Journal
Video: Tens 2018 Behind-the-Scenes
Shooting a sunglasses campaign in -15ºC? Seems legit...
Shooting Our 2017 Campaign in Mexico
For our 2017 campaign, we went to Mexico for two weeks. Why Mexico? Because it was December and Mexico was (mostly) sunny... Five of us from Tens (Kris, Tom, Iain, Taylor & Marty) flew out to the east coast of Mexico, meeting up with the most incredible team out there to help us pull together the campaign. We worked with an old friend Bex from Luna Negra, photographer Omar Coria, his assistant Izack, and Frank & Esperanza on hair and makeup. We could not have asked for a better crew! We landed in Cancun, and picked up our rental for the duration - a 15-seater V8 bus that was definitely the largest thing we'd ever driven. Vehicles in the Americas are just on another level of huge. Adjusting to the automatic gearbox, reverse parking the thing, and driving on the other side were the first of many, many challenges. These included, but were not limited to stolen plates, various cop pull-overs / searches (we had a LOT of kit), mosquito bites, painfully spicy hot sauce, tequila, tropical downpours and our lack of Spanish lingo. For our scouting and shooting days, we set up headquarters at an Airbnb in Playa del Carmen. The location was ideal as we were right in between Tulum (where we were filming), and Cancun airport. Having to pick models up and drop them off there everyday meant having to find a suitable midpoint. Once we had adjusted to the time difference, and our stomachs adjusted to the (super) spicy cuisine, we called up our friend Bex, and started off the trip with 4 days of location scouting around the truly incredible Tulum. We explored the beaches, resorts, jungles, cenotes, highways & the Caribbean Sea - mapping out our spots for each of the six models we were shooting with over the next week. Once we had a rough idea of where we were shooting, we got started. Despite the 30ºC heat for most of the day, we didn't have as much sunlight as we thought. Each shoot day we were up at 5am to head down the highway to catch the sunrise and get the most out of the daylight. Luckily the team, and our models (from Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia & Holland), were incredibly easy to work with - making even the toughest moments feel effortless! View our BTS 'Handycam' movie above, and take a look into how we created our 2017 film. The kit: Sony FS7 Sony A7Sii Bolex S16 Sony RX100iv Zhiyun-Tech Crane 3-Axis Gimbal Devin Graham Signature Series Glidecam Vintage Russian Prime Lenses ~ Visit our Kickstarter page here to pre-order our new collection.
Crowdfunding Our New Collection
The eyewear industry has long been dominated by a handful of multi-billion dollar companies, making the landscape very difficult for smaller brands like Tens to thrive in. It is a fiercely competitive market, both online and offline. Whilst the story of Tens so far has been a success; the reality is that we still face the daily challenge of being up against the giants. We’re launching our all-new 2017 collection as a pre-order on Kickstarter at a special discounted price. We work hard to constantly deliver a high-quality product, and this year we’ve been able to source improved materials across the range. This includes the finest-grade Mazzucchelli acetate, originating from the renewable resources of wood pulp and natural cotton fibres. Essentially, we are able to launch our finest product to date via Kickstarter, whilst keeping the price tag even further below that of the giants. We’ve worked to keep the cost to you, the backer, as low as we can without ever jeopardising quality. Kickstarter allows us to do this as we can accurately predict quantities when we place our order with the supplier. We’re passionate about the product experience that we’ve got to offer and we can’t wait to share it with you all. In addition, we’ll be giving a limited edition Tens t-shirt to the first 100 backers of our all-new collection. We really do hope that you like it and whether you’re a new backer of Tens or have been with us since the beginning, we’re hugely grateful for your support. Want to be notified as soon as we go live? Click here.
London Popup Store
We've opened our first retail space right in the heart of London! Come visit our pop-up store right by Convent Garden.
Scotland to LA
Behind the scenes of our brand story, shot between our home in the Scottish Highlands, and the west coast of California.
Chasing Scottish Summer
Behind the scenes of our interactive 360º video tour of the Highlands. Armed with whisky, drones & midge repellent.
Making Our '80s Infomercial
Behind the scenes of our 'Instant Summer Vision' video. We flew an 11-strong crew out to Fuerteventura to travel back in time...
![Making Our '80s Infomercial [Pt 2]](http://www.tens.co/cdn/shop/articles/Fuerte_Instax_02_2.jpg?v=1467741130&width=1100)
Making Our '80s Infomercial [Pt 2]
Behind the scenes of our 'Instant Summer Vision' video campaign told through Instax.
Mammoth Lakes
Behind the scenes of our 2014 'Enjoy The View' campaign in California. 8mm film, broken down minivans and breathtaking scenery.
