Episode #97 Vision for Success with Bonnie Ashley of Bona Vista Optics
Can you imagine creating a business that brings together your loves, your interests, and your expertise?
Listen as Sharri Harmel speaks with Bonnie Ashley from Bona Vista Optics. Bonnie is not your typical eyeglass maker. She has designed eyeglasses for the movie industry for years and more recently, she created an entire line of eyeglasses for the fabulous Downton Abbey! Her story has so many good nuggets from which to draw inspiration and lessons on how to create a business that is successful while also bringing personal joy and satisfaction.
Bona Vista Optics website, www.bonavistaoptics.com
Downton Abbey eyewear, www.bonavistaoptics.com/downton-abbey/
Bonnie Ashley on Facebook, www.facebook.com/bonavistaoptics/
Bonnie Ashley Instagram, www.instagram.com/bonavistaoptics1/
Chateau Diaries, www.youtube.com/c/TheChateauDiaries/
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Episode #97 Vision for Success with Bonnie Ashley of Bona Vista Optics
Sharri Harmel: Welcome to Episode 97 of the Extraordinary Women Podcast. I’m your host, Sharri Harmel. And today I have the pleasure of talking with Bonnie Ashley from Bona Vista Optics. Now that might sound like a super technical conversation. But Bonnie isn’t your typical eyeglass maker She designed eyeglasses for the movie industry for years and more recently, Bonnie created an entire line of eyeglasses for Downton Abbey.
Sharri Harmel: She created a business, and this should give us all inspiration that brought together all of her loves and all of her interests. Good, attractive eyewear history and the movie industry. So, let’s get started. You are listening to the Extraordinary Women podcast, a podcast for the woman, entrepreneur, where we have candid conversations about the journey of starting a business.
Sharri Harmel: You’ll get valuable tips and advice as you launch yourself on your own entrepreneurial journey. I’m your host, Sharri Harmel, the Editor of the Extraordinary Women Magazine Circle. And I embrace my own entrepreneurial journey as a woman of say, a certain age. And if I can do it ladies, so can you, I now divide my time between Paris and Boston, which fulfills my desire to create this life reimagined while building a business. I am so happy you are here. So, let’s jump right in.
Sharri Harmel: Hi, Bonnie. Good to see you.
Bonnie Ashley: Oh, good to see you. finally in person
Sharri Harmel: Sort of, yes. Now back up a little bit though because I found out about you because I’m a crazed fan of Chateau Diaries and Stephanie Jarvis. And we all are. Yes. Yes. she’s incredible.
Sharri Harmel: And what she’s accomplished there, but she talked about you because obviously you introduced, I think the D Nabb glasses, and then she ended up with some D Nabb glasses. So how did you all get connected? I think that’s so interesting.
Bonnie Ashley: Well, there’s, there’s kind of a whole lot of worlds that collided at that point, it was kind of funny.
Bonnie Ashley: Because my daughter and I, uh, adult daughter and I traveled together a little bit and I’ll, I’ll back up even further. Good. So many years back during the series of Downton Abbey, I was going through a medical procedure that put me flat on my back for months. And I was not one of the initial Downton Abbey crazy people. I didn’t, I had heard about it, and I never had time. So here I’m flat on my back and I’m like, well, what should I do now? And so turned-on Downton Abbey and kind of got hooked and watched the whole thing in a very short time span as many people did. So then once I was, well, my daughter and I decided we were going to take the pilgrimage over to hike their castle.
Bonnie Ashley: Okay. Which we did and fell in love with all of them. Um, and I’m also a SAG actor, screen actor, Guild actor, just small bit parts, background, nothing extraordinary, but enough to have fun. Yeah. And so that same year, my husband, and I went screen actors, Guild awards after party. And we got to know all the people from Downton Abbey.
Bonnie Ashley: I mean, it was just one crazy thing. Oh my Gosh, totally. Coincidentally, leading into another. And so, then I started thinking about, you know, I do custom eyewear and we can get into that a little bit later. Yes. Okay. In doing custom eyewear, I thought, you know, why not put your passions together? And so, I had talked with actually some of the people with the clear castle with their licensing people.
Bonnie Ashley: And then they basically showed me the ropes for licensing and then continued on to do some research and found out who did the licensing for Downton Abbey and approached her. So she’s in New York and she thought it was an absolutely fabulous idea to do Downton Abbey eyewear, but then we had to go through the hurdles.
Bonnie Ashley: Getting an approval from the different film studios that pulled the licensing. Okay. So we did that. I had to write essays on history of eyewear, and I had to know all about the styles and everything in that timeframe, in that era of Downton Abbey. And so I did that and then they did a lot of research and.
Bonnie Ashley: I had connections with the people from the shows. And they saw that I did custom, I wear and the work that I did and that type of thing. So it took a year, but at the end of that year, they gave me the contract. Yeah. I get to design and distribute for Canada United States. And most of Europe and the UK. So that’s how the Downton Abbey stuff happened.
Bonnie Ashley: Okay. Then my daughter, Sherry and I went to Lalande because during lockdown, we were stuck at home when we were my daughter lives in Canada, and I live in the states. Okay currently. And, um, so we had gotten into Chateau Diaries and, um, wanted to meet Stephanie and all of the people at the Chateau. And so we went and stayed there for a few days and got to know them.
Bonnie Ashley: And I just in casual conversation at dinner. I mentioned, Stephanie asked what we did. And so I told her what I was doing. And so she was like, yes, I have to have you on the show. And I’m like, okay, I’ll not gonna turn you down. So yeah. So she interviewed me on Chateau Diaries, which was really fun. I was a nervous wreck as I always am like now, too, but don’t be, yeah.
Bonnie Ashley: So that’s, that’s how all of that happened. It’s just kind of, one thing leads to another, you know, when you have passions, things tend to follow. When you, you know, kind of follow those roads.
Sharri Harmel: So, and it sounds like it was this combination of passions, the intersection of multiple passions. How did you ever get into eyewear?
Bonnie Ashley: So way back in. 1980. I was finishing high school and honestly, a friend of my dad’s was an ophthalmologist, and he needed an assistant, and I was gonna be going to Bible college, but I needed something in between to learn and to start. And so I ended up working as an ophthalmic assistant and I got into mainly running his contact lens department.
Bonnie Ashley: Okay. Then I continued with that, you know, part-time through college and then, um, full-time afterwards, uh, for many years. Working in the optical industry. And I did everything from, um, working for contact lens manufacturers and being a sales rep to all of the different, uh, optometrists. Sure. Um, so teaching optometrists and optometry assistance, what it’s like to do custom contact lenses and that type of thing.
Bonnie Ashley: So I started in the contact lens and then gradually went into the eyewear, gradually, got disenchanted over the years. Different. How can, I’m trying to say this very nicely. um, it was a very professional industry when I started. Okay. Be more corporate and interesting more about the numbers rather than the product and the service.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. So I ended up leaving the industry for a while and I got into photography. It’s all optics, right? Yeah. So I was, I was actually market development and coordinator for a, an international, um, preschool photography company. And I did children’s preschool photography and training and hiring and all that kind of good stuff.
Bonnie Ashley: Interesting. So did that. Um, which was great because that taught me a little bit more about the outside business. Loan bigger business if you want. So I did that and then ended up getting married again later in life. And so I had quit everything for a short period of time, and then I was bored as I get very easily.
Bonnie Ashley: I’m sure you can relate. No, totally. So, yeah, so I thought, you know, and this again was when I was basically flat on my back going through treatment. And so I took my licensing courses again and, and got back into, um, my opticianry, but I got into a different facet of it because I was not gonna go do the corporate conglomerate kind of situation.
Bonnie Ashley: And I really worry about design and making sure things fit and all of that kind of thing. So., I got into bespoke eyewear, custom eyewear fitting. Okay. And then that gradually led to doing custom eyewear. And again, having been in the industry since 1980, I knew a lot of people. So, you know, it wasn’t terribly difficult to get back into it, but it was a whole learning curve on getting into a different aspect of it.
Bonnie Ashley: And I have great mentors in the industry of wonderful. I wear designers that are really good friends of mine. And so we all work together and this joint. Yeah, it just, it kind of blossomed from one thing into another. It was a matter of, you know, a few years, but yeah, it went from opening, a new shop to, and, and bringing in other people’s things to doing custom bespoke.
Bonnie Ashley: I wear on other brands and then being able to do my own and then getting the Downton Abbey.
Sharri Harmel: So go backwards though. Cuz it’s called Bona Vista Optics. Is this right? Correct. Okay. So if anyone’s looking it’s Bona Vista Optics .com, but it started out as a brick-and-mortar shop. It sounds like
Bonnie Ashley: I actually, when I restart it again, it was in Los Angeles, and I was in the screen actor Guild building.
Bonnie Ashley: And then everybody has classes there. So a lot of celebrities and everybody goes by your door and I hand out a little gift bank while they’re going out and, you know, got some people interested and, and, you know, again, it just kind of went from there of being the right place at the right time, doing the right, you know, again, location, location, location, right.
Bonnie Ashley: It’s a matter of, of, of building a brand in the right location. Yeah. Yeah. And then, you know, I moved to Burbank and then our family left, the Los Angeles area came out to Ohio and me, this is where I opened a little boutique. Yeah. And so I have just a little boutique and, and now I only work by a white wrench with.
Bonnie Ashley: Custom eye wear that’s it. Okay.
Sharri Harmel: And so, but you also do online, don’t you do you do online?
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. I have a website. I have everything there so that everything’s accessible, but yeah, it is transitioning from the brick and mortar. Into going into manufacturing and wholesale. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I still will do custom eyewear for people.
Bonnie Ashley: Absolutely. I do it all over the world for people, but that’s just, again, that’s a very specialized thing. Yeah. Yeah.
Sharri Harmel: So how hard is it to go from, you know, kind of people, customer focus because I’m in front of you and you’re doing custom eyewear for me versus. Manufacturing wholesale where it’s, you don’t really see the person you’re trying to design and manufacture for a much larger group of people.
Bonnie Ashley: Right. And that’s part of what the years of experience as an optician comes in. One of the things that happens. Um, and again, I believe every there’s a place for everybody. Everybody’s got their place, but my particular conviction, I really want eyewear that fits. I want eyewear that works for the prescription that goes in.
Bonnie Ashley: I mean, you can have a great frame, but once the lenses are in, they look terrible, and they break because they can’t hold the lens properly. You know, if you’re just, and again, I have to be careful how I say it, but if you’re just a fashion designer mm-hmm, and you’ve never understood optics or how lenses work or how the facial structure is, it’s a lot harder to design a frame.
Bonnie Ashley: And so basically, you know, what happens is there’s several layers of people in order to get that frame to market under that particular designer. And it, you know, it’s, sometimes it works. I gotta be, I really have to be careful how I say. But having it, uh, an optician design, the eyewear is just a very smart thing to do because we know, you know, what most bridges are like, what most, you know, the length of the temples, the width of the face, the way the bone structure, the way the bottom of the frame hits the cheeks.
Bonnie Ashley: If you smile the way the eyelashes hit the lens, when it’s a thick lens, we know all of those things. So having an optician design, you. It’s just a, a really big positive, rather than just, you know, a fashion statement type of thing. That’s why you’re gonna see a lot of flat frames that doesn’t, you know, match the prescription and the curve of your face.
Bonnie Ashley: You know, it’s just, it’s not right. So as an optician, we’re gonna be a lot pickier about the shape of the frame and, and how it fits your face and how the lens is gonna sit in. It. Okay. Yeah. Does that make sense?
Sharri Harmel: Yeah, it makes total sense. And like I said to you before we started recording, a part of me was because I wore reading glasses.
Sharri Harmel: So these are like from whole foods or something, um, you will be horrified, but part of me was like, what should I put all on? What goes on the outfit? What goes
Bonnie Ashley: and it’s, I mean, most people don’t teach, so. Okay. So when you come into an eyeglass. The first thing they should say is, can I see your prescription please?
Bonnie Ashley: Okay. That’s the first thing that they should say, because your lens, the way it’s cut the thickness of it, the angle that the thickness sits at, all of those things matter. So the first thing they should be asking is can I see your prescription, please look at and evaluate your prescription. And if they can’t do that, that’s an.
Bonnie Ashley: So you, you really, that needs to be the first thing. Once they’ve spent time with you on what your lenses should be, because let’s face it. It’s a prescription, right? It’s not something that you’re going, oh, I think I’ll use this. It’s a prescription. So it should be taken seriously. And it’s your eyes? I don’t, I only get one set in my lifetime.
Bonnie Ashley: I’m not sure about everybody else, but right. I’m pretty sure that’s how it is. Like you wanna take good care of. Um, so first thing is your lenses, make sure your lenses are well taken care of, and that you have what’s best for you in your actual lens. And, and again, we do lifestyle dispensing so that we say, you know, what are your hobbies?
Bonnie Ashley: How do you use your glasses? Are you in and out? Are you just inside? Are you outside? What are you using ’em for? So those things all matter. Yeah. Um, then beyond that once we get past. Then we wanna find a frame that fits and whether you’re off the rack or custom, you know, depends on if you have a special need that you really need custom, or if you can wear off the rack.
Bonnie Ashley: So when you’re trying on frames, the first thing you should do, this is very simple to follow. And if you can follow this and please I’m talking to ball newscasters that are out there on television, make sure your eyeglasses fit. Okay. So just cut off my chest. You wanna be in line with you. Okay. No lower than your NA nasal indentation.
Bonnie Ashley: Okay. Your dation right here. You don’t wanna be lower than that. Okay. And in line with the top of your ears, not out and not in. So if they’re out your lens once it’s in there is gonna magnify this area right here. So you don’t want a big bubble right here. Yeah. You may not see it. Everybody else won’t.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. So you want it in line with the top of your ears. Okay. Um, okay. And then if you’re having a round frame, a little round frame, you feel where your eye socket is? Yeah. Good. That’s where your circle should be. That’s your circle. It’s a little round frame. Oh my. So, so if you’re doing a little round frame, you follow the circle.
Bonnie Ashley: If you’re using a larger frame in line with your brow, you don’t want two eyebrows. Right, right, right. That’s worthy just three. If it goes up to here, you have this, this, and whatever your lens gives off to the world. So. You wanna have it basically following your brow line? No line. There’s another rule. If you’re using a square frame, you’re not gonna follow your brow line, but it’s gotta be a heavier, heavier material so that you’re actually making a statement because if you just have a thin straight line, it’s not making the statement.
Bonnie Ashley: And again, it just looks like it doesn’t fit. So those are some basic things. Follow your brow line, no lower than the nasal indentation in line with your ears. Again, if your temp if your frame comes. Instead of being straight, what’s gonna happen is everything beyond the edge of your frame sticks out. It just looks like you’re putting on something, wearing clothes that are too small for you.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. Yeah. So those are some really basic guidelines. That’ll help everybody.
Sharri Harmel: Yeah. Those are fabulous tips, but go back to Downtown, because not to Downton Abbey. You know, these were, these are all actors that have played those roles for a number of years now. So in terms of designing, let’s say Edith glasses.
Sharri Harmel: I, I don’t even know if there are Edith glass. Yeah. But her face is very different from Mary’s face. So did you actually come up with the design? Um, you talked about history and honoring history, but also that would work for that actor.
Bonnie Ashley: Okay. So when you work with the studios, the first thing is, especially with Downton Abbey, you are dealing with an incredibly talented group of artists.
Bonnie Ashley: So they actually, everything I do has to follow, we actually have a style guide that we follow, and we have to follow the guidelines that lay out that they lay out. However, I will tell you, they are wonderful, wonderful to work. And they, they know what they’re doing. They know what they wanna portray, but absolutely gave me, you know, quite a, quite a long leash
Sharri Harmel: say artists that you work with your meaning the costume, the historical contributor.
Bonnie Ashley: And, and honestly, it just, it goes to production, and I don’t even know who all was involved there, but it did go to the top. I will tell you that everybody knows what everybody’s doing. So there’s, there’s nothing that happens without approval from the top. So, yeah, so everything goes in there, but they, they gave me basic guidelines.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, and it had to be a specific, and I had a little bit of artistic license with that, but it had to be an error specific. So again, being in the industry a long time, I do know the. Basic, you know, history of, of eyewear. And I have, again, mentors whose fathers and grandfathers were in the industry at that time.
Bonnie Ashley: So, I mean, I had firsthand help, you know, from, from people that were there. Yeah. So they give basic guidelines and then I follow my rules that I, that I give of all of the brow line, no lower than the nasal indentation in line, on the top of the ears. So what I do and I’m giving away my, my secrets, but I don’t.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, take their pictures and make, make them, you know, graph them basically to size. And then I dot the absolutes that cannot change for it to fit that person. Okay. Okay. So these are the absolutes that I need to have for this person. And then we basically did a study on each one of the characters, full character study on everybody, which was not that hard for.
Bonnie Ashley: You know, having yeah. Seen everything six times and having met most of them. Um, yeah. So able to understand their character. And I actually, to be honest, I even contacted some of them and said, what do you think? Would it be like this? Or like this? And they’re like, absolutely like this. I mean, they were, they were absolute.
Bonnie Ashley: So I’m like, okay, that’s the direction then I’ll go. So was able to come up with ideas that fit both physically, the person. Okay. Were era specific for instance. Okay. So lady sys frame, the shape of it had to be her, her character was very, uh, style conscious mm-hmm and she was always the first one to get the new style and to, you know, kind of cross the line.
Bonnie Ashley: And so we had to make sure that whatever we did was very, a specific, but was true to being the style at that time. I found a style going through all of my textbooks and everything founded basic style. That was, that came out right during those years that was popular. And then I just, you know, took some artistic license, and then picked the, the blue because of her teal outfit in the scene where she comes out in the pantaloons and all that.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, so, so we, we follow storyline, we follow the era, we follow what matched her character and then made it fit so that it would fit her face. So the reason we did that, actually, when we first started designing, I had things that were a little more elaborate and kinder of, and they wanted me to stick a little bit more, um, that would, how, how can we say be, be a specific.
Bonnie Ashley: Be for the masses rather than, you know, one particular. So we, we, we dialed it back on some of the, the bling and that type of thing. And then we went with this, the shape that again, character specific stylistically era, proper and fit that fit the face. So if that answers that question a little bit, we do that with every character, you know, lady.
Bonnie Ashley: Hers had a lot of our deco on the side temple and the front is a basic oval because she was not flamboyant. Dang. Oh yeah. And Tom Branson’s frame is green. He’s Irish. So, you know, it’s just, all of those things come into play all of them, every bit of their character, every bit of their style, um, and what they would do,
Sharri Harmel: how incredibly fun though it must have been to do because you’re describing both research of the era and then getting comfortable with the, with the actual actor and then comfortable with the character, you know, the character that they’re playing and then overlaying it with all of your expertise. You must have had a ball
Bonnie Ashley: so much fun all the way. Downside was I got the contract and then COVID hit everything shut.
Bonnie Ashley: Sure. So on the upside, it gave me lots of time to draw and do research on the downside. Once I had it ready to go and I got all my approvals, I couldn’t do anything about it because manufacturing completely shut down.
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Bonnie Ashley: So I got put back about a year and a half on the project, which was really difficult because I was sitting on a whole lot of. Things that had to get going. And that part of it was really tough. So now we have the entire Crowley family collection rate that’s made sitting here and then made to be shipped.
Bonnie Ashley: We started already. We did a convention over, we did the main launch in London, and it was the few days right before the, the premier in London. So they invited me to go to the premier. So that was a great deal of fun. Oh my gosh. Yeah, bill a great deal of fun. And I’m very thankful the carnival films for the invitation to that.
Bonnie Ashley: It was great. Yeah,
Sharri Harmel: but how fun and again, yeah, as a SAG member, you know, this is not foreign to you as it would be to many of us who are never had that life. Yeah. Or that a little crazy.
Sharri Harmel: Yeah. Yeah. But, but great. So how do people, so how do you distribute or how do people, let’s say, you know, someone listening goes to their, you know, ophthalmologist or who.
Sharri Harmel: I don’t even know the difference optician. So
Bonnie Ashley: an optician is a person like me, who is, is the equivalent basically of a pharmacist. Okay. If you, if you picture it like that, the optician is the person that makes the eyewear. So you bring the prescription to us. We make it. Optometrist is a person that can check your eyes and, and basic diagnosis and, and things like that.
Bonnie Ashley: And then a specialist is an ophthalmologist. Okay. Ophthalmic office, an optometric office and an optician’s office. Okay. You have the three different layers and now optometrists often have an opticianry in, in, in their office. So great. That, that often happens. Okay. So to answer your question. Yeah, yeah. Um, you can go to your optician or optometrist and tell them to bring the line in oh, getting all these people saying where can I buy them?
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. You can buy them from, from my, my boutique. But what I would much prefer is if your optician or optometry office carries the line. So we’ve just gotten started. We’re in a few offices in the states, we’re in a few offices in England. Um, so it’s just getting rolling, but we really want this to get out.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, so yeah, talk to your optician and your optometrist and have them bring the line in. Um, it’s very simple for them to bring it in. Uh, if you cannot get it that way, then go ahead and you can order it online from me through my, um, my little boutique bono Vista, optics.com. Okay. Um, so you can order it there and yeah, it it’s really pretty straightforward.
Sharri Harmel: So, how do you keep yourself from looking at people who have glasses on whether they’re newscasters or just people you see out and about how do you keep yourself from blurting out? Those are the wrong glasses for you?
Bonnie Ashley: you. you know,, when we go to the optical conventions is kind of the running joke there.
Bonnie Ashley: It’s like all the stories of the people that could not stop themselves. They went up and they would like to push the glasses up. They’d go and I’m like, uh, you need, you need to have your temple a little longer. It shouldn’t end here, and they shouldn’t be tilted like this it really needs to have a long enough arm.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah, it’s, it’s really, I, I’m honest. It’s really, really hard to look at somebody when they’re sitting wrong and, and the hardest part, honestly, again, being an optician is. I know that they’re not looking through the lenses where they’re supposed to be looking through the lenses. And I know their vision is not where, what it’s supposed to be, and I wanna go tilt them and I want, you know, to make them fit.
Bonnie Ashley: Right. So that I know they’re seeing right for the prescription that was written for them. And so many times they’re wearing prescriptions that are. Their prescription is down here and they’re wearing it. it’s up there, down here instead of up here. Yeah. Yeah. So it’s tough. And it is for every optician who cares about what they do.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. Yeah,
Sharri Harmel: yeah. So would you ever do the, the Downton Abbey line and I’m sure there’ll be other lines at some point that are connected to books, and I love that idea. or, or movies. But that are reading glasses because there’s many of us who I can see forever. Um, away from my screen. I just can’t see the screen.
Sharri Harmel: And I can’t read anything in front of me without reading glasses.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. So, okay. So I will give you my honest answer for a lot of people. Won’t like me for it, but that’s okay. I’m old. I don’t care anymore. um, that is not the truth. The benefit of being old. That’s true. This is the truth. Actual reading glasses.
Bonnie Ashley: You’re still looking through a lens, right? Yes. Do you want that lens to be a core quality lens that your eye is straining getting tired and not the distance between your pupils is not measured so that your optical centers are off? The material it’s made of is the biggest issue. Um, my husband has bought some reading classes off the rack, and I get really upset with him when he does it, because like, you still only have one set of eyes for your life.
Bonnie Ashley: So if you wanna wear them out and hurt them and you know, this is my opinion. Yeah, yeah, no, like hear it. This, this is my opinion. As an optician, there are different qualities of lenses. Okay. You wanna use the best quality lens that you can afford for your eye? Okay. So that that’s the bottom line. Yeah, I know.
Bonnie Ashley: There are people that I sell reading glasses too. Okay. Because I would rather have them use that than not be able to have anything at all. And I’ve been known to give away reading glasses sometimes because, you know, I just, I want them to be able to see, please wear something that works. But if you can please get your optician or optometry office to make your reading glasses for you, with your prescriptions.
Bonnie Ashley: So they’re measured for you. And they made out of a good quality material. That’s all I can say about that.
Sharri Harmel: Yeah, no, I, that, that says an awful lot because it it’s really interesting to me who, who actually buys off the rack all the time. And I’ve been frustrated because some brands are great. You can see through ’em and some you can’t see at all.
Sharri Harmel: Um, some, uh, truly, um, and they don’t something about them that they don’t last. Yeah. It really strange, but I it’s probably the materials.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. There are reasons why we pay more to have glasses made than. Some other times, so, okay. So what I need to express on this. Yeah. Um, so I don’t get letters. They did is there is something for everyone.
Bonnie Ashley: Mm-hmm if you can afford it, please get something that will, you can take care of your eyes. And if you have insurance, use that to get the good lens rather than the expensive lens. And if you are buying readers off the shelf, Contact the company and ask them what material they use and what the optics are on that lens.
Bonnie Ashley: Okay. So yeah. I’m trying to keep myself out trouble here. No, no, no. That’s but I mean, seriously, you wanna know how you’re taking care of your eyes. Yeah. If it’s a cheaper brand and, and I will tell you, I know one cheap Brand, I won’t mention them. They make really good reader. So, yes. And I’m not going to mention their names, obviously.
Bonnie Ashley: Oh, that’s okay. But they make really good readers check with the company that makes your readers okay. See how they make their lenses. Okay. So, and what they make it out of and ask what the optics are on them. But again, I’m an optician get, I’m gonna tell you, get them custom done with your measurements, right?
Bonnie Ashley: Exactly. Yeah. And a lot of us have Asmat. And, and your astigmatism is not corrected in your, off the shelf readers? No. And it, it is in a custom reader.
Sharri Harmel: Yeah. Oh, that’s, that’s really good to know. Yes, really good. Um, I know what my next appointment is going to be.
Bonnie Ashley: I hope
Sharri Harmel: I made the comment, not that long ago that, uh, our bodies as we age and someone told me it’s from 40 plus, um, is sort of like an old car and you just have to constantly find, uh, you, you constantly have to do repairs and do maintenance.
Sharri Harmel: And so all of us, um, our eyes on a short vision close up does get impacted. So this is super important, you know, we buy a new car, but we don’t think about classes.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. And I, and I was showing you too, when we first got on talking. Yeah, I had these on, right? Yeah. I take them off because they’re not that pretty for, for doing this because of the yellow lens, but I will tell you having an, a lens for doing computer work.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, I don’t do my computer work without my lens because it cuts down on the glare, gets through to the blue light. It gets it, it just, it, it makes your eye relax. So right. You know, there’s different brands out there that you can use for. For computer I wear. So you should have reading glasses, you should have computer glasses, and then you should have all round glasses.
Bonnie Ashley: And that’s not a sales pitch. That is, what’s good for you.
Sharri Harmel: Interesting and really interesting, but, but truly where do you see this going, like from a business standpoint, because you’re a business woman and we’re gonna talk a little bit, I want you to share a bit of, maybe you can piggyback this, you know, some of the challenges of owning your own business, running your own business and how it pulls in different skills.
Sharri Harmel: Um, and what are those skills? Um, yeah. And, and then where is your business going? Do you think about those things, or do they just evolve?
Bonnie Ashley: So, um, first of all, Downton Abbey right now for me is the, the main thing that I’m doing. Okay. Um, because it really takes a lot of focus to develop, getting, getting all the marketing done and, and.
Bonnie Ashley: Because we’re trying to get in touch with all of the different optical in Europe and, and UK, Canada, and United States. Wow. That takes time. It takes energy. That takes effort. And right now, you know, as well as I do, it’s really hard to get help right now. Yeah. So, and, and it has to be good help. So, you know, it’s, it’s tough right now.
Bonnie Ashley: That’s, that’s the truth. So just trying to get the word out there that we actually exist. Everyone so far that has come to me has said, I didn’t even know this existed. And it’s like, yeah, that’s why I’m here at the convention. Or that’s why we’re, you know, contacting you or, but you, you do have to get word out in every single way that you can and that’s time consuming.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, so that is, that is number one, but it, at the same time, what it has done. And, you know, you can think about this in, in whatever your terms are or, you know, anybody that’s listening, whatever their terms are, whatever it is they’re doing. Mm-hmm, um, in doing this, I’ve had to gradually evolve from, you know, being contact lens person to sales rep to, to, to doing eye wear, to store regular, you know, conglomerate kind of.
Bonnie Ashley: To doing, doing custom eyewear. How are you different? How can you set yourself apart? Because you know, now everybody’s just doing stuff online and as simply as possible. So how do you stay up with it? Hey, I’m 60 now. So how, how do you stay relevant and how do you keep up with the trends? I mean, bottom line is you just have to, right.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, but then you have to think ahead of it. What’s gonna be the next thing that happens. And people are caring more about their health people. The population is getting older, they’re gonna be caring about all of the customization and, and how can I make it special for me? That’s different. Um, so you really have to keep those things in mind as, as you’re developing your, your company, your business.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. Um, in my sense, again, I’m, I’m very focused right now, but what it’s done for us is I now have other people. And other entities contacting me to design for them.
Sharri Harmel: interesting.
Bonnie Ashley: Oh, I developed a program so that anybody that you know, is, is a good match for it. That wants to do it, to have their own eyewear line.
Bonnie Ashley: I have a system where I can do that for them. So I walk them through it. I, I design for them. I manage the entire production. and then they take care of their own, um, distribution, or they can give it to me if they want, that’s a separate, a separate deal. Yeah. Um, so that’s, that’s basically where it’s, where it’s gone is yeah.
Bonnie Ashley: They get to know me; they get to know what I do. They think, wow. This would be a really great thing for my brand is to have our own line of sunglasses. Mm-hmm so I can do that. I can design them. I have all the contacts so I can design them. I can, you know, get them manufactured in several different places of your choice.
Bonnie Ashley: Um, and then yeah, you can have your own eyewear line and it’s, you know, designed by somebody that’s inside the industry. So I have put together a program for that and that’s, that’s where my company is going, honestly.
Sharri Harmel: Okay. Yeah. But that’s really interesting because there’s, you know, all kinds of ancillary products that people can create off of their, you know, their primary product and its potentially glassware or glasses, not.
Sharri Harmel: You know, it fits falls into that category in some ways glasses have become a significant accessory.
Bonnie Ashley: Oh, absolutely. Yeah. It didn’t. What’s the first thing. When, when people look at you, what do they see? Do they see your face or your shoes?
Sharri Harmel: gosh, your face. Of course.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah, exactly. So a lot of people are, and this is true.
Bonnie Ashley: They are switching up to their eyewear rather than the shoes and the purse because the shoes and the purse. That’s lovely too. Don’t get me wrong. I love the shirt. Right? You.
Sharri Harmel: Yeah. And if I’m designing purses, maybe I also need to design eyewear that, you know, kind of, what do you usually
Bonnie Ashley: see together? A purse of scarf and sunglasses.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. I’m absolutely
Sharri Harmel: right. Yeah. Yeah. Yes. And, and you think of all those crazy movies and even celebrities where the glasses they wore or the glasses they wear are so iconic, you know, it’s um, I just saw the. Sequel to the good, I mean, you talk about glasses and sunglasses and how iconic they were on that.
Sharri Harmel: Tom Cruise wore in the first one and he was wearing them in the next one breakfast at Tiffany’s and you know, the sunglasses she had on.
Bonnie Ashley: I have, friends and that’s what they do is they, they coordinate with the studios, and they do the eyewear and then they’re to market the eye. Yeah, it’s great fun for them.
Sharri Harmel: You know, it’s really interesting. And that’s a, I think a really good point for people also is that sometimes we think we have to create things that the whole world can partake in and not to super niche and actually super niching is, can be an entire career., uh, that is quite interesting. And also, you know, I, I loved how you talked about your business, kind of how it evolved, not, not just the company, but how you started, you know, that you were working in an office, you know, when you were still in college and that’s how this all transpired.
Sharri Harmel: So sometimes we think we have to plan out Bonnie know where I’m gonna be in five years where I’m gonna be in 10 years. And we don’t.
Bonnie Ashley: We really, I couldn’t, I could not have told you this when I was laying on the couch, watching down nav you would’ve called me any of this. I would’ve thought you were out of your mind.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it just, you never know what’s gonna come up, just understand what it is that you can do, what your fun place is, what your talent is, what your passion is and follow that. And I always, you know, I tell my kids, you know, you can be so regimented, and this is what I’m supposed to do.
Bonnie Ashley: This is what I’m supposed to do. And then you end up just getting a job. And then you, you know, you go to college, you don’t know what you’re studying and. Understand the things that you love understand that you’re going to be work at work all day right. Right. And if you hate it and it’s tough and you know, why are you there?
Bonnie Ashley: Life is short. That’s another thing that we’ve all learned. You know, life is really short, and you have to be doing what you love if at all possible. I mean, follow your passions when you’re making your choices. So. Just changes everything
Sharri Harmel: it does. And, but the opportunities will start to happen. Even if what I hear you say, you know, here you were laying after surgery, watching Daton, Nabb binge watching Daton Nabb as a pest time, so to speak or yeah, exactly.
Sharri Harmel: You know, you trust, trust that it, something will come out of it. What, what do you think? I have some opinions based on what you’ve shared, but what do you think are the, the greatest strengths that you have that have contributed to your business success?
Bonnie Ashley: Wow. You know, I have to tell you, honestly, I believe that we all have a purpose.
Bonnie Ashley: And I think, you know, just my own personal beliefs is that I’m here for a purpose mm-hmm and, you know, I give somebody else control of my life rather than just me. I think things happen as they’re supposed to. So I think that’s probably one of my biggest strengths is I don’t try to just control it. I try to let things happen as they’re supposed to.
Bonnie Ashley: So that that’s one of my that’s, you know, my personal. So that’s one of the things, thoughts. I also believe, you know, that, you know, I’ve done a lot of things, you know, throughout the years that I really hated that intermediate job or whatever. And I just, I’m sorry, but don’t stay there. It’s, you know, so the ability to be self-assured enough.
Bonnie Ashley: Mm. And you know that it’s not right. Even though it feels like you need to find out something else that you enjoy, that, you know, if you need to do it, then make sure it’s something that you enjoy. I wanna always word it. Right. Because I never want anybody to think that their life sucks or whatever. I just don’t want that.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. Um, but I think you always have choices. And even if, because there’s been times, I’ve been completely broke, didn’t know where my next dollar was gonna come from. And you just have to trust that if you get off your Duff and go take care of things, take care of business, and do what you need to do. The right.
Bonnie Ashley: Things are gonna come into play. So it’s, again, I don’t ever want anybody to think that just because they’re not doing the fun things or whatever that their life isn’t right. Mm-hmm, maybe it’s right for that moment. You’re doing what you’re supposed to be that moment, but don’t forget to start looking for the other thing.
Bonnie Ashley: That’s gonna be really good in your life too. So just don’t, don’t lock yourself in. So I think that’s one of the strengths is I just don’t lock myself in, but I’ve always been, I think ever since I was one, I had a bucket list, but, but honestly it’s like, I wanna do this and I wanna do this and I remember being really little and, and like, oh, I wanna do that.
Bonnie Ashley: Or I wanna see that. Yeah. And I was, as a teenager, I was a stupid movie star freak. And you know, that, I don’t think that ever left a hundred percent. I think as far as, as strengths, here’s the truth. I don’t see a lot of strength in myself. I see opportunity that is often untapped. And I just see the next thing on my bucket list.
Bonnie Ashley: And I see the next thing I wanna explore and I see the next thing I wanna research and know. And I, I, I think probably if I was to say it was my strength, but I don’t really think it’s mine. But if I was to say, it’s my strength, it’s that I don’t have a lot of fear. Hmm. What does that mean? I’m not scared to change things.
Bonnie Ashley: I’m not scared to look for the next thing. I’m not scared to see what else is out there. I’m not scared to. Leave a bad situation. I’m not scared of anything because as long as I have this, you know, my hands and my mouth and my brain and, you know, you can figure out the next thing. So have faith.
Sharri Harmel: That’s it. I would also add to that, that. You’re a people connector too, because you talked numerous times about how you stayed in contact with these people and stayed in contact with these people. I know a lot of people and I don’t maybe that’s, I don’t have the fear to go back some of those people and say, what about this?
Sharri Harmel: What about this? You know, what’s happening here? Is that…
Bonnie Ashley: That’s true. I will say I wanna add this though. That I have no fear in, in, in going after the next thing. I have a lot of fear in that meeting or that that thing that I have to do. I am petrified. I get really nervous. I’m petrified about it, but I also know that there’s a bigger picture.
Bonnie Ashley: So I try to just push through that, that short term thing. That’s gonna scare me
Sharri Harmel: like this podcast,
Bonnie Ashley: like this. Oh, you don’t know. Yeah. Or, or Stephanie’s and especially Stephanie’s even more so because I really didn’t know about it and planned for it. And you know, it’s like, why, what? Oh, hi. yeah, yeah. That was really scary.
Bonnie Ashley: So I have a fear for those short-term things. Mm-hmm um, that phone call, I will, I will look at the phone and I’m like, I don’t even know how to dial the number. I just. I dunno. Yeah. But then you push through that one small thing, and it opens up the big. So, you know, you, you gotta keep your eye on the big thing
Sharri Harmel: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. That’s that is so brilliant. You, you, you can’t imagine how many of us feel that same way and may not push through that initial fear, because it’s really easy to distract ourselves when we’re terrified.
Bonnie Ashley: And I, I don’t like to fail, and I don’t like people saying no to. I am afraid of those things, those, those, you know, I’m afraid of, of failing or doing something stupid or saying something I didn’t really mean to say, you know, or them saying no.
Bonnie Ashley: Or like, why would you think that, you know, it’s like, although that makes me mad when people say, why do you. It’s like, well, because I thought through it, so yeah.
Sharri Harmel: Internal judgment.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. Yeah. But you’re, you’re afraid of that. You know, you, you care if you care about people, you care about what they think and, and, you know, I, again, being older, I care about it a whole lot less than I used to.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. You know? So that, again, that is one benefit of getting older when you’re younger, you know, that rejection and everything is a really, a lot harder. Once you’re older, it’s like, okay. Onto. Yeah. Um, but yeah, that, that, um, that moment though, mm-hmm, that moment when I’m about to do that one thing, it’s like, am I crazy?
Bonnie Ashley: And then you just push through it and mm-hmm, ever know what’s gonna happen.
Sharri Harmel: That’s true. That’s absolutely true. But in that moment, I, I find it so interesting that you brought that up because in that moment, there is great indecision. There is great opportunity for a part of yourself that says. Oh, forget about it.
Sharri Harmel: Just let’s do what’s comfortable and, and not push through it where there thank heavens is a bigger part of you that says, come on, we can do this. We can get going. And that’s what all of us have to tap into is because we have that part. We have those aspects of ourselves that we didn’t wanna sit on the chair and do nothing because it’s safer.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. And we all have those moments. It’s like, it’s like, do I really want to have all that responsibility and follow through later? Or, you know, you have to think through those things, but yeah. It’s, you have to take the chances other because you never, ever, ever. The biggest thing to me is I don’t like what ifs.
Bonnie Ashley: I really hate what ifs. Wow. And I’ve lost people in my life. You know, I’ve had, you know, a brother that died, I’ve had things happen and you never wanna have those. Oh, I wish I would’ve done this. I would, you know, what, if I would’ve done that, those are the only regrets, true regrets in life. You wanna make sure that you’ve done everything you can in all the, in the situations that show themselves to you.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah.
Sharri Harmel: I love that. And it’s so true. It’s absolutely so true. Well, you are doing that. You are pushing through those hard things. You really almost days.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah.
Sharri Harmel: Well, you know, maybe that’s maybe that’s, that’s some kind of. Significant quote, most days, because if you do it most days, you create
Bonnie Ashley: one. Oh and you have to have balance too.
Bonnie Ashley: Right? You have to have balance in your life. You know, it’s in our case, we have days that are family days. We have nights that are, this is family time. Yeah. So, you know, it’s a matter of learning how to balance and draw those lines. And I’ve had to draw those lines at times where sometimes I didn’t want to, but you, you have to you and, and you’re thankful for it later on, you.
Bonnie Ashley: None of us. Hey, just life isn’t perfect for any of us. Mm-hmm, you know, that we all have kids, and we all have, you know, other things going on in our lives and we all have, and, and balancing it. We are not going to be perfect. No, we’re not gonna get everything. Right. And so be it. Yeah.
Sharri Harmel: Be kind to us and recognize that, like you said, I need balance.
Sharri Harmel: I need to power through those moments when I want to go the comfortable route, but also be kind when it doesn’t work out. Whatever it is that you think you want in the moment, it, it actually may not be what you want longer term, but in never know, oftentimes, you know, you look back and you say, man, if I would’ve gotten that thing that I wanted, right it would’ve been so bad. Yes. Yeah.
Sharri Harmel: Since we were like, thank you, angels that worked it out.
Bonnie Ashley: it wouldn’t have been the best thing. No, no. And we have to accept that too.
Sharri Harmel: Yeah. Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Well, is there anything else that you want to share with our listeners before we wrap up today that may help the, the gal that’s thinking of starting her own business or the gal that’s built it and is now trying to expand it and balance her life.
Sharri Harmel: Any, any nuggets? I see it for everyone who’s listening?? Thank you. There were so many good, good pieces to think about here that you have shared with us. I’m very appreciate. Thank you. Yeah. Plus I need Downton glasses and I need, yes, you do need real reading glasses.
Bonnie Ashley: You know, I think I shared what, what I, what I wanted to, um, as, as far as, you know, again, you know, it, I’m, I’m a to summarize kind of person.
Bonnie Ashley: Yeah. It’s like, like you say, don’t, don’t be too hard on yourself, but also don’t expect that things will come your way, because if you don’t get up and do it, nobody else is gonna do it for you. Right. You know, some words of advice. if I would’ve, at the beginning of all of this, I thought about taking a big loan to take care of all of it.
Bonnie Ashley: And instead, I just did little by little, by little, by little and financed it myself. Mm-hmm um, I’m really glad I did that because making payments on things and everything, when you don’t know, and then COVID hit. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I just sometimes, sometimes think it through, in, I always have a plan, a, B and C, and everybody in my household laughs at me because plan a plan B and plan C.
Bonnie Ashley: You know, it’s like have, have your different plans in place because if one thing doesn’t work, then think it through long term again, you know, it’s, it’s the whole, don’t just look at the short picture. Look at the big picture so that you don’t make any mistakes and any big mistakes you will make mistakes.
Bonnie Ashley: Mm-hmm you’ll make small mistakes. You will make some larger mistakes but try to avoid the big mistakes by pre-planning plan A, B, and C looking long range. Yeah.
Sharri Harmel: And I also hear you say, don’t be uncomfortable about taking baby steps, even though you can’t get super big right away, because that requires an, an infusion of capital that may have to come outside yourself.
Sharri Harmel: Um, be okay with that because it might also shift, and it might end up that you do something entirely different with whatever your idea is. Yeah. Then you thought, like you said, you never in a million years, did you think you’d be designing Downton Abbey glasses and it’s so wonderful!
Sharri Harmel: Absolutely love it. This’s great. One. Yes. Well, thank you, Bonnie. And all of the information will be in the show notes so that people can contact you. And, uh, if they have any questions or follow. To this podcast. So thanks!
Bonnie Ashley: And please do contact me. Don’t be afraid to, you know, it, myself, or someone around me will, will get back with you.
Bonnie Ashley: And there’s no dumb question and yeah, we ship all over the place. We will take care of you. If you have a question about them, I will answer you. No problem. So we’re here for you. Love it. Love it. Love it. Thank you so much. I’m so glad I got to know you too.
Sharri Harmel: Oh, I, yes, we, we have to connect on that one.
Sharri Harmel: That’s another conversation, right? And get Stephanie on this call. Absolutely. Thank you, Bonnie. All right, take care.
Bonnie Ashley: You too bye bye.
Sharri Harmel: Thank you, everyone for joining us today. And if you got only one big takeaway from my conversation with Bonnie, it might be to let yourself imagine all sorts of ways you could merge what you love with your skill set and your interests.
Sharri Harmel: And from that creates your business. If you liked this conversation, please press the like button subscribe and share this podcast with other extraordinary women. Just like you now join our conversation of truly extraordinary women. We might seem to be a group of average kind of gals, but we’re doing extraordinary things.
Sharri Harmel: That’s the key to creating a magical. And purpose filled life. So, I hope you join us. Take good care. And as I say, in Paris, a bien to.
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