Nicola Rivett founded Kids Eye Gear in 2013 after experiencing first hand a child with a rare eye condition. Faced with years of patching her young baby – and the expenses that came with it – Nicola created the first Australian-designed adhesive orthoptic eye patch. Identifying a niche in the market, she set about offering the product directly to parents, rather than the traditional distributor and pharmacy sales channels. This provided parents with greater accessibility and affordability of a much-needed medical device.
Kids Eye Gear is now 10 years old and has grown into a socially conscious entity that helps parents of young children with vision issues to get the best vision outcomes for their kids. The small business has helped more than 10,000 families improve their child’s vision by providing fun optical products, valuable information, and personal support through an online store and blog.
Nicola is passionate about helping improve children’s vision, whether that be through developing and sourcing innovative products, supporting other Australian businesses in the optical industry, or educating the community on children’s vision issues.
Over the years, Kids Eye Gear has been present in the optical industry, participating in numerous conferences and trade shows, such as the Orthoptics Australia conference, O=MEGA 2019, NACBO 2018, SILMO Sydney, and Squint Club.
The small business has also supported charities like Cataract Kids Australia, Fred Hollows Foundation, Guide Dogs Queensland, Hear & Say Centre, and Glaucoma Australia, and sponsored children in the Philippines and Malaysia by providing patches free of charge to those who can not afford them.
In 2020, Nicola put her market research experience to work launching the inaugural Little Aussie Eyes Report, a research initiative that has become an annual valuable resource in the optical industry.
Above all else, Nicola hopes to provide resources to other parents going through vision struggles with their children, just as she did. The Kids Eye Gear website now hosts more than 100 articles about kids’ vision and eye care, offering a wealth of knowledge for parents and caregivers.
We are proud to share about Nicola and her amazing work. At KTG we are always amazed by the ingenuity and creative ideas that come from parents who find ways not only to ease the pathways for their own children but also for those who will follow! Nicola is a perfect example of just such a parent! For more information on Kids Eye Gear check out their website at https://kidseyegear.com.au/.
