We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Kyla Skinner. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Kyla below.

Hi Kyla, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

In the eye-care/eyewear world, there are a few large corporations that own a huge percentage of the recognized brands, they own retail stores, doctor’s offices and insurance companies. In buying out many of these avenues, they have been able to become more profitable and take over a huge chunk of optical demands.

However, the downside is to this, is frames are mass produced with a designer name slapped on the side, quality of construction & materials goes down, and you are paying for brand names versus products made with care & attention. Insurance companies are for-profit as well, so the quality of care suffers, with doctors and opticians having to help more people with less time, in order to survive.

This means your care, as a client and patient, can be rushed & not thorough to care for your needs. The frames will not hold their adjustment or fit as comfortably and your lenses may not optimize technology and your vision.

I knew in opening my own shop, that I wanted to do things differently. I made the goal of carrying only independent eyewear lines. In many cases, I’ve met the owner’s & designers of the frame companies. I’ve learned what inspires them. The quality of their materials matters to them. And so does their customer service. I know that they will back their products, and me and my clients, if we need something.

I’ve also made the conscious decision NOT to take vision insurance. I’ve been in the eyecare field for 25 years, with many of those days being filled with agonizing phone calls to insurance companies, trying to determine someone’s coverage or argue about reimbursement. I saw how much doctors wrote off, basically losing money, and having to compensate by raising costs elsewhere. I saw how insurance took time away from taking care of the client, which is where I want to focus my time – YOU! Making sure I have time to listen to your needs, trouble shoot your concerns – and make sure your eyewear reflects your individual style and gives you your best vision!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am American Board of Opticians certified, I started out in the optometry/optical world right out of high school, in 1996.

I was all signed up for dental assistant school when I realized, “wait a sec, I hate the dentist!” A good friend recommended the eye care world instead, and it was a match made in heaven!

I love my work! I love that I’ve learned so much medically about the eye and our miraculous vision. I love that my job involves fashion and style, pushing people just a smidge into something that may be slightly out of their comfort zone but that they will get stopped on the street wherever they go, with compliments on their eyewear. I love that technology is constantly changing to improve lens options.

Most of all, I love getting to know my clients and patients. Sharing our lives with the time we spend together. And matching people up with a frame that fits who they really are!

I’ve spent all of this time working for optometrists mainly, with brief stints at ophthalmology practices. Each job has taught me so much and given me the confidence to finally open my own optical shop, Specs by Kyla, in a small town on the central coast of California. I proudly and nervously opened my doors in July of 2021, and it has been the best thing I’ve ever done!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Social media has been huge for me. I have ripped off the pretenses and masks and shared my raw honest heart and truth. I am long-winded and talk a lot about my painful adoption journey, struggles with religion and share really whatever is on my heart. This has been healing for me, to feel heard, and it has also helped people know they can trust me. They walk in my door for the first time, and they feel like they already know me.

This is sometimes uncomfortable and scary for me, especially as I get busier and engage a bigger audience, but I have no regrets. I attempt to live my life in the most authentic way possible and it has been fun to make social media a journal of sorts, sharing deep thoughts but also funny and joyful moments, and of course, all the fun eyewear. I take photos of clients in their new specs, a lot, and it is fun to see the community chime in with “hey I know them!” or followers just in general – loving other people’s style.

Social media has been a fun way to build community!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

After reuniting with my birth family, around age 40, and the sudden death of my birth mom, then struggling with religion adding to my stress and anxiety- I didn’t want to live anymore. Covid also happened, my husband got laid off, and life just felt so hard. I didn’t see any hope or any chance of things getting better.

I got help, from a doctor and therapy. It took lots of work and tears, but I look at my life now and I’m filled with joy and I’m proud I didn’t give up. Those hard things helped me hear myself. They helped me realize that life was full of unknowns and that I had to stay in the moment to control my anxiety. And that I needed to take some leaps and risks to achieve a change.

My life feels so delightful now. My dreams and goals came true. So even when things feel too hard and there seems to be no way out, there is joy around the corner.

I was voted “woman of influence” by our community this year and was so surreal to go from feeling so low to be honored with that title. I truly think my pain made it possible, to find my true calling. And people connect with honesty, because life is hard for all of us at one point or another.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.specsbykyla.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/specsbykyla/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/specsbykyla
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyla-skinner-39401931
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/specs-by-kyla-atascadero

Image Credits
Carlee Tatum – Milk & Thistle Photography Chris Thompson – Sky’s the Limit Design