Spring in Bloom

Enough of the snow and ice, it’s time for Spring. Spring is a time of renewal and growth. It’s also a time for the sun to shine, the flowers to bloom and the bumblebees go a’buzzin’ and that’s just on the sunglasses. So check out some of these amazing sun styles that have Spring arriving right now… even if the mercury hasn’t quite risen yet.

Dior Spun with daisy and rose details in gold.	Lulu Guinness L436 with floral and crystal temples in brown.	Vogue VO3608 with bumblebee detail in black.

For Hub Optix in Portland it’s All About the Love

Robert Zinda

PORTLAND, Ore.—Robert Zinda, president of Hub Optix based here, is very clear when it comes to tracking the source of his success for his nearly two-year old eyewear shop—relationships.

“If you focus on the relationships then the sales will happen,” said Zinda. “My customers are all over the planet, they travel, but they always come back to us because of the relationship we have with them and the experience they have when they shop in Hub Optix. That makes for a better business.”

Zinda, who has been in the optical business for over 15 years, got his start when he opened a high-end sunwear boutique in California in 1989. He moved to Portland in 1999 and opened an optical shop with a 50/50 sunwear/ophthalmic mix. A risky move when you consider that Portland is located in the rainy Northwest. But it was a move that has ultimately paid off for him.

“I always knew the sunwear business was a big business. I knew it might be more of a risk when I relocated from California but Oregon is a big recreation state, there is skiing year-round and a lot of biking and running. We do sell more sunwear in the summer but sunwear is still about 40 percent of my sales,” said Zinda.

But Hub Optix is also unique in that they carry a very edited number of brands. “We carry fewer collections, but we carry a deeper selection in those collections than other stores,” said Zinda. “We carry Chrome Hearts, Oliver Peoples, Paul Smith, Face Ā Face, Blinde, Robert Marc, ic! berlin, Gucci, Oakley and Von Zipper and we buy sunwear in each of those lines. A brand needs to prove itself in the marketplace to get into my store and that brings us back to the relationships. I get courted by a lot of companies who want to get into Hub but I don’t care about the size of a company. I care about how it is being distributed and marketed. I want the guy who backs the line to feel the same way about his collection as I do about my store.”  

And it isn’t surprising that Zinda is so passionate about his store,
or that his customers keep returning thanks to their shopping experience. In 2006, Hub Optix won the Juror’s Choice Award from the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) for the store’s design.

A design that can be described as a sensuous, almost intimate, symbiosis of retail space and high-concept design that’s more reminiscent of a museum or a spa than a 1,600 square foot optical shop. Rich materials, like glass, marble and rare wood are used to showcase the eyewear in walnut cases that hang suspended on glass walls. While even more custom walnut and glass showcases placed beside an illuminated 12-foot-square glass box in the center of the store features Hub’s most exclusive brands.

The Sun and Driving: Don't Forget Polarized Sunglasses

NORWOOD, Mass.—Results from a recent survey conducted by Trendbox and Polaroid Eyewear of 1,001 drivers in Europe on motorist behavior, indicates that although 93 percent of survey respondents rate low-angled sunlight as the most difficult driving condition, about half, 51 percent, still get behind the wheel without wearing sunglasses.

“Our own findings, based on studies of non-professional drivers, indicate that wearing polarized sunglasses in low-angled sun glare conditions reduces the risk of accidents, cuts reaction times and improves driver vision,” said Jerry Bedingfield, group manager, the Americas, for Polaroid Eyewear. “In our controlled experiments, drivers who did not wear sunglasses in strong sun-glare conditions were far more likely to hit hazardous objects introduced onto the road.”

According to Bedingfield, wearing non-polarized sunglasses improved driver reaction times and added that polarized lenses allowed motorists to stop 10 meters away from the object, versus only three meters when wearing non-polarized lenses. “Drivers understand the importance of wearing seatbelts and maintaining safe driving speeds,” he said. “The next step is to remember to wear sunglasses, with polarized lenses, in harsh light conditions. This will improve the safety of the driver, other car occupants and pedestrians.”

Polarized lenses, invented in the 1930s by Polaroid, are specially designed to cut the blinding glare that causes eye fatigue, squinting, poor vision and temporary sun-blindness. Ordinary sunglasses darken images but let glare through, which is especially difficult for drivers in the early morning and late afternoon or whenever the spring/summer sun is especially strong. “In midday, the summer sun reflects off auto glass and shiny trim and can temporarily blind drivers not wearing polarized sunglasses,” Bedingfield explained.

The research included an estimation of traffic accidents caused by low-angled sun and had drivers rate nine different types of road and weather conditions to determine which was considered the most difficult driving condition. After low-angled sunlight, the next most difficult driving condition was slippery wet roads. Half of all drivers surveyed admitted to suffering from eye fatigue caused by harsh sun conditions while driving.

For additional information on this study visit www.polaroideyewear.com.

New Lines and Launches...

Adidas Originals Breathing new life into old favorites, Adidas offers up the Adidas Originals 2007 sunwear collection from Silhouette. The brand that represents the true fusion of sport authenticity and global street style, Adidas Originals brings back the flashy designs from the 70’s and 80’s in funky colors, aviator styles and oversized lenses for a contemporary mix of eight styles in male-specific, female-specific and unisex options.
Carrera Safilo USA announced the introduction of four new Rx-able metal Carrera sunglass styles with polarized lenses containing Flexolite memory metal. This is the first time that the company has offered Flexolite in the Carrera sunglass. As a result of the Flexolite titanium and nickel alloy material used, these new flexible metal sunglass styles for men are comfortable, durable and light weight, as well as fatigue and corrosion-resistant. Each style is 25 percent lighter than conventional metals, has eight times more spring than steel and comes in a variety of masculine colors.
Ferrari The Marcolin Group and Ferrari launched a collection of sun styles based upon Ferrari’s heritage as a motor sports authority. Designed primarily for men, the initial launch includes 11 sun styles, with metal, aluminum, titanium and polarized options in two groupings—Luxury and Sport Elite. Luxury is inspired by the interior of an automobile with materials like leather, titanium, aluminum and carbon fiber with the silver Prancing Horse emblem and includes shapes such as aviators, semi rimless and shields. The Sport Elite series features flying lens technology along with form fitting sport wraps and the Italian flag placed on the temple tips. This series uses a black Prancing Horse logo against the bright yellow Ferrari shield with sportier shapes for more of an urban look.
Modo Modo enters the sunglass arena with a collection that matches sophisticated frames with highly-engineered lenses named after Italian actors from Cinecitta, Italy’s Hollywood of the 1950’s. Hand-crafted in Japan using titanium and acetate plastics, Modo Sun is rich in subtle details, and engineered to ensure the sharpest vision. The Sun Titaniums, available in gold, silver, khaki or gunmetal, feature lenses made from mineral glass –a clear and scratch-resistant optical material, with eight-layered polarized lenses to eliminate glare and reflections and to deliver crystal-clear optics. The Acetate Plastics feature M-DO Technology lenses in polarized or gradient. A multi-layered hand lamination process makes the lenses clear, lightweight and impact resistant. Three styles come in a variety of rich, textured colors—from black to green, dark red, and tortoise.
Oakley Oakley revisits its roots with the introduction of the Radar, a new sports performance sun style. Featuring an interchangeable lens design that lets athletes optimize vision in any environment and a new lens shape for improved overall coverage, the Radar has a hydrophobic lens coating that repels water, skin oils and debris. Interchangeable nosepiece sizes achieve a custom fit that stays secure, while the rimless style creates a cooling air flow. Impact resistance meets all ANSI Z87.1 standards with 100 percent UV filtering and features a full range of lenses, including high-contrast colors that optimize depth perception and neutral transmission colors that offer truer color perception. The Iridium lens coatings reduce glare and precisely balance light transmission while their polarized options eliminate haze and distortion.
Suntrends I-dealoptics adds six new styles to their Suntrends polarized sunwear collection. Looking great while getting optimum sun protection is the Suntrends collection philosophy; with the addition of three metal and three plastic styles, I-dealoptics expands its popular polarized sunwear collection to 22 styles. The new ST122, ST123, and ST124 metals update classic lens shapes presenting a modern look. They are available in shades of gunmetal, brown, and black, while the ST125, ST126, and ST127, in plastic, feature variations on rectangles with feminine curves and wide temples for maximum sun coverage. They are offered in brown leopard and brown metallic as well as black, brown and tortoise.
Vera Wang Couteur Designs, a division of the Kenmark Group, released its 2007 Vera Wang Sun collection. Inspired by Vera Wang’s runway designs, the 2007 collection offers 17 new fashion sunwear styles for women. Vera Wang has provided a modern interpretation of the vintage 1940’s and retro 1970’s, which have been updated and refined into both oversized shapes and petite fits. The color pallate is bold and artistic featuring soft metallic pearls and rich horizontal gradient color accents. Each frame offers luxurious styling crafted from the finest materials including titanium and hand-made zyls and features fashion gradient sun lenses in a 6 or 8 base wrap for maximum coverage and a perfect fit.
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