Naked Specs WA

50 new sunglasses from AM Eyewear have just landed instore today...get in quick before they all go!

Well I finally have my health update beautiful people. Today is my birthday and yep I have reached 55 years young and I have never been more happy to see in my birthday.

I last posted just before I had my bowel cancer surgery 8 weeks ago so I wanted to provide you with an update.

As soon as I arrived home after my surgery, things took a turn for the worse as I ended up with terrible complications and after 3 re-admissions I spent just over a month in hospital.

Since then, I came to Brisbane 2 weeks ago with my son to see my husband (who has been working away on a contract). Three days into my trip, I was rushed by emergency ambulance to hospital, due to what turned out to be a nasty bacterial gastro similar to Salmonella, not helped by being immunocompromised with my chemo and still recovering from bowel surgery where they had to remove over 80% of my bowel.

So after another 6 days in hospital in Brisbane, I managed to spend time with my husband in Byron Bay last week. It was simply magical and I got to catch up with iconic eyewear designer Paul Taylor and I am also meeting with other suppliers and am attending a conference.

For those who did not know, Adam has been away during my surgery and recovery on a contract in Brisbane. Very bad timing! So this has all made things that little bit harder.

So my lovelies, I am now finally starting my recovery. My staff Ellen, Carmen and Brandon have taken care of the shop for the past 3 months and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their love, concern and unwavering support and loyalty not only to me but to each other, suppliers and of course you our amazing customers!

I will post more in time as I have received so so many messages of support and love from all over the world that it has been difficult to reply to everyone. Yes that is the reach of Naked Specs 😀.

So I have a couple of interesting snaps below that have resonated with me for the unsung heroes that are the AMAZING medical teams both in Perth and Brisbane who have taken such wonderful care of me in very testing situations. Many of whom I do not know their names but to them all...I thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my life.

Well I finally have my health update beautiful people. Today is my birthday and yep I have reached 55 years young and I have never been more happy to see in my birthday.

I last posted just before I had my bowel cancer surgery 8 weeks ago so I wanted to provide you with an update.

As soon as I arrived home after my surgery, things took a turn for the worse as I ended up with terrible complications and after 3 re-admissions I spent just over a month in hospital.

Since then, I came to Brisbane 2 weeks ago with my son to see my husband (who has been working away on a contract). Three days into my trip, I was rushed by emergency ambulance to hospital, due to what turned out to be a nasty bacterial gastro similar to Salmonella, not helped by being immunocompromised with my chemo and still recovering from bowel surgery where they had to remove over 80% of my bowel.

So after another 6 days in hospital in Brisbane, I managed to spend time with my husband in Byron Bay last week. It was simply magical and I got to catch up with iconic eyewear designer Paul Taylor and I am also meeting with other suppliers and am attending a conference.

For those who did not know, Adam has been away during my surgery and recovery on a contract in Brisbane. Very bad timing! So this has all made things that little bit harder.

So my lovelies, I am now finally starting my recovery. My staff Ellen, Carmen and Brandon have taken care of the shop for the past 3 months and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for their love, concern and unwavering support and loyalty not only to me but to each other, suppliers and of course you our amazing customers!

I will post more in time as I have received so so many messages of support and love from all over the world that it has been difficult to reply to everyone. Yes that is the reach of Naked Specs 😀.

So I have a couple of interesting snaps below that have resonated with me for the unsung heroes that are the AMAZING medical teams both in Perth and Brisbane who have taken such wonderful care of me in very testing situations. Many of whom I do not know their names but to them all...I thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my life. My thanks especially to my GP who was so insanely thorough right at the beginning when my iron levels were low and sent me for an emergency colonoscopy and iron infusion. He took no chances and left no stone unturned. I owe him my life.

So I am remaining here in Brisbane a wee while longer whilst I regain my strength before returning to Perth to continue my Chemotherapy. It's a long and bumpy road ahead, but all I can think of I am alive to make the journey to what I hope is a full recovery over time.

So my friends, I will be in touch again soon and provide further updates on our Facebook and Instagram page. Your support is simply breathtaking, thank you thank you, thank you and I cannot wait to see you all again very soon.

Love
Justine

Ellen is showing off some custom tinting by our very own Tintz Boss, Brandon.

Wicked tints by a wicked guy. You got special tinting requests, and we got special talents!

Justine on a recent visit to our lens partner in Brisbane. All steps of the prescription lens process are delivered right here in Australia.

Seeing the incredible operation and the cutting-edge technology up close gives you such an appreciation of what is required to deliver perfect vision for our customers.

Thanks again, such an awesome group of people and such awesome operation.

A personal update

Hello lovelies,

As many of you may know, my health over the past few months has not been great and I have had some time off at work. Well two weeks ago I was diagnosed with bowel cancer...stage 2 or 3 they think, and my CT scan shows it is unlikely it has spread to my liver or lungs... fingers crossed it hasn't. My surgery is tomorrow morning, and I am 1st up on the operating list.

So my friends, I can assure you that I haven't shed a tear, I feel so blessed and happy and positive so no need to be sad as I have got this!

We celebrated my beautiful daughter Nancy's Nursing graduation the day after we found out and the "c" word was banned for the day as it was HER day. Adam, as many of you know is in Brisbane for a 12 mth contract so it will be hard for him not to be with me and me with him. That's why I had to make sure we had some time together last week in Noosa. We had the best week ever!

My darling Mum and son are staying with me and Carmen, Ellen and Brandon are running my business with extra support from the gorgeous Matt Zen from Shamir, whilst I recouperate, so how lucky am I to have such amazing support whilst I recover by such a beautiful team that I completely love and adore.

So please bear with us in the shop as we are a little short staffed over the coming weeks however my word, our range is simply breathtaking and better than it ever has been in the history of the business. And we have some amazing new products and unbeatable offers coming very very soon so stay tuned!

I worked this past Saturday at the shop and had the best day full of such beautiful souls with lots of laughter as usual. As you know, my business is my passion. We have created such a special business and experience and that is because of you... our amazing customers, staff, and suppliers. Your continued and unwavering support of my business over the years still blows me away, so thank you to each and every one of you.

I will keep you posted, but please do not worry x now... go and grab life by the throat and live it... every single day. Love to you all, Justine # # #

Our Naked Specs mantra and we remind ourselves of this constantly. Yes we are so proud to have one of the largest, most beautiful and colourful ranges of independent eyewear in Australia, but it's the "Naked Specs Experience" that is the main reason our fabulous customers tell us why they keep coming back to us and referring and referring their friends, family and colleagues to us # # # We are forever grateful to each and every one of you 😘

Well done Hannah!

Maya Angelou once said that, ‘Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women’.

Hannah Waddingham just did that. When asked to ‘show me some leg’ whilst being photographed, she, quite rightly, called out the photographer with ‘you’d never say that to a man…don’t be a d***…no.’ And she’s right. She’s so right. Because it’s utterly outrageous that in this day and age, women are still subjected to and expected to reveal themselves for the male gaze. That we are scrutinised and judged on our appearance and expected to accept it. That the photographer felt that this was an acceptable request in the first place shows just how far we as a society still have to go.

When I was growing up, from my very early teens in fact, I remember cars slowing down whilst I was walking home. Leering out of the window. Wolf whistles. ‘Get your t@* # out for the lads’. Being groped on a night out. Being told, ‘Just stand there and look pretty’ whilst at work. The conversations, professionally and socially, that have been had whilst someone stared at my breasts whilst I wanted to scream, ‘I’m up here actually’.

It’s not ok. None of it. It wasn’t ok then. I just didn’t have the confidence to speak out. To say no. It seemed that was just the way it was back then. Accepted. That I should in some way be grateful for the attention. That I should be pleased that someone should find me attractive. Except that I wasn’t actually. I found it all a bit intimidating, predatory in fact.

At 45, I’d now have a great deal to say in reply and it would be most likely very colourfully put.

When you have a daughter, it hits deeper. Because I don’t want that for her. I don’t want her to believe, as I did, that her worth is based on her appearance. I don’t want her to feel that validation comes from the approval of others full stop. I want her to know that she has to right to be glamorous, if she wishes, without that meaning anyone has the right to expect something in return, whether that be a flash of her legs or anything else. That they are her legs. And if she wants to wear a skirt or shorts that doesn’t mean she’s asking for attention or inviting advances.

Asking a woman to show leg may seem trivial to some but actually it represents something far more worrying about how women are still viewed in our society. Imagine if a photographer asked a male celebrity to ‘show me some abs, that’s it show me calf.’ It wouldn’t happen. It shouldn’t have been asked of Hannah Waddingham either.

Thank you Hannah, for in standing up for yourself, you stood up for me and for my daughter. For all of us. Little girls are watching. What an example you have just set them ❤️

Happy Easter, every bunny!