People have been dressing up the front of their VR headsets using stickers and googly eyes from the moment they hit the showroom floor. So it was inevitable someone would see a business opportunity here. Enter husband and wife team Chris and Bry Coleman, whose eye-catching stickers ended up in my inbox this week.
The couple are some of the first venturing into goggle decoration with their new business Gear Boggles. The online-only company, based in Austin, is selling sticker decorations sized to fit the front of the Samsung Gear VR. From the company’s website:
Gear Goggles mission: The blank stops here! We’re changing the face of virtual reality. Let’s face it, experiencing virtual reality on your Samsung GearVR is amazing but how you look while you’re wearing it….not so much. That’s where Gear Boggles VR Faceplate Stickers can help. Our growing collection of designs help you keep your cool while in virtual reality.
So far they have three designs for the $9 vinyl stickers, printed by StickerMule.
The Colemans attended the Kaleidoscope 2105 VR Film Festival when it came through Austin last October. They were impressed with the VR technology and the possibilities it represents. But they were bothered by the sea of blank stares and eyeless faces. The couple is concerned VR could pull a Google Glass, becoming a “socially unacceptable” divider between wearer and the outside world. So they set out with their business and are hoping Gear Boggles adds the right touch of character to keep the activity universally fun.
“Eventually the headgear will get less bulky, but until then this is a fun response,” Chris Coleman told Upload VR.
More designs are in the works and the couple is hoping to receive ideas from users for new designs, as well. So far, Gear Boggles stickers are only available for Gear VR and you’ll have to pop off the faceplate to fully use the passthrough functionality of the headset. Chris Coleman said they hope to include designs for Oculus Rift after its consumer release beginning March 28, but how they’ll deal with the infrared emitters all over the device is unclear.
