On Saturday, June 22, Westchester Eyes opened its third location, this one in Greenburgh, offering custom, 3D-printed eyewear that will eventually benefit disabled veterans as well as the general public. (The other two locations are Westchester Eyes in Yonkers and White Plains Eye Care, which is being rebranded as Westchester Eyes.)
The business’ Morez Eyewear technology – named for the Ecole des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France Lunetiers (the School of the Best Workers of France Eyewear Makers) in Morez, France, where optometrist and Westchester Eyes founder Eric C. Rubinfeld, OD, MBA, trained – offers tailored, handmade designs that enable clients to participate in the process. The glasses are made with acetate from France – which pioneered the eyewear industry, and Italy; cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) from Italy; and hardware from Germany, using a Genera G1/F1 3D printer system from Austria. Perhaps more important, Morez technology will be used to create eyeglasses for U.S. veterans with head and facial injuries that ensure a comfortable, aesthetic fit.
“This part of the Morez project will take time to develop as we need to first prepare our machines for less complicated production and refine our processes,” Rubinfeld said.
The grandson of a World War II veteran and the nephew of a U.S. Army veteran, Rubinfeld graduated from the SUNY College of Optometry and the Hong Kong University School of Business with the idea of giving back to veterans and innovating in the United States, to which he returned in 2011 after a decade of living and working in Asia.
Rubinfeld, who makes his home in the Hudson Valley with his wife, daughter and three dogs, is active in the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children and builds specially adapted smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders, while also striving to end veteran homelessness and ensure that the United States remembers 9/11.
“The company is working hard to improve the lives of disabled veterans and many others,” said Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner. “I’m so happy that Greenburgh was chosen as a location for Westchester Eyes.”
For more, visit westchestereyes.com and morezeyewear.com.
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