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‘I’ve already lived my worst days on earth’
April 7, 2025
FOND DU LAC – For a little more than a year, Owners Angi Roloff and Kristy Gellings said they have strived to support the optical needs of the Greater Fond du Lac community at Bird’s Eye View Optical (19 S. Main St.).
As an optical retail store owned by opticians, the duo said they specialize in custom eyewear and contact lenses with a diverse range of frames to meet everyone’s requirements – stocking popular brands like Oakley and Ray Ban, and sourcing frames from independent companies based in Barcelona, Denmark, Italy, Germany and the U.S.
A long history of collaboration
Gellings and Roloff said they have been living the “eye”-life for their entire careers.
Roloff said she has been in the industry since 2000, with Gellings working with her for 18 of those years.
Both women said they started their careers at Lenscrafters – a company that Roloff said was top-notch for education in the industry.
During their time at Lenscrafters and at other private practices, Roloff and Gellings said they spent much of their time in management positions.
“I was hired as a manager for Lenscrafters, and then Kristy moved into management,” Roloff said. “Shortly after she started working for me, we went into private practice and worked there for 15 years as managers together.”
Though their time working in private practice was an “amazing experience,” the pair said they realized the corporate pressure that can come along with working for larger companies wasn’t for either of them.
Time for a change
Eventually, Roloff and Gellings said they both left the corporate world and went out on their own – each looking at different paths for a change.
However, because of the reputation they created for themselves in the community regarding eye care, the pair said people started reaching out.
“We were getting messages on Facebook, people were calling,” Roloff said. “I even had two gentlemen at Menards ask where I went. It was so funny because my dad was with me, and he told me (Kristy and I) should start our own place.”
She said for her, that was when the first seed was planted.
The second seed, Roloff said, was planted when her best friend told her that “everyone’s been asking where she has been.”
In that moment, she said she again heard her father’s words: “You should just take the risk and open your own place.”
With that, Roloff said she called Gellings and asked, “What do you think?”
She said Gellings’ response was quick: “Everyone’s asking me, too. I think we should take the chance and do it.”
And with that, the duo said Bird’s Eye View Optical Inc. came to fruition.
Since opening in late fall 2023, Gellings and Roloff said the response from the community has been more than they could have expected.
“Both Kristy and I can say we like (owning our own clinic) more than we expected,” Roloff said. “We love being involved with all the other business owners (in the community). We have a lot to look forward to in the next couple of years.”
‘Because they can’
Roloff said the biggest difference between their roles as owners of Bird’s Eye View Optical and their management roles at other clinics is they can take care of their patients and the community the way they want to.
The duo said they love being an active part of the community and showing this love through outreach.
Being business owners, Roloff said, affords them the opportunity to be active in ways that make sense for them, rather than having to ask for permission and waiting for approval from someone else before they can help.
“We’re both softies,” she said. “Our hearts are really on our shoulders, and we love being able to help our community who come in the doors, and those we see around us on a daily basis… We’re in a downtown area, and we’ve gotten to know about the individuals we see on a daily basis (that may be struggling) by taking care of them – because we can.”
Inside the store, Roloff said it’s important to her and Gellings to make customers feel welcomed and appreciated.
“I want people to be treated personally to the point where it was the best experience they’ve ever had in a shopping setting,” Roloff said. “I want them to feel taken care of and most of all valued.”
At Bird’s Eye, Roloff said it’s about more than just going into the store, trying on glasses or sunglasses and walking out with them the following week.
“We want to make sure you feel welcome to come back when you need adjustments, a cleaning – whatever needs you may have for your glasses or contacts,” she said.
It’s all about the patient
When patients enter the Bird’s Eye View Optical doors, Roloff said they are greeted by a bright open space and two opticians ready to help them with whatever they need.
“The first thing that people notice when they see you is your face,” she said. “They’re looking at who they’re talking to, and the right pair of glasses shows your personality in more ways than most people think.”
Gellings and Roloff said they are honored to help patients find the pair of glasses or contacts that are just right for them.
Roloff said Bird’s Eye offers 100%-custom eyewear choices and options to suit different budgets and styles.
Though purchasing glasses online has grown in popularity, Roloff said there is something to be said about local, in-person care.
“A professional guiding you makes all the difference,” she said. “We can give you the guidance you’re not going to get online… and (help you find something) that will work best for you.”
A perfect example of this, Roloff said, is the Avulux lenses – which are migraine specialty lenses.
Bird’s Eye View, she said, is the only company in the Fond du Lac area to specialize in that kind of tech.
“We (offer these) specialty services because we care,” Roloff said. “We had one patient (who, with the help of this) lens (was able to stop) having crippling migraines on a daily basis. To know that we affected someone’s life that much was amazing.”
Being able to go mobile when needed, Roloff said, is another one of Bird’s Eye View’s specialties, which allows them to truly work with all ages and ability types.
She said they have been known to pack up cases of glasses and visit nursing homes to help the elderly who often aren’t able to come to an office visit.
Roloff said they love working with kids, too.
“We’re both trained pediatric opticians, and that’s rare,” she said.
All of Bird’s Eye View’s staff – four total employees, including two part-time – Roloff said, are certified.
She said it makes a difference to the individuals they serve, because they estimate about 90% of their business is word of mouth.
For the Bird’s Eye View team, Roloff said it’s about quality, not quantity.
Learn more at birdseyeviewopticalinc.com.
