Who are you and what do you do in the optical industry?

Hi, I'm Lena and I'm an optician currently doing my Bachelor's degree at Aalen University.

What is your favourite place at opti?

I don't really have a favourite place. I think the trade fair stands are really cool, the opti CAMPUS and the trade fair parties are a must.

What is your guilty pleasure?  

When nobody's at home, I chat with my dog.  

What does WE ARE opti mean to you? 

For me, WE ARE opti means a huge community project.

Who are you and what do you do in the optical industry?

I'm Petra Lindner and my heart beats for optometry. I support opticians in introducing optometry as a healthcare service in their businesses.  

Where do you spend most of your time at opti?

Well, I love beautiful glasses, I have a soft spot for fashionable things, for unusual glasses, but I also like optometry and that's why my heart beats in Hall 4, exchanging ideas with lots of great new colleagues and business partners.

What does WE ARE opti mean to you?

I am proud to be a brand ambassador for opti.

Who are you and what do you do in the optical industry?

My name is Sabine Siegmund. I have an optician's and hearing acoustics shop in the suburbs of Hanover in the historic, beautiful little town of Pattensen. I'm a real team player, both in my rowing yacht and in business. Because you're always more successful in a team than as a lone wolf.

Where do you spend most of your time at opti?

My favorite place at opti is where I feel welcome as an optician, as a customer and as a person. Where I meet a team that lives the optical spirit and is keen to move optics forward. These are my favorite places.

What is your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is that I love rowing and the more you're on the water, the more calluses and blisters you get on your hands. But I'm all the prouder of it because I've done more kilometres. Others think it's terrible how my hands look, but I'm proud of them.

What does WE ARE opti mean to you? 

For me, WE ARE opti is a team of people who want to make optometry successful together. A team of people who have the spirit to say: we are taking a different approach. We belong together and we are passionate and enthusiastic about optometry.

Who are you and what do you do in the optical industry?

My name is Jean-Pierre Schwalb. I am the owner of Optik Schwalb in the heart of Hesse and have been working on making the optical industry more authentic since 2020.

What is your favourite place at opti?

I actually love chatting to friendly people to get inspired: Accordingly, I linger in various places at opti.

 What is your guilty pleasure?

Taking an ice-cold shower every morning.

What does WE ARE opti mean to you?

It feels like the start of a new era for the authentic optical industry here in Germany.

Who are you and what do you do in the optical industry?

My name is Boris M. Stolle. I've been working in the optical industry since 1999. It all started with a nice apprenticeship in an optician's store. I stayed there until 2007. I was always very passionate about my job. But then I was drawn to the other side, into sales, and since then I have been offering my services to the industry. In my case, to eyewear manufacturers to sell their beautiful products in my area.

Where do you spend most of your time at opti?

At opti, I naturally spend most of my time with the manufacturers I work for. But I also enjoy it when I find the time to visit other manufacturers I'm friends with, as well as new manufacturers, to see what's new. Whether it's glasses, lenses or machines.

What is your guilty pleasure?

My Guilty Pleasure is, I think, my tidiness. Everything always has to be well organized, like on my desk, for example. And then I take all that out into my job.

What does WE ARE opti mean to you?

For me, WE ARE opti is first and foremost a sense of community. Everyone is a super important part of this campaign, this trade fair, this industry and plays their part. For me, WE ARE opti also means seeing and being seen, experiencing new things, discovering new things, making contacts, meeting old contacts again, but of course also exchanging ideas and what is also a very nice side effect, meeting friends again.

Who are you and what do you do in the optical industry?

I'm Lars Teubler, 31 years old, and I work in the optical industry as a master optician and we also have a podcast.

What is your favorite place at opti?

I definitely felt very comfortable in the contact lens area in 2024 and spent most of my time there. Then I looked at a few machines. That was also very interesting and of course you can't avoid looking at the frames and finding out about the latest trends. That's the main reason why we were there.  

 What is your guilty pleasure?

My guilty pleasure is that I talk on the phone with David, with whom I record the podcast, for almost half an hour to three quarters of an hour both before and after, because we have so much fun chatting.

What does WE ARE opti mean to you?

Yes, for me opti means a big get-together from the whole industry, with all the people, both opticians and exhibitors as well as everyone else who comes along, a great exchange and simply having a good time together.