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Alicia Hartman, optometrist and owner of the Eye Q Barbados practice, and founder of eyewear brand, Peoples from Barbados, tells OT  about her long-established interest in eyewear

Not enough. I have as many pairs as I have shoes; my two favourite accessories. I am a minimalist with jewellery, so my eyewear, lip colour, and shoes make the statement.

It depends on what ‘version’ of Alicia I want to portray on the day. I like oversized frames that are lightweight and comfortable. The shape varies with my mood. I do like cat's eyes with a feminine look, and square or angular frames for a more sporty-chic vibe.

From fisher folk to aristocrats. The store is an eyewear emporium curated to complement and enhance their features

My favourite is our Peoples from Barbados model ‘PFB-03’ in olive and tortoiseshell. It's an oversized round frame with a cat's eye 'peek-a-boo' effect. It's totally unique. Hartman highlighted the Peoples from Barbados ‘PFB-03’ model in olive and tortoiseshell as her favourite frame

My practice clients: the Eye Q people. The diversity of my clientele is exquisite and so special. From fisher folk to aristocrats. The store is an eyewear emporium curated to complement and enhance their features. I love the eyewear stories they have for me when they go beyond the shores of the island. It usually goes like this: "OMG! Immigration asked me where I got my glasses before they asked me for my passport. Then they asked: ‘Where is Barbados?’"

I grew up around eyewear from the age of 13, as my family has one of the oldest optical practices in Barbados – with an incredible history of eye care and ability to communicate the importance of eye health at the root of their values. Even as an apprentice, there was nothing better than being witness to the client receiving the gift of sight for the first time, then watching the journey of their eyewear style over the years. My family has one of the oldest optical practices in Barbados – with an incredible history of eye care and ability to communicate the importance of eye health at the root of their values 

My family has one of the oldest optical practices in Barbados – with an incredible history of eye care and ability to communicate the importance of eye health at the root of their values

No, I have mild astigmatism and presbyopia so I am a part-time prescription eyewear user. I love glasses, they are part of my style. However, I do recommend contact lenses to many of my clients as well – even to those who wear glasses full-time, particularly now we are wearing masks so much. It is a very convenient choice. The new contact lenses are comfortable, so I say ‘yes’ to contact lenses.

I wanted to create glasses to fit Afro Caribbean faces and also to include our rich diversity of visitors to the island. The Peoples from Barbados collection was created as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of Barbados, with charity portraits and local Bajan celebrities as part of the campaign. The vision of the collection grew from a bigger purpose to showcase culture and Bajan lifestyle through eyewear. There is so much inspiration of colour, form and texture in Barbados, which comes out in the collection. We have much more of this to come, soon, and in the future. There is so much inspiration of colour, form and texture in Barbados 

There is so much inspiration of colour, form and texture in Barbados

The details of fit, form, and function are all in the DNA of the brand. Our designs are inspired by the beautiful diversity of Caribbean faces, and variety of colour tones and shapes. We have created a line that it is also an exciting discovery for the visitors to the island. Every face deserves beautiful glasses.

The connection between Barbados and London is strong in history and in the culture of our island. The nostalgia and romance between the two countries is the inspiration here. The secret, whimsical North London gardens created the perfect backdrop, with a hint and reminder of the beautiful Hunte's Gardens in the centre of our island.

Of course it has been hard. I stayed engaged and connected with my teams and clients. The beauty of island life is the sense of community and family, and that is something to hold on to, in every situation. I used the time when we were closed in lockdown to develop our website and online focus, and we invested in our own in-store lens lab. We will come out of this with an even better EYE Q experience.

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