About Us

Vanessa Cumming
Director, Practice Manager, Dispensing Optician

I was employed by Purvis and Crowley in 1989 as a technician. My role within the practice grew and developed over the years and I saw myself qualifying with Distinction and registering as a Dispensing Optician in 2006.
Back in 2008, Gary and Stella Crowley, invited me to join their partnership for which I will be ever grateful! What a wonderful opportunity to further develop my love of people and optics but also to establish some deeper business skills. In April 2015 I took the opportunity to purchase Gary and Stella’s shares and retain 100% ownership of the practice.

I was on the Executive of ADONZ (Association of Dispensing Opticians New Zealand) for six years before becoming the Vice President, then President in 2013.

In 2014 I was elected as the President of IOA (International Opticians Association) for which I stood for two years and continue to work with the new President in Scotland to further grow this international association.

In 2014 I was also nominated and elected as a Board Director for Visique Members Company, and retired from this position in 2018. I have always considered myself incredibly blessed to have found a vocation I have continued to love but which constantly changes and challenges me. My love of unique, exquisite frames and finding the right personality to wear them is my favourite part of the day! I would much rather be out with clients, having fun than stuck behind my desk!

I love the technology involved with lenses and lens designs and I want every person who comes into the practice to leave with the absolute, best vision.

That is my mission, to provide the best quality eye health care and products to improve every client’s quality of life by maximising vision and making them feel good about themselves with stylish eyewear.

Martina Fellmann
Optometrist

The scope of practice of an Optometrist is rapidly expanding and there are now many more options in providing you with the best vision and ocular health. I am passionate about working out the best option for you whether this is glasses, contact lenses, or the newly introduced Ortho K contact lenses which are worn at night to correct your vision while you sleep.

As an Optometrist, vision correction is only half of the equation. Being therapeutically qualified means I am able to prescribe medications for eye health related issues including Glaucoma. Also managing dry eye issues, systemic links to vision such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and eye problems such as Macular Degeneration and Cataracts makes every day different and exciting for me to provide you with the best service and solutions for you eye care needs.

Sarah Lang
Behavioural Optometrist

I enjoy seeing people from many walks of life and working out what is affecting their vision. I find it satisfying to be able to improve my patients’ vision through glasses, contact lenses, and vision therapy.Within optometry there is great variety and I have enjoyed extending my learning and skills by studying over this past year. One of these new areas of learning for me is in Behavioural Optometry, which uses a holistic view of vision, including brain development, to improve visual perception and processing in cases like learning difficulties and eye movement / co-ordination problems. I’m glad to be able to offer this type of service to people in our community as previously they had to travel to Oamaru or Christchurch for this. It has been a fulfilling and fun challenge to begin doing vision therapy with clients, and I look forward to doing more of this and seeing the benefits this brings.I have also been studying Ocular Therapeutics and will soon be able to prescribe antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drops when my clients need them.

Roslyn Iongi
Dispensing Optician

I have been working at Canon Street optometrists for four years now and I am still as excited to come to work every day as I was the first week I started here.
I find optics both challenging and rewarding at the same time and there are always new things to learn.
As of October 2018, I have completed the certificate IV in Optical Dispensing and am now a Registered Dispensing Optician.
I find my job as a Dispensing Optician very rewarding as with my qualification I have the knowledge and ability to help our clients decide on lens design and frame selection.
My main role consists of optical dispensing, working with contact lens clients and final spectacle checking.
Our Practice believes each pair of glasses is as important as the last and we check every pair that comes back from the lab, which includes prescription, measurements and quality control.
We are a great team here and our clients are really important to us, both new and existing and I personally look forward to helping you with your visual needs next time you’re in.

Emma Rattray
Dispensing Optician

I am enjoying navigating my way through the challenges of this new qualification and helping clients find something they love. I am looking forward to seeing what the future of my dispensing looks like.

Sandy Cartney
Administrator

I am married to my lovely husband Ian, and we have four daughters between us, two fur babies and two grandchildren.

I have 39 years’ experience in this field and I love learning new things all the time. In May 2020 I suffered a stroke which has had its challenges, however I have adjusted and am still adjusting as things arise.

I am dedicated to my work and job and absolutely love working with the wonderful Canon Street team.