JJ Lamb

Women of Homewood 2017

JJ Lamb

JJ Eyes

JJ Lamb’s grandfather and both parents were eye doctors, so when she ended up in the eye business, it wasn’t all too surprising.

Lamb opened her first location of JJ Eyes in Fairhope in 2002 after a stint in Los Angeles. She opened her Homewood location two years ago, in 2014.

“Starting a business in 2014 was much more difficult than when I started a store in 2002,” she said. “It is harder to make money nowadays than it used to be.”

Still, JJ Eyes is thriving in Homewood — and word is spreading. “I’ve already heard from several customers that they had to come and see what the hoopla is about,” Lamb said. “People are happy with the service that they are getting. That is what we want.”

One-on-one customer service is a hallmark of Lamb’s business.

“I created a business model I think is needed in the optical industry — one-on-one customer service,” she said. “Customers are treated as an individual, rather than just a number. I think we are successful at providing the utmost quality frames and lenses to patients while still having one-on-one customer service, which is lost in most businesses today.”

At their Fairhope location, Lamb said, they are proud of their 78 percent return rate for high-end sunglasses, prescription glasses and eye exams. 

“We hope to replicate that in Homewood,” she said.

The ultimate mark of success for Lamb?

“I would say when someone comes back for a second pair of glasses, I know we’ve done our job and they are happy,” she said.

Brands such as Dita, Lindberg and Tom Ford are just a few of the many lines that JJ Eyes carries. In keeping with their promise to treat each customer as an individual, JJ Eyes evaluates each client’s face shape, coloring and personality when fitting them for glasses and frames. 

“When picking out frames, we seek to bring out the best in the person,” Lamb said. “We tailor-fit each client with the best frame that accentuates their features and their personality with the highest quality frames and latest lens technology on the market.”

JJ Eyes offers eye exams — during which patients receive 100 percent of eye testing from an eye doctor — contact lens fitting and glaucoma testing.

Down the road, Lamb hopes to open more JJ Eyes locations, but her two children, ages 10 and 15, are her main focus right now. 

“My greatest success is parenting those two kids of mine,” she said. “I want to enjoy this time with them as much as possible before I open another location.”

Lamb hopes to become an integral part of Homewood.

“I’d like for us to become a ‘go to shop’ of Homewood,” she said. “We moved here, and my kids go to school here, so I’d like to be really integrated in the community.”

Lamb is proud of her wonderful staff in both locations — an essential part of running any business, she said — and is a proponent of her business’ mission.

“We love to give people the gift of sight while looking their very best,” she said.