By Denis Langlois

You could say Sheena Taff’s passion for eyewear is embedded in her DNA.

The daughter of two opticians, Taff followed in her parents’ footsteps to also become a licenced optician.

She has since taken over the reins of her family’s 26-year-old business, Roberts & Brown Opticians, a customer-first, trendsetting, family-friendly and destination optical boutique in Vancouver, B.C.

At the recent Transitions Academy in Florida, Taff was named the 2016 Transitions Brand Ambassador for sharing her passion for fashionable frames and lenses.

Recently, Taff spoke with Optical Prism about her love for eyewear and Roberts & Brown Opticians.

Q. Tell us about your store’s clientele.

A. To say our clientele is diverse would be an understatement. Our patients come to us as young as a week old, often referred to us based not only on our extensive experience in fitting children, but also based on our unmatched selection of children’s glasses. Despite our reputation and ability with children, we are also a destination for eyewear for the whole family and our clientele often includes everyone from mom, dad, child and grandparents. What our clientele seeks is also what connects them – stylish and functional frames and optically outstanding lenses.

Q. What are the primary brand names your store features?

A. We sell a diverse selection of frames from brands such as Etnia Barcelona, Kio Yamato, Lafont, Modo and Seraphin. We appreciate and support independent brands such as Urband Eyewear that conceptualize and manufacture frames that are unique in both design and innovation.

Q. What kind of marketing tools do you use?

A. We use social media, including Facebook, Instagram and our store blog, to keep our patients and prospective patients connected to our mission statement. It gives us the opportunity to share in real time our new arrivals, product features, promotions as well as the ability to share the experiences our patients have when they come to our store.

Our greatest marketing tool is our patients. We abide by the theory that every person that walks through our door is here to have a positive, informative and solution-based experience; leaving with the optimal pair or pairs of glasses to meet their visual needs, making them look, see and feel their best.

Q. What are some of the benefits of operating an independent outlet?

A. As an independent practice, we offer our clients the best of what is available to suit each of our patients’ individual visual requirements. We are not tied to selling a particular lens style.

We seek the latest technology and style in both frames and lenses. If it does not meet our standards, we can step away from it and find something else

As an independent buyer and optician, I work with patients everyday trying on frames. I see what works best on a diverse clientele. This essentially gives my patients a personal shopper each time they enter our store because I know that if we are lacking in particular sizes, shapes, styles or colours, I can find it for them in our vast network of frame brands or seek a new collection next season that will fill any void.

For more information visit www.robertsandbrown.com