"People like me need to see people like me"
I Love What The Optical Goddess Is Doing
Hey friends.
I just looked at the calendar and holy shit, it’s February 1st. Grief is a timewarp! How many planes have we been on? How much has happened? I flew home from Texas last week and then two days later I flew back and then two days later we flew home? Last night I absolutely could not figure out how many nights we’d been back, was it two nights or three? I had to pull out my phone and look at my calendar and the answer was we’d been home for 24 hours. (If you’re not sure what all has happened and what I’m talking about you’re invited to please read my last post.)
Anyway. There’s a lot of grief swirling around, in this house and in this country, and in the hearts and minds and bodies of so many, and right now I don’t want to write about any of it.
Instead, I want to write about glasses. Specifically, the glasses I wear everyday—that so many of you have asked about!—and the person from whom I procure them. This person is the Optical Goddess, aka Autianna Wilson, the owner of Eyewear Love Affair, and one of the few queer Black women in the optical game.*
I want you to know her and love her and, if you’re a glasses-wearing person, book an appointment—in-person in Oakland or virtually online!—and get #StyledByaGoddess.
I first learned of Autianna and her business last year when I was gearing up for a big book tour and reckoning with that particular thing that happened during the pandemic where we stopped going places and wearing all our nice clothes and doing fancy things and instead we stayed inside and ate snacks and drank wine and wore sweats and yelled at our kids and then when we suddenly had to “go places” and “get dressed” again we realized that none of our clothes fit anymore! Anyone? Anyone? Sigh.
I needed new clothes, like a new wardrobe really, and I wanted new glasses to be part of that. A big Adult Realization I’ve had is that investing in multiple pairs of quality glasses is a really good idea, especially when you wear them every single day and absolutely cannot see a thing without them and they’re just a major part of your face.
I’d be stuck in a rut of getting my glasses from a certain very popular glasses company. So easy to get them online! And so cheap! And so never exactly what I wanted but ok fine I can see. I went through a number of pairs from that certain company and they looked fine but I swear no one complimented me ever. I’m not a compliment-fisher, but for some reason that bugged me. I’d had a pair of frames for years that I wore all the time until they basically crumbled and I always got compliments. I think my final straw was one night we were on a weekend getaway and at dinner a very wine-drunk and very basic woman was in a terrible and annoying fight with her equally wine-drunk boyfriend. Like we couldn’t focus on dinner because we were consumed with eavesdropping on their stupid hetero fight, and then when we got back to the hotel they were there too, and they went in the hot tub and fought some more, and then next morning we went in the hot tub and lo and behold she had left her glasses next to the tub and they were the exact same as mine and that just seemed like a sign from above that new glasses were needed.
So I went looking for a new place: there’s a zillion hip boutiques in San Francisco but I wanted to find something closer. And I wanted to find a Black-owned business. And lo, Google led me to Autianna. Once I saw her Instagram, I was like “YES PLEASE LET’S DO THIS.”
I told her “This may sound silly but I want glasses that people will compliment me on.” And she said “Kate, I got you.” Next thing I know I’m in her gorgeous loft in Oakland with a glass of champagne and a tray of wild spectacles in front of me, trying on pairs I never thought would look good. Reader, I bought three pairs. And I have an appointment next week for more.
And then Kamau went to her too and just look at us ending white supremacy on cable news with our coordinating eyewear!
And then I saw everyone’s favorite artist/activist/badass Favianna Rodriguez at a party and she liked my glasses and I said “Aha! I have your new favorite optician!” And look!
And now YOU get to know Autianna too!
I Love What You’re Doing Q+A with Autianna Wilson, ABOC, LDO, SLD (and HBIC!)
What is it that you’re doing?
I am a licensed optician and eyewear stylist with a space for folks near and far to fall in love with their next pair of glasses. By curating a selection of unique, independent, handmade frames that you just don't see everywhere, I am able to invite and guide each person on a journey of self discovery through eyewear.
Why are you doing it? And why is it important?
It brings me so much joy to see someone look at themselves in the mirror and smile while wearing a frame they thought wouldn't work on them. I get a lot of folks who struggle to find frames that fit them properly and compliment their style. With glasses being both a medical device and fashion accessory, it's important that each person feels taken care of and knows their features will not limit them. At ELA we don't discriminate...I can promise you that you will find multiple frame options you love.
How are you doing it?
I did this with absolutely no plan...Being impulsive is a blessing and a curse! When I have an idea or even a thought that I can do something, I just go for it, and if I'm really into it, I'm fixated and I can't stop thinking about it. Pandemic came and I KNEW it was time to step into entrepreneurship. I have worked at many optical stores, so I know what works and what doesn't. I know what can make an eyewear experience better and that's what I'm doing. ELA is the result of my optical experience and all the reasons why working for someone else didn't work. HAHA! I am now on year 3 of this one woman show and I'm running on nothing but belief that I will forever be aligned and a magnet towards those who need me.
Where are you doing it?
I have a private eyewear boutique in Oakland, Jack London Square. But I also run virtually anywhere with anyone! When the pandemic started, I wasn't able to be face to face with folks so I would offer virtual eyewear fittings! I virtually place glasses recommendations on peoples faces and give them a detailed explanation on why I chose each pair. I still offer this service and plan to do it forever because I never want distance to be the reason you aren't getting #StyledByaGoddess
When are you doing it?
If you asked my partner Lorenzo, he would say 24-7. He says: “You're always thinking glasses, breathing optical, speaking optical... it's basically your whole life. Do you even love me? Or you love optical and want to marry it?!?!?”
Why are you the one to do what you do?
The optical industry needed more flavor. There's a small batch of Black opticians who own optical stores. Add being queer on top of that and we've only got about 5 (or less) in the world. While I know I have a gift, I believe my representation is necessary. I am framing a lot of Black folks too and when your demographic is more diverse you curate collections that will work on unique features. Larger faces, flatter nose bridges, strong cheek bones or beautiful plump cheeks. People like me need to see people like me in the optical industry so they know there's so many eyewear options! On another note: I take being the Optical Goddess seriously. I really stand by being of optical service to everyone who needs me!
What is one thing you want people to know about what you're doing?
I want people to know that investing in quality eyewear is important. If you have the means and you're able: Stop going to big box optical stores and supporting brands that are mass produced! What I'm doing isn't just finding a pair of glasses for someone to wear for the next 10 years. I am building an eyewear wardrobe with you so that you constantly have frames on rotation that speak for your personality and style!
What are you doing next? Or what's the long-form/long-term vision for your work?
The long term vision is to have a physical brick and mortar storefront. But I am in no rush, I love how intimate my space is!
How can people find out more about what you're doing?
TELL YOUR FRIENDS TO PULL UP. Book a solo or group fitting and come sip champagne (or a lovely nonalcoholic drink) with me and explore the world of EYEWEAR LOVE AFFAIR. Share my business on social media, even if you don't wear prescription glasses... Come find non-prescription blue light frames, sunglasses.. eyewear chains and jewelry!
*Oh hey! Speaking of Black women in the optical game, you didn’t think I’d gone and forgotten that February 1st means it’s Black History Month did you?! Shout out to Dr. Patricia E. Bath, a pioneering ophthalmologist who transformed eye health for Black patients in the 1960s and 70s and invented a groundbreaking device and technique for cataract surgery known as laserphaco. Dr. Bath passed in 2019.
“As a young intern shuttling between Harlem Hospital and Columbia University, Bath was quick to observe that at the eye clinic in Harlem half the patients were blind or visually impaired. At the eye clinic at Columbia, by contrast, there were very few obviously blind patients. This observation led her to conduct a retrospective epidemiological study, which documented that blindness among blacks was double that among whites. She reached the conclusion that the high prevalence of blindness among blacks was due to lack of access of ophthalmic care. As a result, she proposed a new discipline, known as community ophthalmology, which is now operative worldwide. Community ophthalmology combines aspects of public health, community medicine, and clinical ophthalmology to offer primary care to underserved populations. Volunteers trained as eye workers visit senior centers and daycare programs to test vision and screen for cataracts, glaucoma, and other threatening eye conditions. This outreach has saved the sight of thousands whose problems would otherwise have gone undiagnosed and untreated. By identifying children who need eyeglasses, the volunteers give these children a better chance for success in school.
Bath was also instrumental in bringing ophthalmic surgical services to Harlem Hospital's Eye Clinic, which did not perform eye surgery in 1968. She persuaded her professors at Columbia to operate on blind patients for free, and she volunteered as an assistant surgeon. The first major eye operation at Harlem Hospital was performed in 1970 as a result of her efforts.”