Easy on the Eyes--Tips to Improve Your Work Area
Whether you bead at the kitchen table or have a totally decked-out jewelry design studio, you have to be able to see what you’re doing.
Face it. We are creatures of habit. We sit where we have always sat and work in the same ways we’ve employed for years. We don’t stop to consider that we could make improvements. When was the last time you reviewed your visual comfort level? It could be time to adjust lighting and consider magnifying tools designed to enhance visual acuity and alleviate your eyestrain.
Those who study ergonomics (the interface between workers and their environments) report that for up-close work, the strongest lighting should be focused on the project, and this light level should be ten times brighter than the light in the background of the room. To avoid eye fatigue, it helps if the strong lighting on the working area is diffused, such as from a daylight spectrum fluorescent lamp.
Lighting
As their name implies, Daylight™ lamps simulate natural light and enable true color matching and the ability to see fine details, which is perfect for beading.
The Daylight™ Lumi™ lamp is ideal to use on any workspace, whether it is a cutting table, drafting table or desk. The large shade can be smoothly adjusted vertically, horizontally and laterally to any desired position to provide an even spread of light for large areas. The dimmable light allows easy adjustment when less light is required.
The adjustable Daylight™ lamp uses 18 LEDs, creating 3800 Lux of illumination. The head of the lamp features two magnification glasses, 1.75x and 4x, to see insets. This is a great starting lamp and comes with a universal adaptor to use no matter where you decide to work.
The DaylightTM SmartGoTM lamp is perfect for travel. This 120-lumen rechargeable flip-up lamp is compatible with all USB laptop and phone chargers. With a touch-sensor dimmer, long LED life expectancy and 6.5-hour-long charge, this is an easy solution to your lighting needs.
The battery-operated DaylightTM Yoyo Magnifier includes a 3.0x magnifying lens and a wrist strap. It’s an ideal lamp to slip into your purse or bag when you’re on the go.
The DaylightTM Foldi GoTM features four levels of brightness from its 340-lumen LED lamp. This rechargeable lamp folds to a compact size and is perfect for projects at home or anywhere you desire to work. With a swivel head, 8-hour wireless work capacity and a wrist strap, it is truly versatile.
Magnification
We've all had moments of wishing we had a third hand. Certain assembly and soldering tasks are safer and easier to do with a tool that can hold and magnify your work-in-progress. A "third hand" tool is surprisingly inexpensive. Once you have one, you'll likely wonder why you didn't get one sooner!
Do you ever find yourself squinting when performing close-up work? Squinting aids in mitigating vision defects and poor focus by altering the light's trajectory to the retina and minimizing glare. But it can also cause headaches and fatigue and promotes wrinkles in the delicate skin around the eye. There is no need to squint! Fire Mountain Gems' jewelry-making expert Tim Cronkhite's favorite vision tool is the magnifying headband. As Tim put it, "They make working with sizes 11 to 15 seed beads or 1.5mm chatons or flat backs a breeze." An abundance of easy-to-use magnifying devices are readily available. MagniClips® clip-on style lenses can be positioned over eyeglasses or sunglasses.
Take a step back and look at your work area with the discerning eye of an ergonomics engineer. Are there any tweaks you can make to improve the lighting? Is it time for you to investigate the various magnifying tools on the market?
Please drop us a line and share with us what your favorite vision tool is and why you like it. Is there a tool or item in your workspace that you cherish and find indispensable for your work? Let us know!
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