About Off the Wall
Eyewear Emporium
This Is How Our Story Began
A vintage velvet couch rests between wooden shelves of eyeglasses at Off The Wall Eyewear Emporium. Local art and sunglass holders with moustaches decorate the walls. The shop on Elmwood Drive opened in November 2017 with some quirky not-so-common eyewear products.
“They say that people want to be in the same group as everybody else. Everybody wants to conform. I’m like, ‘nah! That’s not true.’ There’s always a little bit of something in everybody who likes to bend the rule just a little, so I’m bringing in that option,” owner Steve Charlebois.
The Ottawa native’s romance with eyewear started with a strange incident 25 years ago. Charlebois and his friend had walked into an eyewear store in Ottawa. Seeing his long hair and clothing, the owners thought he was planning to steal something. But a friendship developed instead.
“One day, the one guy just said, you should do this. Because I started helping out at their store, just for fun. I didn’t even get paid,” he said.
Charlebois listened. He went to optician school at Georgian College in Barrie, Ont. and worked at a lens crafter owned by Italian eyewear giant Luxottica. That brought him to the east coast, where the company closed its operations during the 2008 financial crisis.
Eventually, Charlebois and his wife ended-up in Moncton. He had found work as an instructor for Oulton College’s optician program, which he helped launch by writing the curriculum. But after a few years, Charlebois decided it was time for a change.
“I thought about going back to school and changing careers entirely, and I was like, no. I’ve planned [the shop] for 10 years,” he said.
Now three years later, they have opened a second store at 1633 Mountain Road in Moncton. This store is likely the BIGGEST optical store in the maritimes. With a full lab, two optical lanes and full office for eye doctors, plus a massive selection of Canadian designer glasses, this store is unique with an amazing vibe.
Off The Wall Eyewear Emporium carries retro eyeglasses by Shuron, as well as brands like Zeal, Coco & Breezy, Ronit-Furst, TopLook, The Vinyl Factory, Spectacle Eyewerks, Andy Wolf, Maui Jim, Dandy's, Rogers, Hemp Eyewear, EnChroma, and 3D Printed L-oL. The shop also sells contact lenses, sunglasses, motorcycle goggles, swimming goggles, safety glasses and provides repair, lens cutting, and lens fitting services.
Meet Our Team
Steve
Owner & Optician, Contact Lens Fitter, Repair Guy
Steve Charlebois Brings ‘Quirky, Funky Stuff’ to Moncton’s Eyewear Market..
“This is what I love. I love glasses. I love helping people”
Jen
Behind the Scenes
See those funny ads and video's?
All those great contests? Weird window displays? This is the gal that puts it all together
Finnegan, Violet & Olive
Store Mascots
Often found on the vintage velvet couch or nibbling at your legs when you walk in. Our store mascots provides licks and cuddles while you shop. Long-hair wiener dogs.
Maddi
Optician & Contact Lens Fitter
Maddi has been licensed for many years and comes with great experience. She is the opposite of Steve and more chill like Jen, BUT is seriously more organized then both combined. She gives a nice balance to all of us at OWEE.
Jessica
Optician & Contact Lens Fitter
Jessica is the cherry on top that compliments OWEE's vibe. Super Smart. Super Chill. A carbon copy of Steve minus the craziness. PLUS, she has a wiener dog named Mabel
Lynn
Extraordinaire Stylist
A well-known NB stylist of Dowd Street Studio and Leroy Brown plus an avid fan of OWEE, we just knew she would be a perfect fit. She is the fire under ALL our butts and is amazing with helping customers.
Beth
Lab Manager
Over 20 years in the optical lab; we are lucky to have her on our team. You will find Beth in the lab cutting lenses, tinting glasses and doing repairs.
Karley
Optician & Contact Lens Fitter
A lover of cars, straight-up honest and an eager desire to learn; you will find her smiling and ready to assist.
Join Our Team
Part-time · CA$19 - CA$24 / hour
We are looking for a Dispensing Optician to join our team. Independent, super busy, and a very cool eyewear shop is looking for a rad smarty-pants to join our funky family at Off the Wall Eyewear Emporium.
Our customers are young-at-heart, adventurous, awesome, and willing to drive hours just to see us. They want CANADIAN products (which we have plenty of) and they want honest & educated service (Yup, we have that too) AND they love expressing themselves with unique eyewear and latest advancements.
Think you have the right beans to work with us and help shape the eyewear industry in Atlantic Canada? We have two trendy shops in Moncton, New Brunswick with eager plans to expand to a third store soon. You will have a team of flipping amazing opticians and support staff who don't do drama and despise gossip.
Do you have a dog/parrot/lizard/pig? It's a must, because WE bring our pets to work. Do you love rock n roll and blues music? that is what is played at our stores. Do you have an undying love to stay up-to-date with all things eyes and a strong need to help wonderful people with their vision care? If you said "YES" to all these questions, you are our perfect Optician and we sooo want you!
Send us an email and let's chat. onyourfaceeyewear@gmail.com