Colour transformation for Chalk Paint™ founder. Following eye op, Annie Sloan says “colours are now cleaner, crisper and have greater clarity”

Annie Sloan, founder of the world’s best furniture paint, Chalk Paint™, can now see more clearly after a procedure to improve her vision.

As an artist, Annie previously struggled to find the paint she wanted to work with as her options then were decorating paint or expensive artists’ paint, but very little in between.  She saw an opportunity to create a new market and since launching her business almost 30 years ago it has gone from strength to strength and her revolutionary paint is now sold in 62 countries worldwide.

While celebrating her business success, however, Annie was struggling on a personal level with her vision.  As a fine artist and painter, Annie has painted all her life, studied fine art at university and having created her career around colour, excellent vision was essential.  So when she noticed a deterioration in her sight, she was eager to correct it.

She explains: “Over the past five years I have been dependent on contact lenses, which were a pain to wear for long hours every day, but I felt my vision was never quite right.  My distance vision, especially, was blurred and not good enough which is a problem when I work on large-scale projects.

“The two main things I found difficult were drawing, and being involved in the many photoshoots we do – I just could not see terribly well.

“My art background really is an essential and important part of my life and I was desperate to ensure I could continue to paint, draw and make art.  What I enjoy most is colour and texture. I am always looking at things differently and improving my observational skills – being able to see well is very important of course, for that!

“A check-up with my local optician in Oxford revealed I had early stages of cataract.  She said she would not normally suggest treatment at this stage, but with my work and being very aware of what I can and cannot see, she felt it was the right thing to do.”

Annie was referred to specialist eye hospital group, Optegra Eye Hospital London, where she had a consultation with ophthalmic surgeon Mr Amir Hamid.

He explains:  “Ms Sloan had early stage cataract which can lead to a cloudiness in sight and fading of vision.  Many patients say they only realize how bad their eyesight had become once they have the cataract removed and clear vision is restored.

“At Optegra we are able to offer either regular cataract surgery or an enhanced version which is called refractive cataract surgery.  This means a bespoke lens is used, to meet the prescription needs of individual patients – so in this case, it was tailored to restore Ms Sloan’s distance vision, as well as removing the cataract, all in one procedure.  It was very successful and results are instant.”

Annie found her experience at Optegra was completely pain free, and she realized that there was no need to be anxious of a procedure which this hospital carries out day in day out.  She says the staff were lovely and while they were very serious they treated her with great charm.

Annie describes her new vision: “What is fantastic is I am now so much more confident in what I can see.  I can see distance perfectly now, so if drawing, I can look into the distance whereas before even with glasses or contacts I could not see clearly enough.  Now I can see all the tone and detail I need for my work so life is so much easier.

“And as for colour, well now it seems ‘cleaner’ and brighter.  It was as though there was a film over it before, now colours are so much cleaner, crisper and there is so much more clarity.”

Refractive cataract surgery, available at Optegra.com, is a proven and permanent lens replacement procedure, which can correct vision at the same time as removing cataracts.

This treatment goes above and beyond standard cataract surgery, by replacing your natural lens with an advanced lens designed to correct your vision. Refractive cataract surgery can be used to correct short sightedness, long sightedness and astigmatism. Following the surgery, dependence on glasses or contact lenses will be greatly reduced, and patients may find they no longer need them at all.  

Annie is excited about the future of her business, and in particular her work on a new collaboration with some new designs in the pipeline.

Chalk Paint™ was created for furniture, but Annie says the paint can also be used on metal, fabric, ceramic and most plastics  – practically on anything – and without needing to prime or sand. To find out more visit anniesloan.com