Sara Hagen is still in shock that she has her own eyeglass store, I.SEE. Optical in Cloverdale. It was a long time thought and dream in the back of her head, but she never really thought it would be any more than just a thought. But during the initial COVID shut down when life was totally upside down for all of us, Sara needed to think about her future and what she could do to give herself more security.
Sara’s optical career started in San Diego during the last uneasy time in our history, the 2008 recession. Her previous career came to an abrupt end when the company she worked for laid off half the company on one Friday afternoon. Her landlord at the time was looking for someone to hire as a receptionist at her Optometry practice, Sara didn’t know the slightest about eyewear fashion, eye health or the medical field – she had to learn from the ground up. She worked for two amazing doctors, Caroline Cauchi, OD & Jamie Peters, OD of Vision Solutions in San Diego for 8 years. They both took the time to teach Sara everything she could possibly need to know about eye health, optics and eyewear fashions. Most importantly they taught her that educating herself is the most important part of optical. She is always reading articles, taking additional classes and doing online research to keep up on the latest technology and fashions.
Sara brought that work ethic with her to Sonoma County almost 5 years ago and has continued her optical career with the same work ethic, to give her best to each and every client she encounters. Sara is proud to bring high quality, handmade, sustainably made, fun and functional eyewear to Cloverdale. As a huge animal lover, she spent five years fostering cats when she lived in San Diego. She has both dogs and cats at home where she now lives with her “fantastic supportive partner” David. In her spare time, she enjoys wine tasting, hiking and kayaking.
