02 October 2025
The first and only spectacles that Emma Woodhouse dispensed for her late mother were a purple leopard print William Morris frame.
Woodhouse began training as a dispensing optician in her late 30s – a time that coincided with her mother’s terminal illness.
After her mother admired Woodhouse’ new gold frames, she happily arranged for her mother to receive the same glasses in purple.
Now those spectacles are the most treasured item within her optical wardrobe.
“When she passed, I kept the frame. They will be the most important glasses I have ever dispensed,” Woodhouse shared with OT.
Both contact lenses and glasses have the power not only to change the way that people see the world, but to change the way they see themselves.
In the same way that a song on the radio or a homecooked meal can evoke memories of another time, a pair of spectacles discovered in a forgotten drawer may serve as a memory of a past self.
In this feature, OT charts the course of two dispensing opticians through the eyewear they have worn in each decade – and shares their insight on how a well-chosen pair of spectacles can enhance someone’s life.
From classic to colourful
Woodhouse, who is now practice manager at Haine & Smith Opticians in Royal Wootton Bassett, began wearing glasses in the early 1990s.
From her first gold oval metal frame as a teenager, Woodhouse tended to wear classic, simple frames until her career change to optics.
“I never really stepped out of my comfort zone until I trained as a dispensing optician and found a whole world of glasses out there as an extension of my personality,” she said.
Woodhouse is now drawn to bold shapes, colours and styles. She appreciates spectacles that are crafted from unusual materials and that have an interesting story behind them.
“I am always on the look out for my next frame, and currently have about 12 pairs including sunglasses,” she said.
Although Woodhouse does not personally wear contact lenses, through her job she has witnessed the difference this form of optical correction can make.
She highlighted the freedom that contact lenses can give people to take part in sports or attend events spectacle-free.
“I know contact lenses can be life changing for some as an addition to their optical wardrobe,” Woodhouse said.
More than skin deep
The dispensing optician’s passion for optics is not only found in her extensive eyewear collection, but in two optical-themed tattoos.
To celebrate the completion of her dispensing optician course, Woodhouse got a colourful cat’s eye sunglasses tattoo on her forearm.
During the summer months, when the tattoo is visible, some of Woodhouse’s patients will ask about her choice of design.
“They like the story behind it,” she said.
Woodhouse told OT that her second optical tattoo – of a dog wearing glasses – combines her two favourite things.
Magic moments
When Woodhouse is asked to reflect on the transformative nature of spectacles, she recalls the words of a young patient.
“I once had a child describe it perfectly to me, they said ‘It’s like choosing a wand in Harry Potter – the wand chooses you’,” Woodhouse said.
She listens carefully to her customers and pays careful attention to their body language.
Once the final selection is narrowed down, Woodhouse likes to “throw in a few wild cards.”
“When they get the right pair, you can see it in their eyes. They smile and sparkle and you know it’s just right,” she said.
During his 25 years as a dispensing optician, BBR practice manager, Daniel Read, has also witnessed how spectacles can change people’s lives.
“They are something we wear every day. They have the power to make us feel good about ourselves – to stand out from the crowd or to blend in,” he said.
Over the years, the people who have received Read’s expert guidance would populate a small village. But there are some who stick in his memory – from a woman receiving end of life care who wanted bright spectacles to make her smile, to a customer who came into the practice looking for glasses to make her feel special after leaving an abusive relationship.
“It was a starting point for her in rebuilding her life,” Read shared.
“When they get the right pair, you can see it in their eyes. They smile and sparkle”
An optical time capsule
Read still remembers the first pair of glasses he owned as a seven-year-old in the late 1980s.
“They were a rather ghastly, double-bar gold frame,” he said.
The first designer pair of glasses that Read owned were purchased after he was assaulted on fireworks night at the age of 16.
“These kids were kicking someone on the ground, and I told them to leave off. They kicked me in the head and broke my glasses,” he said.
After the case went through court, Read was awarded damages and purchased a pair of gold and tortoiseshell Ralph Lauren spectacles.
Those were the same pair of spectacles that Read wore when he secured his first job working in optics as a receptionist at Norville in Cheltenham.
Read became more confident experimenting with different styles, colours and shapes after training as a dispensing optician.
When considering what spectacles to wear to work, Read considers the story his frames convey to people who enter the practice.
“How can I encourage my patients to be brave and receive joy from spectacles that are unique?” he said.
While working as a dispensing optician, Read has acquired between one and two frames a year.
He now has a collection of more than 40 pairs of spectacles – from a bespoke pair of Feb 31st to antique pince-nez and the Ralph Lauren glasses that started his eyewear journey.
“I’m not a particularly sentimental person but I have kept them all,” Read said.
“They are a part of my history, I suppose. They relate to different times and places,” he shared.
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