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The Art & Science of Happiness at TEDxNewHaven
What does it mean to be happy? Our friends over at The HappyHap Project and The Happy Post Project will be diving into the subject with The Art & Science of Happiness at TEDxNewHaven this month! The speakers will be exploring happiness from a range of angles including psychology, politics, and art. Being huge supporters of all things TED and advocates of happiness always, if you are in the area this is one event you don't want to miss. The event will take place on Saturday, April 28th at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Learn more and apply here.
“Happiness depends upon ourselves.” -Aristotle
Thank You Carrot!
Today is moving day for the Holstee team. Our new office hunt has been a success and we are thrilled to announce that we are moving in with the wonderful team at Pencils of Promise, the amazing organization working to bring education to developing countries and empower young people throughout the world. We are so excited to join the workspace of such a passionate and inspirational group of people!
That being said, packing up and moving out is very bittersweet as we will sincerely miss seeing all of our friends at Carrot Creative every day. We cannot extend enough love and appreciation to all of the crazy Carrots who have embraced us into their family and beautiful DUMBO loft. We have had so much fun with this amazing team and it has been such a privilege to work among such inspired creativity and talent. We have been so energized and inspired every single day by simply walking into the office.
So dear Carrots, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!
Fly High Amongst Your Dreams
My friend Sara Close is on a mission to fly and document her journey along the way. She started down this road on a temporary 4wk whim, but her newfound passion has now taken her from Florida to Montana to Mexico over the last 6 months in a bold effort to live her dream and soak up all the sport of hang gliding has to offer.
She recently started a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to finish post-production on the film and any help would be greatly appreciated.
Big props to Sara for going for it + cheers to being the giants in our dreams!
Holstee is Looking for a New NYC Home!
The Holstee story is also the story of people hosting us with incredible kindness. When we started out it was just Dave, Mike, Fabian and an idea. Then Arnold Worldwide came and offered us the chance to work from their beautiful NY headquarters on 5th Avenue. After months of working there with some of the ad world’s finest, we skipped across the Brooklyn Bridge and joined the growing ranks of creatives in DUMBO. We were hosted by the lovely ladies from Managed Solutions and the talented designers of Maiarelli Studios. Now, most recently, we have been sitting in what feels like the top of the world on a top floor DUMBO loft with our friends at Carrot Creative - where we have been privileged to feel like a part of their warm family for the past year.
The amazing Carrot team has been growing fast and, similarly, our team has gone from 4 to 8 in the last few months. Now it is time for us to move into our next space and we would love your help in finding the best fit. If you have or know anyone who has office availability please let us know. Above all we are looking for the right space and culture fit.Here is what we are looking for in terms of place:- Space for 8 to 10 people on laptops.
- A kitchen (we love to cook and Holstee lunches are legendary).
- Ideally we’d love to be below 14th street in Manhattan or in Williamsburg, DUMBO or Brooklyn Heights in Brooklyn.
- We cook fresh food for you ;)
- We know a lot of amazing people in NYC we would love to introduce you to as we often invite others over for lunch.
- People have described us in the past as high-energy and creative--it would be our pleasure to offer our ideas, design, and excitement to your project where we can.
Have ideas or thoughts? Please contact Holstee Superwoman, Tylea (tylea at holstee dot com). Thanks!
New iPhone App from Holiday Matinee!
The brilliant Dave Brown and the amazing crew at Holiday Matinee have just launched their first iPhone app and we are thrilled to be included! "The Amazing Game of REcollection" is similar to the memory game that we adored as kids and involves exploring and matching great creative products. By playing and completing each board, you'll score exclusive promo codes to use not only at the Holstee shop, but also at four other great shops we love: Toddland, Photojojo, Feelgoodz, and WeJetSet. From our friends at Holiday Matinee: "Yes, that’s right, discovering creativity now has its rewards." You can jump in on the fun here.
Guest Post: A Letter From Your Life
Our friend Bassam Tarazi wrote this wonderful post on his blog earlier this month, and it rings with such truth and passion for a life lived fully that we had to share. Thanks Bassam!
Dear (Your Name Here),
How’s it going? I’m your life. I am the power button to your existence. However, I’m starting to get a little hurt at your response when people ask you, “How’s it going?”
Same s–t, different day? Is that really how you feel? Is life that boring? Let me tell you my days.
My job is to keep you alive. That’s the only thing that matters. That’s the only reason I’m here. Do you want to hear about the hundreds of millions of sperm I beat out tens of thousands of times? What about
World Wars
Imperialism
Slavery
the Dark Ages
Small Pox
The Plague
The Holy Roman Empire
The Conquistadors
The Ottoman Empire
Ghengis Khan
The Greeks
The Romans
Wolves
Bears
Rolling seas
Great Walls
Berlin Walls
Slips
And fallsThrough all that, I got to you.
And that’s only the last few thousands years. I don’t have time to go back the other 3.5 billion years but you catch my drift, right?
I animate your body for only a few years in the sands of time. Don’t worry about why. There is no why. The only thing I can tell you is that I will continue to fight for you for as long as I can. Unfortunately, this body will begin to break down at some point and there will be one too many leaks or one too many clogs. But you already know this.
You are going to die. Get over it.
So whaddya say you start attacking every day with some fervor?
Whaddya say you see what this body can do at full output?
Whaddya say you try to experience different s–t on these all too limited, different days.If you don’t want to go full throttle for yourself, do it for us. Poor Mr. Heart never even gets a break! He’s there pumping day and night. He yearns to go out and see a sunset, fall in love, start a business, or volunteer, but he can’t. He is too busy pumping for you. Talk about same s–t different day! And gosh, the Mitochondria brigade would jump at the opportunity to explore far off countries, read a book or learn another language but they’re too busy managing all the cells. Do it for white blood cells, the tireless soldiers of your body.
I will make sure your bones, blood, brawn and brain have the nutrients they need. Let them shine! I know you have doubts and you’re worried what people will think if you fail at something (believe me, we get showered in stress when you’re nervous) but I assure you, you can slay the Duke of Doubt. I only put that old fart there to keep you from killing yourself. When it comes to chasing your dreams, he’s a scarecrow. He’s a relic. Believe me, I’ve seen him. You’d laugh at the little guy that causes you such fits.
Live me to the fullest. I’m the only life you got. Let’s do this before I have to split unceremoniously one day.
Of course, in your pursuit for “the fullest”, put on a sweater, get your rest and eat right so I can help revive, replenish, and repair this body, because in the words of that music you like to listen to: The chances of being born are so slim, so keep warm; keep warm.
We can be great together.
Sincerely,
Your Life
P.S. Oh and hey, it’d be great if when using that potential of yours you could make the world a better place along the way. I’ve been on a hell of a journey and if the road was a little less bumpy ahead, I wouldn’t hate that.
Brands We Love: Runa Tea! (& a Discount Code!)
We are the type of people who, upon finding something we love, tell everyone: our friends, our moms, our neighbors, people next to us in the elevator... we like to share. That is exactly how we are about Runa Tea. Not only is Runa Tea a Holstee staple (we drink copious amounts of it throughout the work-day), the people and company values behind Runa are simply wonderful. The team mission behind Runa is to be awake as "fully living human beings" and is right in line with the Holstee Manifesto. Runa's emphasis on sustainability, fair trade, business integrity & culture allows each sip of tea to be in good conscience. We could rave about Runa all day, but here is their awesome story in their own words:
"Runa began as a conversation over tea, during the hours before sunrise in the Amazon rainforest. In the winter of 2008, a team of students traveled to the Ecuadorian Amazon to participate in an ancestral tea ceremony with the Kichwa people - a tradition of storytelling, music, and learning – all centered around a large boiling pot of Guayusa tea over a burning fire. While drinking Guayusa tea together, the communities shared a vision to expand their circle and bring their traditional daily Guayusa tea to friends around the world. Collectively, we envisioned a business that could share this rich-tasting tea – a business that would respect cultural traditions, support small farmers, and maintain the integrity of the Amazon rainforest. Runa, meaning “fully living human being,” continues to grow from this seed of conversation and exchange. We are energized to share this tea tradition with a global community.Guayusa contains 50% more antioxidants than green tea and is full of polyphenols, flavonoids, and saponins. These compounds in Guayusa offer a range of holistic health benefits from calming the nervous system to cardiovascular health.Runa promotes healthy lifestyles and livelihoods by connecting producers and consumers through sustainable Amazonian products. They buy Guayusa directly from farmers in the Napo Province of Ecuador. Runa works with Fundación Runa, an Ecuadorian non-profit organization, to ensure Fair Trade practices that promote the social and environmental integrity of Guayusa production in the Ecuadorian Amazon."We love Runa for all that they are about and their tea keeps us going throughout the day. They are graciously extending a special discount code for the Holstee community to to get in on the Runa goodness; check out their website and enter the code "Holstee" at checkout to receive 15% off your order. Thanks Runa!SUGRU - Hack Things Better
To all of the DIY enthusiasts out there: our friends, rockstar-scientists and creative masterminds from SUGRU, have worked over 5 years to create a moldable silicone that helps to hack things softer, comfier, stronger, drier, grippier, safer and better.
Why buy new stuff all the time? With SUGRU you can prolong the life of almost everything and make it last forever and look cooler while also helping to keep stuff out of the landfills!
Watch the video and see it yourself, it's like play-doh that sticks like super-glue:
BLISS
One of the greatest things about our work at Holstee is being able to connect with other entrepreneurs following their passion and seeking to make the world a better place. We are so inspired and amazed by the beautiful people who are blowing our minds with their creative innovations, empowering ideas, and genuine love for the work they wake up to every morning.
Saba Gul is a wonderful example of the people that we are taking about. With a passion for the education and empowerment of young girls worldwide, Saba co-founded BLISS, Business & Life Skills School. Since 2009, BLISS has been empowering grils in rural Pakistain to claim their education, gain life skills, realize their potenial, and lift themselves and their families out of poverty.
While many girls worldwide cannot stay in school due to the financial and familial pressures they face, BLISS allows for financial incentives that make it possible for girls to be educated and make money at the same time. These incentives are supplied by profits made from the beautiful handmade bags that the girls design and create themselves. Embracing the reality that a hand up is more effective and sustainable than a hand out, BLISS is truly an amazing example of change that endures.
We are so impressed by Saba and the wonderful opportunities that she is helping to provide for girls in Pakistan. To discover more about the great work BLISS is doing, check out their website and this 4-minute wonderful clip that was aired as an NBC Nightly News Special. You can also see the beautiful bags made by the girls here (I think this one is my favorite :).
Roooooad Trip!
Starting tomorrow morning, I will be cruising thru Albuquerque, Oklahoma, Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Greensboro and Raleigh on i-40 spreading the word and introducing Holstee to people and shops along the way, finally stopping in Wilmington, NC; home to the third-largest production studio in the US, (who knew?!) which also holds the largest special-effects water tank in North America (saweeet!).
I have a target list of shops to hit, but if anyone has any strong recommendations for shops I must see, please leave a comment or drop me an email --> mikey@holstee.com.
Our fire is fiercely burning to connect with as many people as possible and partnering up with independent shops that share some of the same values is critical.
As I make my way, I'll upload pics and short videos to share the experience.
Fingers crossed I run into some interesting and passionate people along the way and that I find a few sunsets like these!! Wish me well. :D
- September 14, 2011
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Written by: Mikey Kavalus
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