ACTIVIST EYEWEAR x ALFRED JULIUS BOW TIE & HANDKERCHIEF COLLECTION LAUNCH | December 14th, 2011 at 7 pm

New York, New York –For the holiday season, Activist Eyewear and Alfred Julius Bowties have joined forces to design a limited edition Bowtie and Handkerchief Set, culminating in a holiday launch party at Tina Catherine Eyewear & Opticians on Wednesday December 14th, 2011 at 7 pm.  There will be an open bar & music, plus hors d’oeuvres provided by Brio Restaurant.
 
The Activist Eyewear brand stands for creative change and a life spent exploring the world.  Co-founded by creative director Mark Craig and business director Anthony Codispoti, the collection debuted in 2010 with the goal of redefining high-performance sunglasses.  They invented new technologies, such as their signature Split-FitTM temple design and ActiVIZmTM Polarized Lenses, and melded them with elements of classic style for a totally new crossover product.  The entire line is designed in Brooklyn & Crafted in Japan from ultra-premium materials such as Beta-titanium, surgical stainless steel, high-density rubber and other co-molded resins.  Plus, every frame is produced in a single edition of 718 pieces per colorway, with the unique serial number laser etched on the inside of the temple & hand stamped on the outer packaging.
 
Alfred Julius, led by creative director Chike’ Atu, was launched in the winter of 2010. Made for a man of pride and honor, the men’s accessories line specializes in Luxury Bowties, created with fabrics ranging from Lambs Wool, Flannel Cotton, Classic Woven Silk, leather, knitted Silks, Linen, Madras Cotton, and Perforated Leathers. Recently, Alfred Julius has been seen on such stars as D’brickashaw Ferguson of the New York Jets, Tariq Trotter of the Roots, street photographer Guerre (guerrisms.com), Black Thought of the Roots, and international R&B singer Aloe Blacc.
 
When the designers met in August of 2011, the two made an instant connection.  With similar design aesthetics, it was almost an immediate decision that the two would collaborate on something. “When I imagine new product ideas, I envision outfitting a sort of dapper outdoorsman,” says Mark Craig of Activist.  “Our execution is a bit unorthodox, but the unique combo of style & performance, old & new, it really fits this character to a T.  So when I met Chike and saw him bringing new materials & details to a medium as classic as bowties, I knew we had a deep creative synergy.”
 
“I was an immediate fan of the Activist Eyewear brand. Activist is very unique with a high quality level, so it was obvious to me that I would love to do a collaboration with Mark. Once I saw the product up close, and particularly the Microfiber Handkerchiefs that come with every frame, it was clearly the perfect partner for a bow tie. We zeroed in on a theme of combining classis style, with high performance materials to produce the collaboration set,” adds Alfred Julius’ Chike Atu.
 
The result of the collaboration is a matching Bowtie & Handkerchief Set, made in a very limited edition of 50 pieces worldwide.  It will be sold in custom designed Activist Eyewear x Alfred Julius packaging which includes a brief description of the collaboration, as well as an ink stamp with the number the customer has received out of the 50.
 
Starting December 15th, the set will be available exclusively in New York City at Tina Catherine Eyewear & Opticians Boutique, as well as on ActivistEyewear.com.

Non-Alcoholic Holiday Comfort Cocktails

During the final months of the year, the majority of us attend some kind of gathering involving, family, friends, food, good music and, of course, drinks. Continue reading “Non-Alcoholic Holiday Comfort Cocktails”

RENOWNED TINY HOUSE ADVOCATE JAY SHAFER TO OCCUPY WALL STREET

Presenting an Affordable Solution to the Housing Crisis
  
Since the bank bailout, over 5,000,000 US homes have been foreclosed. Can you imagine what our economy might look like today if we built smaller, more affordable homes 10 years ago?   Continue reading “RENOWNED TINY HOUSE ADVOCATE JAY SHAFER TO OCCUPY WALL STREET”

The “Ladies in White” still walk on Sundays in Havana

Gloria Amaya

Every Sunday, after attending mass at the Santa Rita Church, roughly 40 women, some dressed in pants and sneakers and others wearing skirts but always in solidarity white and carrying gladiolas, slowly walk up Havana’s Fifth Avenue amid shouts of “Libertad!” These are no ordinary women, for they are the “Damas de Blanco,” the “Ladies in White,” founded by the late Castro oppositionist, Laura Pollán (February 13, 1948 – October 14, 2011).

Before the Arab Spring there was Cuba’s “Black Spring” and Laura Pollan

Laura Pollan

What is commonly called Cuba’s “Black Spring,” 75 journalists, teachers and anyone else considered an opponent of Castro’s regime, were rounded up and automatically handed a lengthy prison sentence based on trumped up legal charges. Enter Laura Pollán.

Frequently referred to as Cuba’s most prominent dissident, Laura Ines Pollán Toledo quickly responded to Castro’s heavy handed rule given that her husband, Hector Maseda, was one of the unfortunates who were jailed. Without hesitation, Pollán amassed the wives of Castro’s “Group of 75” and along with co-founder Berta Soler, formed the “Damas de Blanco” which openly called for release of the prisoners.

After Castro’s round-up in 2003, Pollan, a Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought winner in 2005, as well as the “Ladies in White” started making their way up Central Havana’s Fifth Avenue, accompanied by jeers, occasional cheers, but mostly deafening silence, especially from area residents. One glaring exception to the hush: the times when a government backed coalition appeared to heckle and mock the flowing, bright white wave of open opposition that surges into the warm Caribbean sunlight each Sunday. Recently, that’s exactly what happened.  

The death of Laura Pollán

Laura Pollán, who had several health issues passed away on October 14, 2011. About a week prior, Pollan was involved in a physical melee that was meant to harass the “Damas de Blanco.” The altercation did more than that.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s  Mary Anastasia O’Grady, “Hospital officials initially said that she died of cardiac and respiratory arrest. But according to Berta Soler, the spokesperson for the Ladies in White in Havana, the death certificate says that Pollán succumbed to diabetes mellitus type II, bronchial pneumonia and a syncytial virus.” There was no autopsy.

Though Fidel Castro and his brother Raul have released most of the “Group of 75,” including Pollán’s husband Hector, Cuba’s “Ladies in White” still walk. On the Sunday following Pollán’s death, the “Damas de Blanco” took to their regular route but this time it was with Hector Maseda leading the way. For the first time, men openly joined the “Ladies in White,” as a tribute to Laura Pollán.  

National Public Radio  reports “Damas de Blanco” co-founder Berta Soler declared, “The Ladies are going to continue this struggle. My husband is out of jail now but there are other women who have joined us whose husbands are still behind bars, and we can’t just give up on them.”

Like a fine artist, Pollán’s influence has grown larger in death than it was in her life. Laura Pollán, a woman who made the world tremble.