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Category : FVI News

Illegal Sunglasses

April 26th 2010 Posted at FVI News, Uncategorized
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When I hear about millions of dollars in merchandise being seized by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection off the Californian shore, my first thought is that the merchandise is guns, drugs, or other illegal products. But what did the CBP really confiscate in the past month? Sunglasses.  Counterfeit, nonetheless. And $18.6 million worth at that.

It seems that seizing the sale of counterfeit goods is on the CBP’s agenda, and knowing the common American’s addiction to sunglasses, it’s just as profitable as selling illegal drugs or firearms. The problem with these cheapies is that though they may appear to resemble name brands like Versace, Coach and Louis Vuitton, they may not have the benefits of UV protection, shatter resistance, or other sunglass bonuses that increase value. The confiscated discount sunglasses were blatant trademark thievery; even using the same logo as the designer shades. As the old saying goes – if it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. You can read the full story here.

~ Carson Barker

Free Sunglasses from Cosmopolitan, Thanks Bono!

April 15th 2010 Posted at FVI News
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U2’s famous Irish frontman Bono is a trend setter for women’s fashion. How do I know this? Bono has been rockin’ the black bug-eyed sunglasses for over a decade, and now nearly every female celebrity is rockin’ the same style of shades. Madonna, Fergie, and even Hilary Duff have been spotted in the wild with black shades that cover half of their face. Bono played the hand and the industry followed suit. Now every major women’s sunglass company offers huge black shades ala Bono style, including Baby Phat, Bebe, and Prada. Further proof that women’s eyewear fashion revolves around Bono? Cosmopolitan Magazine is giving a free pair of black bug-eyed Marc by Marc Sunglasses on their website, you can find out about it here. Nowadays Bono has put the big and blacks on the shelf, and mainly sticking to his signature Emporio Armani’s. Let’s see how long it takes for these sunglasses to make it on Cosmopolitan. (photo courtesy of cosmopolitan.com)

~ Carson Barker

$42 Million Dollar Bionic Eyes

March 31st 2010 Posted at FVI News, Video
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Remember the 6 million dollar man? How about the 42 million dollar eyeball? Thanks to the Australian Government, Bionic Vision Australia received a $42mm fund to build a “bionic eye” that is intended to restore sight to the blind. The company  is working on bionic eye shades, which will restore sight virtually to people with vision impairments or blindness. By using a camera installed inside the sunglasses, the sunglasses send images back to a computer chip in the retina for the brain to process. Bionic Vision Australia’s goal is to launch the sunglass technology by 2013. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that the Aussies can make this miracle come to light!

~ Carson Barker

SXSW Followup

March 22nd 2010 Posted at FVI News
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Ironically, Saturday was the first day of spring according to the vernal equinox, and the weather was anything but spring-like. SXSW started off like a dreamy spring day here in Austin, and ended with a cold rainy cloud carried by powerful winds. Lucky for us, both of the Upgrade Your Face events managed to dodge the nasty weather, and we manage to get out of downtown just in time.

The show on Tuesday was a hit. The quaint coffee bar called Stompin’ Grounds was packed to the gills with people of all types pilled in to catch some great tunes from The Jon English Band, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Back Pocket Memory, and Justin Black & Big Heart. The four bands displayed a variety of musical genres, and the bar kept happy hour prices all night to keep the crowd happy. Many of those who attended were lucky enough to score some free shades given out by Jackson and Charles.

Friday’s show at Texas Rockfest was a little different. As opposed to the 100-200 people that came to Stompin’ Grounds, TRF had thousands of fans in and out of the joint from noon till 2 a.m. This high turnout was mainly due to TRF’s location, which was smack dab in the middle of downtown Austin during SXSW. Upgrade Your Face had a booth across from the main stage where we were raffling off sunglasses and letting the fans check out our table of awesome eyewear. Around midnight, Adam Brewer announced the lucky winner of a new pair of Electric Sunglasses, who also won a new axe courtesy of Tregan guitars. I returned on Saturday to grab the UYF banner which was stretched across the main stage, and though the bands that were playing at the time were good, the wind and cold weather was enough to send me home. Upgrade Your Face caught some live footage of Atomic Outlaws, Danko Jones, and Warner Drive, and all of the bands at Stompin’ Grounds, along with some interviews to boot. Check www.upgradeyourface.com in a few weeks to see some of the vids.

~ Carson Barker

Carrera Sunglasses at SXSW

March 12th 2010 Posted at FVI News
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Returning for their second year in a row, Carrera Sunglasses are coming back to SXSW this year to hold another 3-day event in Austin. Last year, Carrera occupied The Moonshine Patio Bar and Grill where they gave out sunglasses to a slew of celebs, including Matthew McConaughey and Rachael Ray. This year, Carrera will be occupying the Cedar Door from March 18-20, creating the Carrera Escape with Airwalk and Alternative Apparel.  Nice place to go for some cool shades and celebrity shoulder rubbing.

Here’s a vid clip of last year’s Carrera Cafe at SXSW:

Harpoons and Sunglasses

March 5th 2010 Posted at FVI News, Video
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Aside from our own Upgrade Your Face Showcase, there are a few other sunglasses-themed events going on during SXSW. Ezra Furman and the Harpoons, who blew up pop radio in 2008 with their hit single, “Take Off Your Sunglasses,” will be playing two events on Wednesday, March 17, delighting the crowd with songs from their album Inside the Human Body. They’ll be performing at the live.create.lounge on the corner Neches and 7th Street, and given that their time slot is 9pm, they’ll more than likely be taking off their sunglasses themselves.

~ Carson Barker

We Have a New Blog!

February 22nd 2010 Posted at FVI News
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We have a new blog…check back later and often for updates!

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