If you’re like me then you have made improving your posture while crafting one of your new year resolutions. For the last six months or so I have had terrible neck and back pain that would often affect my ability to sit in the studio and work, as well as do other daily activities.
There’s a certain care we as crafters and artists have to take to prolong our physical well-being while sitting in one position and concentrating for hours on end. This should include getting up periodically and walking around, as well as stretching multiple times during a session. However, sometimes those things just aren’t enough.
At the beginning of December of last year I started searching online for some things that might help me. In that search I found one product that I want to share with you.
I first saw a video of another stained glass artist using these and thought “nifty.” At the time even though I was having neck pain I didn’t think to look into them for myself. Fast-forward to Thanksgiving when I’m showing my grandmother my TikTok videos, and she immediately points to the one with this cover image:
And with shock in her voice asks me “Kassie, do you bend over like that the whole time?!”
It became one of those “ah-ha” moments where you see the answer to something that’s been right there in plain sight the whole time. My mind immediately went to those glasses I saw another creator using, and I started looking into them for myself.
Now – these lazy lenses are not perfect. There are some things that could definitely use improving, and I hope as more people start using them those improvements happen. However the benefits certainly outweigh the flaws in my opinion.
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What Are Lazy Glasses?
Lazy glasses, also known as horizontal glasses, or prism glasses, are glasses that use mirrors to reflect the image down in front of you so that you can see it without actually looking down.
For instance if you’re standing and chopping vegetables, if you were wearing these glasses you would look straight ahead and could still see what your hands and knife were doing on the counter.
Pros and Cons
As I mentioned above, these glasses aren’t perfect. If I could make them myself there are things I would do differently, so I’ll cover those first. Keep in mind this list is referring to the basic lazy glasses that I’ve been using. I’ll provide some other options below.
Cons
- Only come in one size – Obviously this is a relative issue and won’t pertain to everyone, but in my case one size definitely does not fit all. Thankfully since the purpose of these glasses is to not have to look down I can manage, but if I do look down even the slightest they start to slide off my face.
- They’re heavy – After wearing these glasses for a while I’ll have a bright red line across the bridge of my nose where the weight of the glasses sit. I get there’s a lot going on in the design to make them work, but it would be nice if they weren’t so heavy.
- Not a lot of options – From what I could find there is only a handful of option to choose from.
- Don’t serve as great eye protection – This point is more specifically for stained glass where you have to protect your eyes while doing a lot of tasks. Especially while grinding glass.
Pros
- Reduces strain on the neck – I didn’t realize the strain I was causing until I started wearing these glasses consistently. They have saved my neck.
- Improves posture – I also purchased a back brace when I got these, but the glasses alone have greatly improved my overall posture since I’m not having to look down for hours on end. I only wear the glasses now.
- Useful outside of crafting – I’ve also started wearing these at night while watching tv from bed, and I love them for this. So much so that I bought a second pair so I wouldn’t have to remember to bring the ones from my studio in at night.
- Affordable – I would spend more on an improved pair honestly, but for what’s out there you’re looking at spending less than $50.
Other Style Options
There aren’t enough.
While these glasses are 100% worth it in my opinion, I believe the reason for the design flaws is that there’s simply not enough people making them. There are only a handful of options:
Basic Lazy Glasses
Again, these are the ones I use. They have a super simple design, and seem to be the most popular.
Lightweight Lazy Glasses
The reason I didn’t choose these is because I wanted SOME protection as well. If you’re reading this and you do a different craft such as beading or painting, then these might be a far better option.
Lazy Goggles
I just found these while getting the links for this review. I’m going to purchase some and update this article with my thoughts.
Clip on Lazy Glasses
If you already wear glasses they make these clip-ons. They’re more expensive unfortunately, which is strange because there is so much less to their design.
How I use Lazy Glasses for Stained Glass
There are two tasks that I mainly wear these lazy glasses for and that is cutting glass, and grinding glass.
Since they don’t provide a ton of protection against rouge glass particles at the grinder, I’ve had to adjust how close I keep the grinder to my chest. Instead of keeping it right below me, I situate it a little further forward and this has seemed to work better so far. As for cutting glass, I’ve not had to make any other adjustments.
I don’t wear them while I’m foiling my glass pieces since I’m able to bring the glass up to my face, and as much as I’m sure these would help while soldering I don’t wear them for this either.
I’ve found that I can’t quite see good enough to wear them for soldering, however the amount of strain I’ve saved while doing other tasks still makes a huge difference for me!
In Conclusion
They aren’t perfect, but I would recommend these lazy glasses to anyone that spends long periods of time looking down.
My neck and back are the last thing I was thinking about when I started making stained glass three years ago. I never realized just how important it was to care for my body while doing something like… art. However, three years in and now I am fully aware and being as proactive as I can be so that I can make art for longer, and improve my overall health. These glasses definitely help with that.
