What Drives Glance Eyeglasses

January 1, 2008, marked the one year anniversary of Lisa Martinsson’s purchase of Glance Optics and Eyewear, the optical boutique in downtown Salem. This turning point also marks the sixth year of success for Salem’s premier optical shop.

It would seem that this story started when Lisa gleefully accepted the offer of a very successful Salem Ophthalmology practice to help open and manage a high-end, fashionable optical boutique. Lisa took on the challenge out of a desire to create an optical experience unlike any she had experienced herself.

The reason for that desire brings us to the real beginning of this story – when Lisa was a lanky 12 year old with crooked bangs and very thick glasses. Having never met an optician with an artistic eye, her glasses were always too big and her lenses too thick. It was not a pretty sight, and years of poorly chosen eyewear resulted in many painful memories.

The years passed and Lisa went on to earn a degree in graphic design. Ultimately, her art background led her to an industry she had grown to resent – and to finally understand how the opticians of the past had failed her. Her intensive training in the optical science and technology allowed Lisa to successfully merge artistry and optics to create balance and harmony between the frame, the lenses, and each person’s facial structure.

Having found her passion, Lisa was happily working in a busy optical practice, when one day she came face to face with a ghost from her the past – an awkward, lanky young girl with thick glasses that were too large for her slender face. She and her parents had painstakingly selected yet another ill-fitting frame for her new prescription. Seeing history about to repeat itself, Lisa took the girl by the hand and set out to find the perfect frame – unlike any she had ever worn before.

A week later the girl came back to pick up her new glasses with excitement and anticipation. When that shy little girl put on those glasses and looked in the mirror, a silence fell on them both. Looking back from the mirror was a very different girl – one she had never seen before. Amazed by her new reflection, in awe and disbelief, she gazed at herself and humbly whispered, “I’m pretty.”

Experiences like this are what keep Lisa striving to make Glance a destination shop for people across the spectrum of eyewear and optical needs. She is constantly in search of cutting-edge optical technology, travels extensively in pursuit of unique frames and styles, and her team provides individual, customer-oriented service.

With a growing clientele, Glance’s eyewear is rapidly spreading in all directions: north to Seattle, south to California, west to several coastal communities, and as far east as Washington, DC.

Client Testimonials