The Art of the Optometrist

Happy Chinese New Year

恭禧發財  GONG HEY FAT CHOY! (HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY!)

We at Concept welcome the Year of the Monkey. As we eagerly await the midnight fireworks, we hope that you find a red packet filled with all the luck in the world.

Individual, stylish, uncompromising and affordable – Club Concept just got better.

We have always designed our clubs with you in mind: a simple, interest-free payment scheme to help you access premier eye care. Every club takes care of all sight test examinations.  Every club is tailored to your needs.

Whether you’d prefer our Concept Clear club or our Concept Complete, we’ve got you covered. Our club packages cater for a diverse range of needs, preferences and lifestyles. With instalments beginning as low as £7.99 a month, style can combine with a budget.

Today, Concept honours the Scottish bard Robert Burns – an inspiration for many. His words are echoed around the world: he gave John Steinbeck’s most famous novel its title – “Of Mice and Men”; he has made love and roses synonymous to us; we even sing his work with our friends every year, as we mumble our way through “Old Lang Syne”. It’s not an overstatement to say that Burns remains one of the most beloved poets in Britain and probably the most beloved in Scotland.

Taking care of your glasses also means keeping on top of your vision.

Believe it or not, giving them a good clean can also improve what you see. A spectacle bath with an ultrasonic deep clean sounds like baptism in the realms of science fiction – but it will remove ingrained debris, grease and historic finger fudging thereby dramatically improving the quality of your vision and eye health.

Love your frames, put them back in their case after using them. Take the darlings off at night using both hands to avoid overstretching the sides. And what about the fitting?

Are you comfortable with how your frames sit on your nose? Too tight or too loose? A decent fitting makes a difference to how you see the world. Particularly relevant to wearers of varifocal or bifocal lenses, a simple adjustment to the side of your frames, new nose pads or screws can help you feel re-aquainted with the frames you once so cherished.

Concept Eye Clinic in Tynemouth this weekend is holding a unique FREE Spectacle Surgery. You will receive:

1. Ultrasonic Cleanse

2. FREE adjustments

In winter, we can all get worn down. The bitter cold, the rain, back-to-work and back-to-school: it can be a stress. Here at Concept, we know that a badly adjusted frame or a missing nose pad can only make things worse. Both you and your frame need a little TLC.

That’s why, on Saturday 16th January, Concept are hosting Love: a TLC clinic. Let us take care of your frames with free professional frame cleaning, small repairs, nose pad replacements and style advice. We’ll even use some of the latest tech, lavishing your specs with an ultrasonic clean. And for you? Kick back with a yummy, hot and healthy herbal tea. Not only is it relaxing, it doubles up as an eye tonic.

So, why wait? Get yourself down to our beautiful Tynemouth clinic. Let your stresses roll away in the seaside warmth of Concept.

Concept salutes the creative, Corinthian, cosmic genius of David Bowie. The Man who Owned the World with haunting sound, revolutionary talent and bold re-invention. Rest in peace X

So how do you see yourself entering this New Year - become vegetarian? Choose nourishing relationships and relinquish tired ones? Read the Guardian properly? More work-life balance perhaps? An exercise routine infused with pleasure and less procrastination? A less-is-more approach to your wardrobe? How about tackling some of this with an integrative Mind Body complete MOT health check, starting with your eyes. It makes sense. Your eyes are the most utilised muscle in your body with over 2 million working parts and the ability to process 36,000 units of data per hour. Your eyes are actually always on the move (REM) even when you’re asleep! They process how you feel, interpret and perceive the world.

So why don’t we take better care of them?

Our eyes appear to be most neglected when we are in the prime of our lives. Perhaps that’s when we feel most invincible/immortal in our fast paced lives. Statistically speaking and, according to the RNIB: ‘There are an estimated two million people in the UK who are living with sight loss, but a staggering 50 per cent of these cases are believed to be preventable. Almost half (47 per cent) of all adults aged 34 or younger have not had an eye test in the last two years.’ Sight testing is about checking the health of your eyes as well as optimising vision. A twenty minute visit every two years can actually help detect underlying health conditions. With the advances in technology, Concept have invested in 3D OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography).

In the realms of Star Wars this is an advanced screening system that checks the health of your eyes. Coupled with a skilled optometrist (that’s our Jim!), this major leap forward in digital photography means we can check on any ocular condition and manifestation of systemic disease which can be present in the eyes including: glaucoma, diabetes, age-related macular degeneration, vitreous detachments and blood-related diseases that have a propensity for quietly damaging the eye. Jim Brennan from Concept Eye Clinic in Gosforth says: “Experience has taught us that the earlier we can detect symptoms, the better the outcome for our patients.”

So make your resolution and let’s get into the habit please.

At Concept, we're happy to offer you some January savings on our designer frames. Our signature blend of care, style and affordability is at the core of these offers.

Follow the Biography of Frames – our mailing list – for updates about what we’ve got on.

It has been a fantastic year here at Concept. Our clinic in Tynemouth has become a startling, discerning and beautiful addition to the sea-side high-streets. Complimented by the Twilight clinic and our recent Christmas kids’ clinic, Concept has become more accessible than ever before. To top it all off, Concept Eye Clinic has recently been named one of the top three opticians in the North East.

As we welcome in the New Year, Concept continues with You in mind. The shift between the years is always a time of change, but we will continue on a path of innovation. Meshing style, affordability and customer care together with every step. To You, dear reader, we will continue in our commitment. Another Twilight clinic, a kids’ clinic, a #January #sale and a range of Concept frames is just the start! Your support and loyalty to us means more than we can say.

Oakley A defining spirit

“Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them -a desire, a dream, a vision. “  

Ray Ban A different perspective

“What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”

Recycle your Specs!

Buy from Concept

Give Vision with Love

Concept is an extraordinary company with an extraordinary vision.

Behind the scenes, it’s creation is underpinned by a social model of care. Our work is predicated on the reality that making a positive difference to a person’s vision inevitably impacts their quality of life, place in society, dignity and emotional well being.

Last year Concept recycled, over 100 spectacles brought in by people across the region. We donate through a diverse range of local charities that distribute an equally diverse range of glasses to impoverished groups across the globe. Your help has been greatly appreciated in continuing this programme.

Did you know that Concept is also an 'Associate Practice Hero' with Optometry Giving Sight, this is an international charity we are partnered with. Concept contributes to fund clinical expertise and resources to countries in the African and Asian diaspora.

At home, we provide FREE sight tests and FREE spectacles to communities in the North East experiencing social and health inequalities, such as The Cyrenian’s, the Salvation Army and people suffering mental health and physical disabilities. A vulnerable person will receive an outreach service, with our signature clinical excellence and after care.  A carefully trained team models this ethos.

With your support, the Concept vision to help those in need requiring eye care and spectacles will continue to grow.

March is Recycle Month for 'Eye for an Eye'

Trade your old glasses and get £50 off a complete pair!*

T&C