At Avenida Dr. Renato Araújo nº511, in São João da Madeira, you will find Optima Charme, a place made of special relationships. It all started with Marco Silva, optometrist and, Luís Pereira, optician. They worked together in another establishment and both dreamed of practicing their art in a place with which they could identify. When the anxiety of turning this dream into reality became unbearable, Luis’s wife gave the final thrust: ‘You will open an optic and you will open in the center of São João da Madeira.’ Luis, a native of Gaia, had been working for several years in São João da Madeira and already knew his people well, as well as Marco, who in his turn came from Aveiro. His course in São João da Madeira was a little shorter, but let’s face it, with his profession it is virtually impossible not to unravel the spirit of the people of the earth.

The key for the creation of Óptica Charme: Luís was not willing to venture in a new business without having confidence in the work of the second person who would invariably have to accompany him, for the project to become feasible. It was not difficult to find the ideal partner. In fact, it was enough to look at the side: Marco, a coworker who trusted him and vice versa, represented the perfect union of forces.

Óptica Charme was inaugurated on March 21, 2014, using exhaustive works, in order to transform the former space, a Chinese retail store, into what they had idealized. With the help of a decorator, Rodolfo, they have achieved a distinctive look with an inviting and friendly atmosphere, where people gather to talk and socialize, while choosing the model of glasses best suited to their needs. Also note the neutrality in the eyes of the owners: “you see all customers are equal and deserving equal attention”.

You can say that these two friends, without great initial investment capacity, took a step in the dark when opening the Óptica Charme, but they did it using the best tool at their disposal, which eventually became the brand image of the house : friendliness and quality service that put the customer first. Marco and Luis always make that ‘extra effort’ to make sure that customers leave the store with solutions and not with unresolved issues. They have also bet on state-of-the-art equipment, including pioneering technology. The philosophy of the house ended up guaranteeing them a satisfied clientele and, therefore, faithful. In short, it was the relationships described above that made it possible to build this house: the relationship with customers and between two friends of long standing. When asked about the future of the business, Luis confirms that ‘it is to stay in São João’. Knowing the establishment better now, we can say that it is, for all the people of São João da Madeira, a good vision of times to come.