Vision Monday’s Jamie Wilson and Stephanie Sengwe were joined by
10/10 Optic’s Ruth Domber and Karen Freidus of Center Stage
Optique for a Pop Up Talk discussing all things main street.
NEW YORK—Vision Monday’s associate editor, Jamie Wilson and assistant editor, Stephanie Sengwe, hosted a Pop Up Talk, “Independents A to Z: A Guide to Standing out on Main Street,” at this year’s Vision Expo East.

Their panel discussion featured Ruth Domber, co-founder of 10/10 Optics who has over four decades of optical experience and Karen Freidus, whose optical boutique, Center Stage Optique will soon celebrate its one-year anniversary.

Domber is passionate about the transformative powers of eyewear, with a positive energy that has been a key force behind the success of 10/10 Optics and Freidus, who is the main buyer and frame stylist, gets to use her keen eye for fashion and love of personal interaction and sales to find her customers the perfect frames in a fun environment.

Inspired by the ever-changing optical retail landscape, the intimate yet dynamic panel discussion focused on the do’s, don’ts and business tactics of running an independent retail location as well as forging a distinct identity and experience on Main Street.

While both Freidus and Domber have different audiences that their locations appeal to, one key take away from the conversation was that providing customers with a curated, unmatched experience never goes out of style. In fact, it’s a driving factor in keeping customers coming back.