Author Archive
Posted on April 19th, 2010 by Sara J
File under: Frames & Lenses | Tagged: BBC, British Soldier blinded, Craig Lundberg, eye health, eyecare, eyeglasses, frame, glasses, innovation, Lance Corporal, medical technology, special glasses, tongue, vision
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Posted on April 15th, 2010 by Sara J
Sara J. is a member of Altair's sales team.
Were you aware that VSP’s eyewear companies Marchon and Altair encompass a total of 26 brands including Calvin Klein, Joseph Abboud, Coach and Disney? With such a diverse product offering, Marchon and Altair have a strong marketplace presence and something to offer every consumer. With that in mind, there’s been an exciting update to VSP.com- an Eyewear Gallery!
The new Eyewear Gallery is one comprehensive location for many of the Marchon and Altair brands offered by VSP doctors. You can search frames by specific brand or style category such as Sport, Technology, and Kids, among others.
You can also click through to view style samples for the collections and take a look at the latest trends. This year’s trends of retro style and pop colors such as reds and purples can be seen in many of the style samples.
It’s a great resource whether you’re a patient getting ready to visit your VSP doctor and looking for a new frame, or a VSP doctor looking for new styles to provide your patients.
The best part is that this is just the beginning. More will be coming to the Eyewear Gallery soon, so be sure to check in often! Check out the new Eyewear Gallery today and let us know your thoughts!
File under: fashion, Frames & Lenses | Tagged: Altair, eyeglasses, eyewear, Eyewear gallery, frame, glasses, Marchon, name brand sunglasses, sunglasses, sunwear, trendy sunglasses, vision
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Posted on March 31st, 2010 by Sara J
Sara J. is an account executive for Altair Eyewear.
I had what I thought was a unique experience at an upscale restaurant recently. The sommelier was walking my group through the evening’s wine choices when his glasses caught my eye. It wasn’t the style (a very trendy, black Buddy-Holly type frame) that I noticed as much as the fact that the lenses looked…different. My dinner companions all happened to be fellow Altair Eyewear employees so I knew they noticed as well (we all seem to obsessively check out people’s frames) and eventually the most outspoken one in our bunch threw the question out there: “Excuse me, but if you don’t mind me asking, can you tell me what kind of lenses you have in your glasses?” The sommelier’s response? “Um, these are the plastic lenses that they came with. I saw these and had to have them-I don’t even need to wear glasses!” We all had a good laugh about it with him, but it made me think-it seems like I see people wearing trendy glasses without an Rx everywhere now! As it turns out, my observation is correct, and, according to the NY Daily Times, men are wearing these “fakes” just as much as women are, and for the same reasons. Who knows-if this trend continues, maybe we’ll see glasses become just as popular an accessory for men as belts, watches and shoes?
File under: fashion, Frames & Lenses, Fun | Tagged: cool frames, eyeglasses, eyes, eyewear, fake glasses, frame, glasses, non prescription lenses, NY Daily Times, plano
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Posted on December 11th, 2009 by Sara J
Sara P. is an Account Executive at Altair Eyewear
It is Christmastime, so much of the conversation in my home lately has revolved around Santa Claus. My son is 5 so he is fascinated by Santa, and that’s primarily because Santa’s going to bring him presents-”Lots and lots of toys” to be exact.
A few days ago I was asked why Santa wears his funny hat. My response was that Santa needs his funny hat because it gets very cold at the North Pole. I pulled out one of our books so we could look at a picture and while we were talking about the hat, I noticed Santa’s glasses and started thinking about how important those glasses are.
First of all, I have seen pictures of Santa without glasses but let’s face it, Santa just isn’t the same without his eyewear. Read more »
File under: eye health, Frames & Lenses, Fun | Tagged: Christmas, Christmas book, Christmas list, eye exam, eye health, eyewear, glasses, Happy Holidays, North Pole, northpole, reindeer, rooftops, Santa, Santa Claus, sleigh, toys
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Posted on October 14th, 2009 by Sara J
Sara P. is a member of Altair's sales team.
I’ve recently developed an addiction to sunwear. I’ve got a full rainbow spectrum to choose from and I have no intention of slowing down. It’s a recent obsession so I’m only at 8 pairs but the rate at which I’ve acquired them is getting a bit scary.
I have gone through accessory addictions in the past (shoes, purses, one weird phase of collecting argyle socks) but this one is turning into a dangerous one for me because a) I work in the industry so am constantly being exposed to the latest and greatest and b) I can make the argument that it’s actually for my own good: “Hellooo, the lenses are polarized, which means UV protection, which means I’m protecting my eyes…what, you don’t think my precious eyes need protection?!”
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File under: Fun, Technology | Tagged: sunglasses, sunwear, sunwear technology, UV protection
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Posted on August 24th, 2009 by Sara J
Sara P. is an account executive for Altair Eyewear.
Everyone here is talking about the new VSP site seemuchmore.com. I’ve spent a great deal of time on there clicking every moving object, answering poll questions, and cruising around making sure I haven’t missed a single image, quote or fact. My favorite graphic is the hot air balloon with the money that drops down, because after all, who doesn’t want money dropping from the sky? I decided chronicling my journeys on the site would be a good way to highlight just a few of the things that caught my attention. And, maybe, inspire YOU to check it out too!
August 18, 2009: First look at seemuchmore.com. I was immediately intrigued by the color scheme, graphics and the concept behind the site. I watched the dad and son graphic for a few minutes, then clicked into the site. The plane image with the “See Eye Care Tips” banner was practically screaming to be clicked first, so I succumbed and my attention was immediately caught by the tip that popped up: “Wear sunglasses when exercising outdoors to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays.”
Read more »
File under: Frames & Lenses, Fun, Uncategorized | Tagged: eyecare, Harry Potter glasses, open enrollment, seemuchmore, sunwear, UV protection, vision benefit enrollment, vision benefits, VSP Vision Care
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Posted on August 17th, 2009 by Sara J
Sara P. is part of the Altair sales team.
Kids are always inspired to look and act like their heroes. I remember growing up, my hero was She-Ra (she was the twin sister of He-Man, Master of the Universe, for those of you not in the know). I had all the action figures, and I would put my hair in a high ponytail like She-Ra and reenact my favorite scenes from the show. Her clothing choices were a little questionable, so Mom didn’t allow me to actually dress like her, but my point in bringing this 
up is that kids are always looking for heroes to emulate. Even if I couldn’t wear She-Ra’s weird clothing, I could wear her crazy ponytail and imitate her sword-wielding ways.
Nowadays, kids have different choices for heroes but they’re still looking for someone to look up to. Harry Potter is an international phenomenon-the bestselling book series spurred blockbuster movies. Everyone, whether they like him or not, knows who Harry Potter is and what his trademarks are-his scar and his round glasses. He’s “The Boy Who Lived” and he fights for good, although with a wand instead of a sword. At Halloween, the streets get taken over by swarms of kids wearing fake scars, waving their wands, and of course, the most key piece of the costume, the round glasses!
Now, call me a conspiracy theorist, but I do not 
find it a random coincidence that the latest Harry Potter movie, “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince” was released on July 15th, 2009, and shortly thereafter, Harry Potter-style glasses starting flying off the shelves. And, coincidentally, short on the heels of the movie’s release, August is also Children’s Eye Health & Safety Month. It’s a perfect time to get kids educated and excited about their eye health and wearing their glasses…thank you, Harry, for making wearing glasses so cool!
File under: eye health, Frames & Lenses, Fun, Uncategorized | Tagged: August, Children's Eye Health & Safety Month, childrens eyewear, Harry Potter, Harry Potter and the half blood prince, kids' glasses, She-Ra
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Posted on July 24th, 2009 by Sara J
Sara P. is part of the Altair sales team.
They meet behind closed doors, talking in low tones about tonight’s strategy: Who should start? Who is the closer? How are they going to maintain their average without sacrificing a single pin? After all, they do have a record to maintain and there’s no way they’re going to risk it all by making one single mistake. Their name: Balls of Fury. Their game: bowling. The team: Altair employees Oscar Martinez, Sara Shults, Matthew Gibson and Bianca Castellanos. The record they keep: 10 wins, 22 losses in the VSP bowling league. And until one day ago, they held the honored position of Dead Last Place.
I admire this team and give them major credit for the fact that they keep going and won’t give up. They meet faithfully every week at Crestview Lanes with renewed conviction in the fact that they CAN, they WILL do better…only to be crushed in defeat again and again. Although they’ve only won 10 games, they are bonded in their cause and have built their team with laughter, camaraderie, and beer.
Is it possible this team could turn itself around and build a winning record? At this point in the season, very doubtful given the number of games left and the utter lack of bowling skills as exemplified by the following video of Sara “Twinkletoes” Shults.
At the time of writing, it’s been rumored that the team has splintered into 2 factions: those who believe that team shirts would have contributed to a winning record vs. those who think team shirts don’t equal bowling skills. Only time will tell what happens to Balls of Fury-the pressure of a long, losing season would be too much for most teams to handle. But, my hunch is that being Altair employees, this team will adhere to the Altair mantra of being the team that never gives up-even when they’re up against the longest of odds.
File under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Altair, sports, VSP bowling league
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