Forget what you know about Flint.
If you watch the news, you probably have a lot of misconceptions about Flint, MI.
While its water problems and industrial decline tend to get the headlines, the downtown area is bustling and the city is pursuing an economic revitalization, Crain’s Detroit Business reports.
And eyewear company Article One is part of the action. The firm supplies frames to optometrists throughout the country, sourcing them from a group of artisans in Italy, according to the publication.
Flint-based private equity firm SkyPoint Ventures LLC has invested $1 million in Article One and is part of a new funding round expected to amount to $2 million. SkyPoint and Article One both operate from the renovated Dryden Building, as does another investor in the startup, Project I.
Article One founder Wes Stoody said he anticipates selling 15,000 pairs this year, up from 6,000 last year, according to Crain’s.
Founder of For Eyes Optical Dies
For Eyes Optical co-founder Robert Messa has died. Messa, a resident of Miami, FL, was 68, according to an obituary published in the Daily Progress. Founded in 1972 in Philadelphia, For Eyes has grown to 116 stores across the U.S. In December of 2015 For Eyes became a part of GrandVision.
AOA Announces Deadlines for Certification testing
Do you know what time is? That’s right: time for your optometric staff to get certified. The American Optometric Association offers four certification programs, and it recently announced the remaining application deadlines for 2017, along with the two-week testing periods. Application deadlines are July 3 (9 p.m. EST) and Oct. 3 (9 p.m. EST). Testing periods are Aug. 12-26 and Nov. 4-18.
Rx Lenses Exempted from UDI Requirements
The Vision Council says a recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is a big win for the industry. The FDA has exempted optical lenses from the scope of the Unique Device Identifier regulations, the council announced. The council had argued that “prescription lenses are custom devices and that lens producers are not labelers per the FDA regulations.” Read the agency’s final decision here.