Gwendolyn Plummer, Senior Associate Editor
Gwen's coverage includes news stories, features and developments in the frames, sunwear and fashion accessories categories, including product, marketing initiatives, companies and brand licenses. She is the editor of
Style.Pages, a monthly print feature exploring fashion trends in eyewear and sunwear as well as its accompanying e-blast. Gwen also handles
VMAIL LaunchPad, daily briefings on frames, sunwear and accessories line additions. She helps to oversee
The Independent Eye,
VM's e-newsletter and special section focusing on Inspiration and Expertise for Independent ECPs. She also manages
Vision Monday’s social media platforms including
Twitter,
Facebook,
Instagram and
LinkedIn. Contact Gwen at
gplummer@jobson.com.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Tuesday, May 24, 2022 1:45 AM
This month, I packed a bag, headed to the airport, and left the country for the first time since January 2020. I was on my way to Mido for the first time—my first time in Milan, too, and only my second-ever trip to Italy. This wasn’t my first trade show since 2020—I’ve been to three Vision Expos—but it’s still heartwarming to see our industry coming together physically once again. It was so special to be in the midst of that: the reunion hugs, the joyful chatter in Italian I couldn’t quite understand (it was just me and a 70-day Duolingo streak against the world), the excited oohs and aahs as new product is unveiled.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Wednesday, December 1, 2021 1:17 AM
The end of Daylight Saving Time takes me by surprise every year. No matter how many times it’s happened, I’ll never get used to a 4:30 p.m. sunset—and I’ll never stop mentioning how dark it is to everyone I know, every time I open my mouth. These shorter, darker days can bring on some pretty tough feelings—Seasonal Affective Disorder, vitamin D deficiency, depression from spending less time outside, and just general fear of going out after dark—but darkness outside doesn’t have to directly correlate to darkness inside.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Tuesday, December 22, 2020 7:00 PM
Well, 2021 is on the horizon, and there’s no denying it anymore: 2020 was not the year any of us expected it to be, and we’re not quite out of the woods yet. With the first half of 2021 not looking to be much different from the past year, this holiday season is feeling a little strange, to say the least.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Monday, August 10, 2020 12:00 AM
Since the last time I wrote an opinion column, the world has changed drastically. That was in our February issue, and I had just returned from attending opti in Germany for the very first time. I wrote about how excited I was for trade show season—how opti “gave me the experience of a world traveler,” and how much I was looking forward to continuing my eyewear journey around the world throughout the year.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Friday, April 17, 2020 2:15 PM
NEW YORK—From “heroes” to “life-savers” to “trusted confidants,” there are plenty of words that come to mind when we think about doctors, especially right now. But what about “funny?” On Thursday,
WebMD and
Medscape joined forces with Daily Show alumnus and star of The Unicorn, Rob Corddry, to host
“Funny You Should Mask,” a “fun-raiser” to help get PPE to frontline medical workers across the country. The event, hosted live on Facebook, combined humor and medicine to underscore why it’s so vital to get PPE to medical professionals, and what we can do to help them.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Friday, March 13, 2020 12:32 PM
NEW YORK—Let’s be honest: standing at the sink and washing your hands for 20 seconds can get boring pretty fast. Expert advice has told us to sing Happy Birthday twice in a row to ensure we’re hitting the full 20 second mark and protecting ourselves from COVID-19 as best as possible, but Happy Birthday can be sung in a few different tempos, which makes that advice a little confusing. On top of all that, the song can turn into an earworm pretty quickly—and, potentially, ruin all future birthdays by making us think back on this scary, uncertain time.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Monday, February 10, 2020 1:00 AM
Last month, I embarked on my first-ever trip to Germany to attend opti 2020. This was my first trip to a European trade show, so, naturally, I wasn’t sure what to expect. To be honest, I was prepared to feel entirely out of my element—I don’t speak German (or any language other than English, for that matter), I have no idea how to find my way around Munich, and I don’t have any friends or family in the area. Thankfully, I turned out to be completely wrong.
By Gwendolyn Plummer
Monday, October 21, 2019 12:00 AM
Another World Sight Day has come and gone, which means more people than ever before are seeing the world in a whole new light. Every year, our industry comes together to pull off an impressive feat—by returning sight to people all around the world, our community is changing lives forever. When you stop to think about it, it’s really mind-blowing.