, these sculpture-temples have a modern look.  Their painstaking craftsmaship and high quality definitely can take center stage in any optical salon.

We are proud to display them in our shop.

John Juniper and Jeff Solorio founded DITA in Los Angeles in 1996 with the mission to create innovative, finely crafted eyewear with a totally unique look and feel. They always shared the same passion for photography and design. Together they were inspired to capture their passions not just on film but in eyewear as well, thus creating the first collection of Dita frames.

Edgy yet elegant with an East meets West aesthetic and design influences ranging from Hollywood’s glamorous Golden Age to the mechanized beauty of the Industrial Revolution, DITA’s ability to enhance and transform a wearer’s persona has earned the brand a cult-like following amongst the world’s most influential celebrities, stylists and trendsetters. Dita became a well-known company in Europe.

Dita is an independent and somewhat underground brand for edgy, unique people with style of their own. The frames are based on traditional shapes but morphed in the design and technology to be unique and original. 

Remember when you decided it took too long to fire up the laptop, so you got a smart phone and started doing most of your day-to-day communicating on the go?  Email just wasn’t fast enough, so you went to instant messaging.  And then Facebook wasn’t quick enough, so you had to add Twitter to your life.

Well, let’s face it; the smart phone is becoming annoyingly slow too.  Let’s say that you see something happening and you want to get a picture or a video.  You have to dig the phone out of your pocket, purse or briefcase, turn it on and select the photo app.  By then, the event you were trying to capture is over.  Bummer!

Or, you’re driving in heavy traffic and you suddenly remember something you need to take care of.  You’re afraid you’ll forget.  You need to write it down or record a memo.  Where is that stupid phone?  It’s dangerous to use it while driving, but you don’t want to risk forgetting to do this thing.  Argh!

Enter the newest smart technology that doesn’t need to be hunted down or turned on — a device that’s always at your beck and call, just waiting for you to tell it what to do next and streaming information to you on the go:  Google Glass.

Early versions of the product, which you may have seen in TV ads, made the wearer look like a malevolent warrior from a Sci Fi movie – not the sort of image you’d want to project if you value your business contacts or if you want to make new friends.

Thankfully, Google has seen the light and its geeks have sought the assistance of fashion experts to create a new line of eyewear with the Google Glass computer built into the frame. To compensate for the added weight of the computer, designers used über- lightweight titanium for the frames.  The design puts the computer screen just above your field of vision when you’re looking straight ahead so that it doesn’t interfere with your normal vision, yet  you only need to glance to the upper right when you want it.  You can control the computer with either voice commands, or, if you want privacy in a crowd, touch commands along the right temple of the eyeglass frame.

Watch the video to see how it feels!!

Is this just a fad or is it the next step in the information technology revolution?  It’s too early to tell, but here’s an interesting indicator:  Medical Doctors Carl Spitzer and Craig Rosenberg have teamed up to launch Healium, a company that develops software for the Google Glass device that can be used by EMT squads, in emergency rooms, or during surgery.  Making a medical professional’s use of technology hands free is huge.  It saves precious time, which could save lives. In the same context, Rhode Island Hospital’s Emergency Department announced that it will use Google Glass technology to stream live images of a patient’s medical condition to a consulting specialist located elsewhere. It’s the first in the nation to test Google Glass on medical conditions, see the link below:

http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20140307-r.i.-hospitals-emergency-department-first-to-test-google-glass-on-medical-conditions-video.ece

Have you asked Santa for a new smartphone, laptop or the latest lightweight tablet?  Are you hoping a new big-screen television or maybe a handheld e-book reader will appear under your tree?  These devices are wonderful entertainment, a great means to stay connected to family and friends, and they can be educational.  Some of them are even must-haves in today’s educational system.  But the scary thing is, they emit significant amounts of blue light, which carries a variety of health hazards. 

The white light that we know and love as daylight is really a sort of packet containing light in all the colors of the visible spectrum, including blue light.  During the day, blue light is a good thing because it helps you to remain alert and lifts your mood.  At night, however, it can interfere with your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates body rhythms and helps you to get a good night’s rest.  Preliminary research at Harvard Medical School indicates that reduced levels of melatonin may be a contributing factor in certain types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity.  And, if you’re having trouble sleeping due to exposure to blue light, Harvard researchers say you have a higher risk of depression, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Digital Eyestrain

As we increase our use of electronic media, our eyes are struggling to cope.  Children and adults alike experience symptoms such as headaches, blurred vision, itchy eyes, and neck or back pain.  In fact, digital eyestrain has surpassed carpal tunnel syndrome as the leading cause of computer-related maladies in the United States.

because it is the shortest of the light waves, it bounces around more, which causes haze and glare and makes images on your screen look blurry and hard to read.  Secondly, blue light is high energy and this means it causes more damage to your retina than any other color of light.   In fact, this high-energy light is a major contributing factor to age-related macular degeneration.

Don’t Throw Away Your Electronics

From Essilor statement: “We are able to determine the precise toxic wavelenths in the blue-violet spectrum.”


The good news is, vision technology is keeping pace with the changes in digital technology.  Crizal Prevencia, for example, blocks the harmful short rays of blue light (as known as “bad blue light”) while letting in some longer wave, or “good,” blue light so that it doesn’t alter your color perception.  You get protection from damaging rays and a clearer screen image all in one.  And yes, of course, you can get it here at Providence Optical.

Anti-Reflective treatment is one of the most important things you want to be included in your lenses. Anti-Reflective Treatment cuts the glare from night time driving, take starbursts effects away from your point of view and can reduce any glare that may be directed towards those who work in front of computer screens. In addition, AR lenses are great from a cosmetic sense since they don’t show any glare or light that normally reflects off a regular set of lenses.  Visually speaking, AR lenses will allow you to distinguish and see objects more clearly, since light isn’t bouncing off the lens, but rather is passing through the lens.

Anti-glare lenses helps you:

See Better: no glare lenses mean safer, more comfortable nighttime driving by reducing glare from headlights, taillights and street lights

Look Better: no glare lenses stay clean, clear, and glare-free, so they look virtually invisible to those around you. People can see your eyes, instead of just your glasses

Feel Better:  fewer headaches and less eye fatigue, which are caused by reflections off of computer screens and overhead lighting.

Pierre Eyewear’s founder, who prefers to be called only by his first name, has a love affair with sleek designs.  Influenced by his passion for the Porsche 911, Pierre has created a line of eyewear that blends his passion for simple elegance with meticulous attention to detail in each handcrafted frame.

A native of France, Pierre spent 10 years in the United States, working with designers at Nina Ricci, Lacoste and L’Amy.  After his return to France, he decided to put his business degree to use and developed his own line of designer eyewear.

Tired of hunting for your readers all over the house?  Leave it to the French to come up with a solution that is both artistic and practical.  See Concept’s “See Home” readers look like a pair of opera glasses mounted on a stand, which adds a whimsical touch to any room of your house.  Yet they’re practical — always at the ready and you can’t lose them because they are attached to the stand via a stainless steel chain.  Because you can change the distance between the lenses and your eyes, depending on how you hold them, the +2.50 strength works for almost everyone.  And you won’t need to get stronger ones every year as your eyes need additional help on your journey through time.

See Home readers come in a variety of vibrant colors, muted tones and metallics to match any room décor.  You can use them to read in bed at night and you don’t have to worry about breaking the hinges or bending the frame out of shape if you fall asleep and roll over on them.  Place them around the house in areas where you need a quick look at small print, like in the kitchen for following a recipe or near your desk for looking through your mail.  Put an extra pair in your office and you’ll have both a conversation piece and a pair of readers that never gets lost under your paper or left behind in the conference room.

Come look at our colorful See Home collection – just $45 each.