#lifecyclefilm

The Holstee Manifesto is a call to action to live a life full of intention, creativity, passion, and community. We are amazed to see how rapidly these words have spread across the globe, and are honored by the countless people who have experienced these words to be a source of realization and inspiration in their own lives. We want the Manifesto to hold us accountable to living each day as fully as we can and are so encouraged by the amazing community of people joining us in that journey.

The LifeCycle Film came about as a desire to bring the energy and passion behind the Manifesto to life through something we love--biking. As we seek to live mindful lifestyles that leave a positive impact on the people and world around us, biking has become a passion that is much more than a transportation alternative. It is a way of fully experiencing the city we love and all of its details. The wonderful team at Demonstrous Productions has done a brilliant job of bringing this to life on the screen by capturing the beautiful bikers who came out for the shoot, and we are so proud of this film.

So many exciting things happening at Holstee lately! We wanted to take a second to update you on all that we have been working on and give a heads up on some great new products coming out that we cannot wait to share.

First of all, we could not be more thrilled, honored, and proud about the launch of the LifeCycle Film. We had an amazing group join us for the launch party in New York City that was a blast. As of today we are at 20,569 views and counting on YouTube (!) and we are blown away by the love pouring in via Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you! 

Secondly, there are many new products in the works that will be launching in the weeks to come! We will soon be offering a new limited edition color of the Holstee wallet in celebration of a new non-profit partnership that we are psyched to announce. We also have been collaborating with emiLime to design a beautiful winter hat, handmade in Peru from 100% Alpaca wool that will be perfect for the cold months ahead! 

On Thanksgiving Day we will be launching a brand-spanking-new Holstee website with a better browsing experience, new photos, and more interactive features to bring the Holstee experience to life. Be sure to take a break from the mashed potatoes to check it out! ;)

Last but not least, for the first time since the start of Holstee, the original Holstee Pocket Tees are coming back! Over the course of the year we have have been redesigning the shirt with a focus on fit, style, & comfort and you can expect to see the new Tee launch in December.

See the full gallery on Posterous

Wow, the Lifecycle Film has already passed 70,000 views only a week after the launch! We could not be more excited by all of the feedback pouring in and so thankful to everyone for sharing it with their communites. There have been so many responses from people worldwide that this film has inspired them to start riding a bike again (even some for the first time)--exactly the reaction we were hoping to get!

To continue the celebration of biking, we want to hear your stories! Do you have a favorite memory or interesting anecdote about your bike? It could be a story from when you first learned to ride, a place your bike took you to, or even a fictional story about a bike ride (for all of our creative types! :). Share your stories to [email protected] for a chance to win a $20 gift certificate to be used at the Holstee shop! The contest will close next Tuesday, November 22nd at 5pm EST and the winning story will be featured here. Good luck! 

The Holstee Manifesto Lifecycle Video has made to the next step in the brilliant "TED's Ads Worth Spreading" challenge!! It is an honor to be included in the line up with such an incredible selection of videos.

Also, you may notice there is a one click option to vote if you loved the video. The winners aren't selected by votes, but TED notes that it helps them 'understand which are the crowd favorites.' We appreciate the love! :)

In our recent search for vidoes on quality paper and the beauty of the letterpress process, we stumbled across a fasciating find: Paper Fortress Films.

The man behind Paper Fortress is (simply) Stebs, whose awesome "About" page info contains this particular wisdom: "My outlook on life is that everyone and everything is wonderful, and that the beauty of everyday life can be transformed into works of art." How's that for some pure positivity?

The work behind Paper Fortress Films varies from editorial, sports, commercials, music, and more. Stebs artistic touch brings out clear messages even in quick, short clips. While originally drawn to Stebs page for his fantastic film on a letterpress project for Jack Daniels (a pretty amazing video on process from hand-carved wood printing plates with a twangy banjo backdrop), it was amazing to find the other creative projects Paper Fortress has been a part of, including a Recover Green Roofs project for Boston-based restaurant Ledge and a car commercial featuring a woman who quit her job to start a dog-walking company called The Urban Hound.