Somewhere in some secret underground research facility an engineer is probably developing a pair of nanotechnology-infused lenses that will make cleaning our sunglasses a thing of the past.

But until that day becomes a reality, we’ll have to make do wiping our shades with napkins, T-shirts or whatever abrasive cloth we can find in the moment. Right?

Not if Patrick McCrory has anything to say about it.

Today, the Interaction Design student is launching a campaign on crowd-funding platform Indiegogo for his project Ribbon Sunglasses, which feature a retractable microfiber cloth tucked away inside the frame.

The concept lands squarely in “How has nobody thought of this before?” terrain, in that it offers a deceptively simple solution to a problem nearly everybody can relate to. But the journey McCrory’s project has taken from initial idea to crowd-funded campaign is far from straightforward.

Continue reading →