Looking Good with Op & Tom Newcastle

My husband is growing a beard! Maybe it's some kind of married man crisis thing but for the moment it doesn't seem to be going anywhere and, as most of my friends and family seem to be #teambeard (yes they are all using that hashtag!), I think I'll have to tolerate it for a little longer.

"New look Simon" continued his quest to change his face recently with a visit to Op & Tom on High Bridge in Newcastle. Priding themselves in offering a special experience to their customers it was an appointment like no other.

You'll find Op & Tom on High Bridge Street in Newcastle. They are right at home sitting alongside a great mixture of local businesses like The Stand Comedy Club, Pleased to Meet You and Laneway Coffee Shop. High Bridge is fast becoming one of my favourite streets in the Toon and if you haven't been yourself yet you really must visit.

Op & Tom believe that getting your eyes tested is something that requires time and care and should be an enjoyable experience rather than just another dull but necessary job to tick off your list. Their aim is to slow things down and give each customer the time needed to find the perfect pair of glasses.

Walking into the store we immediately noticed how different it was to any other opticians we'd ever been in. Exposed brick walls and metal fittings give it a fun industrial vibe and the plush blue sofa was a beautiful focal point of the shop.

It's been many years since I had my eyes tested so I will admit I was a little nervous as I followed
Optometrist, Tim, into the appointment room. I needn't have worried, Tim and I were soon chatting about families and life in Newcastle and before I knew it my eye tests were over. I'm afraid to say that I'm one of those annoying people who have near enough perfect vision (a fact I've been annoying Simon with ever since!)

Simon, however, isn't so lucky and has had bad eyesight for most of his life. He's been using a large opticians chain for years and whilst they have certainly done the job he's really missed having the more friendly service that a smaller optician can offer.

Whilst Simon was getting his eyes checked I got chatting to Frame Specialist, Rebecca. Having studied art at one of the city's universities, she offers a great perspective when it comes to picking out frames to suit your face and by the time Simon had reappeared we were ready to do some shopping!

There's an emphasis on style with the glasses on sale at Op & Tom. All frames are custom made and the same price, allowing you to have fun and experiment with as many styles as you like. Many of the designs are special edition with only a limited amount made, meaning that you're unlikely to see many other people wandering around wearing your glasses.

After I'd made him try on some "Harry Potter" style round glasses just for fun, Simon began by picking out styles quite similar to his current glasses but Rebecca and Tim were really helpful at pulling out lots of other ideas that we probably wouldn't have picked out for ourselves.

The beauty of wearing glasses is that they can completely transform your face and we soon realised that trying on lots of different styles was the best way to find the perfect pair.

There are so many options at Op & Tom and Simon found loads that he liked. It was Tim that found the perfect fit - brown frames with a very subtle green rim. They looked amazing on and were like nothing we'd seen before. They were the perfect match for Simon.

We both thoroughly enjoyed our time at Op & Tom and something tells me I wont be waiting quite so long for my next eye appointment!

If you fancy checking out Op & Tom for yourself, book an appointment - I promise you wont be disappointed!

Simon received complimentary frames.  This is an honest review of our experience.