Walking into RevolutionEYES in Clay Terrace, at first, you might think you have mistakenly entered a jewelry or accessory boutique. You’ve never seen glasses like the ones in the display case in front of you. The store has a chic warehouse look and feel that you don’t expect from a business that checks your eyes and fits you for glasses and contacts. But you are in the right place. This is NOT your ordinary optometrist. You have entered the 21st century of eye care and eyewear. This is RevolutionEYES.
RevolutionEYES is in its 10th year at Clay Terrace and is the brainchild of Dr. Jeremy Ciano. Not bad for someone who was fired from his first job in optometry after nine days. Dr. Ciano says he was told he would never make it in his industry because he doesn’t have a business owner’s mentality. “I wear that on my shoulder,” he says. “It will be on my tombstone.”
After graduating from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Dr. Ciano, who is from New Jersey, came here to take the job that he lost so quickly. He then found himself working at the vision center at Sears in Richmond and living in a hotel room. He did that, he says, while planning his next move, which was purchasing a national optical franchise in Carmel that he owned and operated for five years.
But he always had something else in mind. “I’ve had this concept of RevolutionEYES in my head ever since I was in my third year of optometry school,” he says. Despite what could have been bad timing due to the financial crisis the country went through, Dr. Ciano opened RevolutionEYES on November 19, 2007, and has had a successful decade.
“We opened up RevoltionEYES with a dream of delivering high-end quality products with good old-fashioned down-home customer service,” he says. He points to three things that RevolutionEYES provides patients: high-end service, exclusive top-line products that you can’t get anywhere else and medical technology that is second to none. “I tell patients all the time that if we don’t bring you the latest and greatest in medical technology, then you should go somewhere else for your eye care. That’s how important your eye care is.”
That latest and greatest technology includes the use of digital retinol scans that take the place of dilation, which obstructs vision and is an inconvenience. The scans allow Dr. Ciano to pick up on glaucoma, brain tumors, MS, diabetes, macular degeneration, hypertension and thyroid issues, all in the convenience of a quick digital image. He says his office is one of the first in the U.S. to use this technology.
He and his staff screen for the full gamut of medical issues. “We emphasize with the patient that it’s not about just seeing well or having great fashion. If the inside of the eyes don’t work, it doesn’t matter what’s going on on the outside from a vision standpoint,” says Dr. Ciano.
However, fashion IS what’s going on in the front part of the store. “Our boutique model is we have an exclusive array of fashion-forward frames from around the world that are exclusive to us that you can’t get anywhere else. We are proud that every patient that walks out of here has an affordable luxury that they can walk around and is something that makes them smile. Because someone will stop them on a daily basis to say ‘Wow! I love your glasses,’ or ‘Wow, where did you get those from?’” he says. “Our reputation rests on your face.”
He points out that eyewear is something people wear every single day. “It’s not only functional, but it has a fashion component. And for someone to be able to get a pair of Tiffany or Chanel or another high-end jewelry piece that’s got Swarovski crystals at a relatively affordable price, it really brings a smile to people’s faces,” he says.
That is why RevolutionEYES does a lot of what he calls “wardrobing” where people will come in to get multiple pairs of glasses. “They’ll have their sport look. They’ll have their fashion look. They’ll have their high-end dress look. We’ll help these patients with an array of different colors and styles. It’s pretty similar to buying shoes or handbags,” says Dr. Ciano.
But, perhaps, the most unique part of RevolutionEYES is its newest innovation, which Dr. Ciano and his staff have named Bespoke. He says Bespoke is the centerpiece and impetus behind a complete remodeling of their current location. “To our knowledge, a custom bespoking design center does not exist anywhere in the United States with respect to optical creativity. We are very proud to have four different lines where patients can come in and custom design their own face jewelry,” he says. “We’re going to use metals, woods, plastics, an infinite array of colors, different shapes, sizes. We really think that will cater to a whole new set of people that are very artistic and creative and unique that will want to have individualized customized eyewear that’s going to fit them personally.”
For those that might be wondering what the cost is of being so eyewear fashion-forward, Dr. Ciano says RevolutionEYES has a price range to meet just about any budget. “We recognize that not everyone wants to spend a small fortune on a single pair of glasses, so we do have frames that start at a very reasonable price point in the $200s, and we have glasses that go up to $2,000 and everywhere in between. We do carry exclusive products, but we are not exclusionary that only the ultra-wealthy are welcome,” he says. Dr. Ciano has another location at 116th and Rangeline Road in Carmel called Little Eyes that is for children, a concept he says his son came up with at the age of 4 and is less intimidating. It is the first-ever primary care pediatric optometry clinic and is the only one of its kind in the U.S.
Dr. Ciano says he and his staff are obsessed with customer service and being unique. “At RevolutionEYES, we want patients to experience optical and medical in a completely different way than they have been accustomed to because they shouldn’t have to settle for waiting 45 minutes or an hour in the lobby. They shouldn’t have to settle for being dilated. They shouldn’t have to settle for not having the premium quality products that fit their face properly and don’t hurt them and don’t leave marks on their nose. They shouldn’t have to settle for health care. We want to bring all that to light.”
