Chesterfield business Oculi - the Chatsworth Road indie of quirk and style

Halfway up Chatsworth Road, in Chesterfield, housed humbly in an old sandstone row between a chippy and a side road, sits Oculi, an opticians that is far from ordinary. Run by working mum Kate Hirst, this is a lady of quirk and style whose persona seems echoed in the shop itself.

“Honestly, I think it was just knowing. Walking in the shop and seeing the layout… It’s quite unusual, and it’s got quite a quirky style… It’s got all the original fireplace features and things like that. It just makes it a little bit different.”

Kate’s tenacity to become her own boss, to set up her own business, is underlined by the fact that Oculi was birthed during the first lockdown, opening not long after. Is there any wisdom to offer after such an act?

“I would say, don’t overthink things too much. Because I think if I’d have sat long and hard about the whys and wherefores, and analysed every single little detail, I really don’t think I would have got past the first hurdle.”

“I think it’s just a case of if it’s something you really believe there is a need and a gap, which I felt there was in Chesterfield for a good independent, then just go for it.”

Independence seems important to Kate. Originally working for an opticians chain, her frustrations were spiked by a lack of choice.

“Although I was a manager as well at the time, you were still not free to choose your own things and pick your own stock, do exactly as you’d like to see things running. But then I came out of that, had my children, and when I went back after maternity leave I went self-employed, as a dispensing optician, but into an independent practice.”

And here is where Kate’s vision gained clarity.

“I just totally saw a flip-side to the coin. Being in charge and making your own choices. How you want your customer service to be. What frame manufacturers you’d like to use… Just having that free rein to run an opticians how you’d like it to be done.”

This difference in customer service, the one-to-one of independents versus the blur at multiples, is certainly something she has cultivated at her own independent, Oculi.

“There is just me and the optometrist, and that’s the whole journey from the start to the end. You can stay close to each patient in terms of what they need, whether it be a pair of specs or it’s more of a clinical aspect… we’re very in tune with each person.”

This being ‘in tune’ brings another difference to how Kate sees things at Oculi: the time spent to get it right.

“I really felt it was an important part of our service to give really good thorough eye examination. So we’ve got the latest equipment for looking into different eye conditions. We do have hour long appointments with the optometrist, so we give the time and care that each patient needs.”

And if you need something a bit different, Kate’s persona not only echoes in the shop, it can be seen in her stock too.

“The majority of my stock is from frame suppliers that just deal with independent opticians. So, they’re not in the big multiples. That’s why things do look different. So, not just racks and racks of the same looking stuff with different labels on. It’s actually different styles, products, materials…”

Working mum Kate also stocks the quirky and stylish for kids too: “Tomato glasses, which are purely designed for little faces”.

Speaking of ‘little faces’, what’s it like running your own business alongside being a mum? Kate laughs, holds her hands out as though balancing a toddler in each palm: “Busy!”

“It does have its perks. If I decide I need some time off, then I can have a bit of flexibility, but obviously being your own boss and being self-employed, you’ve got to be here and open. There is a lot of responsibility on my shoulders.”

Spinning plates? Kate smiles, nods.

“Yeah. Especially having young children. I do sometimes need to be in four different places at once. Which is tricky at times. But I wouldn’t change it. It’s still really good, and I enjoy having my own business.”

And why here, out of town?

“I absolutely love being on Chatsworth Road. When I very first started, there was a bit of initial panic in the sense of ‘Are we a bit too far up? Will enough people walk past?’. However, totally the opposite… footfall is absolutely great.”

“And all the independent little shops… It’s partly why I came up with the name for Oculi, because a lot of the shops on Chatsworth Road are just one name quirky little business names like Meringue or Koo or Dava, Harleys.”

“Little, independent style shops, bars, cafes, florists. I just think it’s a nice mix. Chatsworth Road is the place to be for independent local shops. It definitely has that vibe about it.”

Kate certainly sees small and independent as a big action towards the personal and particular.

“That’s what I enjoy about being just a small environment. The fact that it’s just me dealing with a patient from the point of them ringing up, booking the appointment, right to them receiving the glasses. I feel I get to know people more on a one-to-one individual basis. I even surprise myself at times as to how many names I remember.”

Kate laughs, pauses then smiles. “I think you just build a rapport with people. It’s lovely.”