Journal
Our Top 100 Tracks of 2018
2018 turned out to be a bit of a rollercoaster with music. We felt the tragic passing of some true greats (Scott Hutchison, Aretha Franklin, Mac Miller to name a few), but with the losses we did have along with them some fantastic gains. At Tens, our music tastes are admittedly a bit all over the place. Not one musical genre can be classed as our favourite, but we're open-minded, and anything is worth fighting over the Sonos for. Selections tend to range from '90s dance classics, Ethiopian jazz, old video game soundtracks... However, surprisingly not much of that has been released in 2018... In this playlist we've put together our top 100 releases from this year in alphabetical order. So please follow and enjoy nearly 7 hours' worth of our favourites!
Tens Moments of 2018 ☀️
Our friends wearing Tens and the stories behind them ✈️🌴✨ This year has been a big one for change - from our new website and brand, to Marty moving to Barcelona, Kris moving to London and us moving on up & moving on out of our Glasgow studio to a fully remote team. 2018 was a good one! One of favourite things about Tens is seeing where you all take them - some of you have your trusty classics from our first crowdfunding campaign, and some of you got the first ever biodegradable Tens this year - and they travelled with you. So, before we start counting down to Summer ‘19, let’s look back at some of our favourite Tens moments from this year… “I was in Positano last summer when I took this, it was almost sunset and the view was amazing! I saw the view with the lens and thought I’d try to shoot a photo with Tens in front of my 35mm and that's it. That's the result. That day I was on a ride to Sorrento to visit my uncle and with my parents we decided to make a round and going to the costiera Amalfitana and to stop in Positano.” Follow @se.ph.ora “I was at QC Termetorino, enjoying thermal pools and baths and a relaxing day with my boyfriend” Follow @ggalaska “The plan was to go on a hiking trip throughout the Italian Alps but a injury on my calf prevented me from going. Instead we booked a last minute trip to Curaçao, explored the island and all it has to offer. The beautiful beaches offer the perfect setting for a relaxation getaway. My highlight was definitely our visit to Playa Porto Marie where wild, yet friendly pigs roam the beaches. Must visit, although watch your food and belongings carefully! They’re sneaky and won’t take no for an answer.” Follow @timvrey “I was in a small town called Leonidio in Peloponnese, Greece. I went there for a few days to relax with my three awesome friends Maria, Chris and James. All of them love photography and my friend Chris snapped this photo while the sun was setting.” Follow @yannispap “I took this photo at the end of November in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I was there on a holiday with my family after not seeing them for almost a year (because I live in Rome and they live in Canada). We were there together for two weeks.This was taken at my favourite beach bar called Lio Beach. I would have my espresso there every morning and end up suntanning all day haha!” Follow @zoeyarielle “This photo was taken at Osaka Castle, it was in April so the cherry blossoms were everywhere. We sort of picked this one as we like the pink tone of it the most. It was also our first and final full day of exploring Osaka before heading to Tokyo and we absolutely loved it there. Everywhere made us feel like we were in a Studio Ghibli film.” Follow @hanphn “This photo was taken in Cincinnati at about the halfway mark of the final cross country Vans Warped Tour. So at this point, we’ve been living on our tour bus for about 4 weeks, caravanning across the US with roughly 100 other buses, vans and semi trucks. We’re dirty, sweaty and loving the traveling circus lifestyle that is the Vans Warped Tour. This last year’s will remain one of my favourites of all time.” Follow @pierrebouvier “I was travelling the east coast of Australia. When we took this photo I was on a boat to Whitsundays voted one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I’d been living in Australia for a year but hadn’t ever done much travelling so was really excited to be seeing the country for the first time with my best friend (and funnily enough a girl I had been talking to on Instagram for months ended up being there by chance too). It really was a beautiful moment and so glad it was caught on camera because it’s one of those rare times that the Instagram moment lives up to the reality. It really captured a feeling.” Follow @effyshowslife “It was an impromptu girls trip to Maui. We wanted to ditch the crowds on the beaches of Maui to explore the rocky coastline and do some cliff jumping. Should have realized to climb the hot rocks in shoes, but ended up just toughening up those carefree summer feet instead.” Follow @kendra.gauntlett and photographer, @victoriahaas “Back in October, a group of friends from my hometown asked me to join them on a trip as we all always seek out opportunities to shoot photos and videos. A friend of mine has a house in northern Italy in the middle of Alps, so we decided to drive there. The final spot was a peak, over the lakes called “Laghi di Cancano” since we knew that during Fall, the colours would be incredible. And so it was! What we found there was an incredible contrast between the bright blue of the water and the warm oranges of the trees.” Follow @jackcrapa “It was taken in Aurora, Oregon at sunset on a nearly empty beach that turns super reflective once the tide goes out. I was with a group of friends and we were shooting off fireworks and reminiscing on old stories around a campfire!” Follow @justinliv “I was on holiday with my girlfriend, in Italy (Camogli, Liguria) - a hot afternoon spent visiting this small village” Follow @gianmarcobarba “When I brought the sunnies home, I caught Taro, my dog, eyeing them on the table (his favourite snack is to chew on people's sunglasses) I spent 3 days training him to balance things on his nose and when I saw the sunnies I just had to chuck them on him. I reckon he pulls them off better than I do. Stylish little pup that he is.” Follow @mira.bali “We took 3 months off from our jobs and went on an adventure across South America - which has always been a dream of mine. We started in Cuba, then Mexico (this picture is from Tulum) down to Colombia and Peru. It's been an amazing time and we travelled only with our carry on small backpacks which was so refreshing (and difficult for me downsizing to 3 pairs of shoes haha). We got engaged in Cuba - hence the showing off of the ring haha! We had delicious food and I absolutely loved the music. It was so interesting to see how different each of the countries are culturally - they’re all united by language, but so beautiful in their own personal way.” Follow @nomad_nonsense “I remember that beautiful day. I had gone with my boyfriend at the sea in Italy... We waited for the sunset, eating a pizza together at the beach. It was a lovely experience! With these excellent lenses it was a breathtaking sunset!”️️️ Follow @ariannavegni Where will you take your Tens in 2019? Tag us on Instagram @tens
Brewgooder - the craft beer that gives back
Pour an ice cold glass of good vibes and let us introduce you to Brewgooder - the craft beer that’s making a huge difference. What if you knew that with every beer you bought, you helped to provide clean water to thousands of people all over the world who need it most? When he was 22, Alan Mahon worked on an international development project in Nepal and fell ill after picking up a parasite from contaminated water. It made him realise how lucky he was to live in the UK and have access to the basic stuff, where someone born in the same moment as him, who lived somewhere without clean water, would have the odds stacked against them. It was this thought (and a love for craft beer) that inspired the beginning of Brewgooder. “Being young and naïve I felt there could be a way to connect the thing I liked drinking and talking about with my friends, with an issue that I’d like to dedicate my life to trying to help solve. In my head that was a beer that helped fund access to clean water for people and that didn’t sound stupid in my head at all, so I went for it.” So in 2016, Alan joined forces with his friend Josh Littlejohn (who started Social Bite) to launch Brewgooder on World Water Day with a simple aim - to provide clean water to 1 million people by donating 100% of profits to clean water charities. With the help of BrewDog - who brew their beer at zero margin - they created something that helps people to make a difference as they catch up with their friends. Although, the ‘brewing’ part didn’t come as easy as Alan first thought… “The first batch I ever brewed by hand back in August 2015 was an absolute disaster. The night before I was meant to sell it at an event in Edinburgh 300 of the 1000 or so bottles I brewed began exploding in various locations around my flat. Me and my flatmate at the time disposed off them in any way we could. We took a fair few to the big black, hatch-operated bins that are everywhere in Edinburgh city centre and it was like a scene from the movie ‘Fury’. It was ‘fire in the hole’ as we disposed one by one of grenades of deadly malt, hops, water, yeast and glass. It was terrifying and utterly demoralising at the time, but I can look back and laugh and thank god I didn’t try and go it alone in the brewing game because that could have gotten very messy.” Since getting the beer side of things perfected, Brewgooder have helped to fund 72 projects (which range from well repairs to new installations) that have given 53,381 people in Malawi access to clean water. In their first project alone, they installed two solar-powered wells in a village called Chiluzi in the Dedza region of Malawi that helped to support around 3,000 people (including a school of 1,500) with clean water. This also helped to support an antenatal clinic, two school feeding programs and a vegetable garden - all thanks to the hard work of Alan and the team, and people like us who decided to get a round of Brewgooder at the pub. Recently, they launched their Honesty Box - where you can pay anything from 1p to however much you think a case of craft beer that changes people’s lives is worth. They also have their Jingle Wells appeal - a festive campaign to fix 12 broken wells in Malawi, bringing clean water access to over 3,750 people in the New Year. All of these projects help to introduce people to what they could do, and for Brewgooder, they want to make sure that everyone knows exactly where their beer money is going: “More and more, we’re working with super-transparent NGOs and charities to deliver our projects. Every level of detail can be accurately measured and communicated. From the GPS coordinates of the village, to the number of people we help, all the way through to how long each well would take to fill a 20-litre bucket. This is next level and helps make our impact real for the people who choose to drink our beer” For us, Brewgooder is a great example of how you can make a difference just by doing what you usually do anyway. We spoke to Alan about the impact of social businesses like Brewgooder and there are loads of options out there to make choices that have a positive impact. Especially as it comes up to Christmas, we can all shop local or with brands that do good and really make a positive impact (even when we’re out for a few with our friends while they’re home over the festive season). For Brewgooder, they’re getting closer and closer to their goal of providing clean water to 1 million people, and it all starts with a beer. Follow Brewgooder on Instagram at @brewgooder
Work Anywhere ~ Marty Bell, Co-founder of Tens ☀️
Moving to Barcelona, surrounding yourself with interesting people and exploring new cities, our Co-founder, Marty talks all things remote working. Living in the sun has always been a big motivator. I love Scotland to bits, but after months (or years) of walking to Tens HQ in the pissing rain, I found myself fantasising about living somewhere that I could actually wear my Tens. The jokes write themselves about running a sunglasses company in one of the least sunny places on earth. At the start of June this year, I packed my life into surprisingly few boxes and moved to Barcelona. I’ve been attracted to the whole ‘travel the world with just your laptop’ thing for a while and felt that we, at Tens, could really take advantage of the fact that we run an entirely online business. If we sell online, and we chat between our team online – why not just go fully remote? If you want to work from Glasgow, cool; if you want to work from a wooden cabin in the middle of the Andes, go for it (as long as it has a fiber internet connection). A remote team split across the world, living wherever they want, feels a lot more like the Tens way to do things. I’ve been inspired for years by the community at NomadList, and by people like it’s Founder, Pieter. There’s a wave forming in the tech scene, with talent realising they can ditch their super expensive housing in San Francisco and move across the globe to highly affordable places like Chiang Mai in Thailand whilst retaining their San Fran salary – their money now goes 4 times further. It’s easy to see why so many people are taking the dive into remote working. It also makes sense to me as an employer; why limit yourself to a local talent pool when you can pick from a remote, global talent pool? The chances of you finding the right people increases considerably. Most of all, I needed a break from my regular routine. I get restless after doing the same thing day-in-day-out for too long, so it was time to switch things up. So, why Barcelona? 1) It's close enough to home to jump back to Scotland (home) for friend and family occasions. 2) It's a short (and normally cheap) two hour flight to London. I can leave my apartment at 6AM and be in central London for 10AM. I can be over and back on the same day. 3) It has everything. Tech, arts, business, nightlife, beach, city. You name it, you can find it here (or you can get to it very quickly). 4) But mostly because a few of my friends moved here 4 years ago (shout out Antonia & Jenni!) and have established a pretty big crew that I knew I could get to know. A wonderful group of friends from different countries and cultures served on a plate; I’m very fortunate and thankful for that. It’s often difficult to make friends in new places, especially as you get older. That last one is important, like really important. When we first started talking about remote working, my girlfriend and I weren’t too excited about living without a close friend group around us. I’d read a lot about remote working on Reddit, and my general impression was that travelling continuously while working is great for the first few months, but the novelty wears off fast for many, and it can become pretty lonely. But luckily, that hasn’t been the case at all. “Having a fantastic life outside of work hours would massively help me through the more challenging times inside of work hours” So far, this summer has been one of my best to date, and spending time with such a diverse group of friends from different countries, cultures, sexualities and careers has been extremely valuable to me. Running your own business can be pretty mentally taxing at times, and part of my rationale for moving to the sunshine was a hypothesis that having a fantastic life outside of work hours would massively help me through the more challenging times inside of work hours. That has most definitely been the case. There’s no stress reliever quite like jumping into the sea and floating around aimlessly for a while. On top of that, exploring a new city feels good for the soul, multiply that by 10 if you leave your phone at home while doing so. Being in an entirely new environment feels like a new lease on life, a bit of a hard-reset, and a chance to build some habits I’ve wanted to form for a while. “There’s no stress reliever quite like jumping into the sea and floating around aimlessly for a while” One of the things I like most about remote working is that you’re constantly adapting as you go, which works well for me. There are, absolutely, challenges that come with making such a drastic change, but the fun comes from working things out to experience the lifestyle you want to have. First of all, making the move was expensive. The move was much easier and more seamless than I think anyone would realise, but the costs do rack up. Our apartment in Barcelona required a payment of 4 months rent up front (2 months deposit, 1 month agency fee, 1 month rent). The rent isn’t cheap here either. We also discovered that the apartment was an empty shell other than a bed and a couch, so we had to fill it with some essential ‘stuff’ (slightly against our will, we’re trying to avoid buying much ‘stuff’ thanks to The Minimalists). After spending our time finding somewhere to stay, and finding our bearings, I then had to figure out how to actually do this remote working thing. Communications with the team were spotty in those first few weeks, but with apps like Appear.in, Slack and Zoom (never use Skype again) we’ve been able to make it work well. Luckily, around Barcelona, there are loads of great co-working spaces like Aticco, OneCoWork and MOB which is 100x easier than trying to have an important call in a busy coffee shop. These co-working hubs also tend to be full of startup founders, creatives and fellow remote workers, and often run events that help you get to know like minded people. If you prefer working at home (but still want to get to know more remote workers) Bumble BFF and Bumble Bizz are great new ways to meet people. Here’s some links to websites & apps that have made my life considerably easier: 💵 Revolut - The best mobile bank for travellers. 🤝 Meetup - Find local events that interest you and meet new people. 🌍 Nomad List - Discover the best cities to remote work from. With over 100,000 remote works around the world in their community, there’s always someone to answer your questions about any given place. I love the members-only Slack channel, which has a channel for every popular destination with a constant flow of daily discussion in each. This is my first port-of-call whenever I need to work something out. ✈️ The podcast Zero to Travel has some great episodes that may inspire you, check it out here or search for it in your favourite podcast app. And here’s a few places you can look for jobs that you can do remotely (most sites are very tech heavy, but don’t be put off. Non-tech roles do come up often. I would suggest registering for alerts and/or sticking the site in your bookmarks bar to check each day. You could also get creative with Google Alerts to catch a role before someone else finds it. ➡️ Remote OK - https://remoteok.io/ ➡️ Remote.co - https://remote.co/ ➡️ We Work Remotely - https://weworkremotely.com/ Six months in, I’ve hugely enjoyed the move to remote working, and have had one of my best summers yet. We’re comfortable in Barcelona for the near future, but who knows where we’ll end up next. I’m sure it won’t be long until we’re ready for a new adventure. Are you working remotely from somewhere incredible? Afraid of making the jump? Drop me a line on Twitter: @marty. You can also catch me on Instagram: @marty.jpg PS: If you'd like to chat to us for our Work Anywhere series - hit us up i@tens.co
4 Jeeps. 3 Days. 1 Trip to Oman☀️
Jeep Wranglers, canyons and cliff jumping - Ewan takes us on a 3 day, off-road trip around Oman
How to get your Tens in time for Christmas 🎄
Christmas shopping? Order by these dates 🎁
Win your dream '90s Christmas list!
Remember all the incredible toys and games you wished you got for Christmas in the '90s? Well, we're giving you the chance to FINALLY get your hands on them this Christmas. Enter below! Win your DREAM '90s Christmas list with Tens!
Surreal Deals This Black Friday
Score those sunglasses you wanted in our Black Friday Sale 🎁 There’s only one thing we’re looking forward to more than summer and that’s Black Friday. We’ve got some amazing things planned for 2019 (which we can’t tell you about just yet) - so let's see 2018 off with a bang! We’re doing our biggest Black Friday sale yet with some surreal deals 💸Set your alarm for Tuesday 20th November (yeah, we’re starting early) to pick up those Tens you wanted for some amber-tinted Winter sun or serious après-ski style points 🔥🔥🔥Here’s a sneak peek at some of the styles on sale... Black Classic£45 / €45 / $65 Crystal Bailey£45 / €45 / $65 Sundown Ashton£45 / €45 / $65 Black Harper£45 / €45 / $65 Caramel Scout£45 / €45 / $65 Oystershell Cooper £45 / €45 / $65 - Basically, everything's going to be at this price, so visit our store and pick out your favourites, ready for the launch of our biggest EVER sale next week.
Meet Our Very Own 'Phodographer'
So what do we at Tens get up to at the weekends? Could be a bit of exercise (sometimes), partying with friends (definitely), getting some headspace in the outdoors... maybe trying out that new bar that has that new mango IPA we're really into right now. What about going up to strangers in the park and taking photos of their dog? Well, our community & operations manager Iain does just that! Inspired by popular account 'The Dogist', Iain spends the weekends wandering around our town of Glasgow and meets ALL THE DOGS. Iain caught up with BBC recently to talk about his side-project, The Dugist... When did you become the Dugist? Why did you start? I’ve always been obsessed with Instagram. I found that most of the photos I was posting on my personal account were of dogs, so about a year and a half ago I started a new account that was just STRICTLY dogs, as I had enough content to keep a good flow. One of my favourite accounts on Instagram is The Dogist, it’s this guy in NYC that took the ‘Humans of New York’ theme and used it to document dogs. My account is basically just a Scottish rip-off of this. I’ll probably update the username soon if it grows, but it seems all the good dog-related usernames are taken! Would you say there is a knack to it? Would you share some secrets as to how you get the perfect shot? Not really, every dog is completely different, and you learn new behavioural traits each time. Some dogs are very good girls/boys and will just sit and stare straight down the lens - they’re the dream. Others - especially puppies - will run in circles and jump all over you with their muddy paws. Which, don't get me wrong, I love as well but in those situations I just need to make sure I take a LOT of burst ,shots with a high shutter speed. My camera shoots at 10 frames per second so I get the shot eventually. I’ve taken up to 200 photos of a single dog before to get the right one! Most people have a pretty decent digital camera in their pockets these days, I highly suggest using the burst feature on your smartphone and just going out there and taking as many photos of dogs as possible! People are usually delighted with the attention you give to their pups. People say working with animals is a nightmare…how do you get them to stay still? Funnily enough they become extremely curious when the camera shutter starts. As soon as the first click goes it gets their attention. To get their attention initially I basically just make high pitched whistling noises, and click / wave my fingers next to the lens to get them to look. From then they’re totally fascinated! Often the owners will have treats or toys on them so that can help too. Always been into photography? I always have been, and have always had a camera close by. It’s only really in the past few years I’ve gotten really into it. Instagram as a platform has helped inspire me to shoot more, it still is an incredible place to share and engage with a community. Do you ever get paranoid if you have left your camera when out and about? (What happens if you miss that perfect dog shot) I literally carry my camera with me everywhere. Wouldn’t dream of leaving the house without it! So nah! What do your friends and family think? Supportive? Yea they’re super supportive. My mum doesn’t even have Instagram but I send her all the originals via WhatsApp. It definitely does make me a bit distracted when I’m out with friends at the pub though. If I spot a cool dog from across the bar I’ll literally leave my group without notice and go make friends with it for a bit. Sorry pals! What is the usual response? It’s overwhelmingly positive, who doesn’t love dogs? Yea that was on the Facebook group Dogspotting (highly recommend joining), it’s always heartwarming to see hundreds of people tag their friends and partners in the photos. Sharing the dog love is what it’s all about really! What do you love about dogs? It’s the unconditional love and happiness. There’s a quote at the end of Marley & Me that always makes me cry…. "A dog has no use for fancy cars, big homes, or designer clothes. A water log stick will do just fine. A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, clever or dull, smart or dumb. Give him your heart and he'll give you his. How many people can you say that about? How many people can make you feel rare and pure and special? How many people can make you feel extraordinary?" What’s the future for the Dugist? I’ll keep growing it, and hopefully one day I will have met all the dogs in Glasgow! Follow @thedugist on Instagram. Iain shoots on a Sony A7iii w/ 16-35mm
