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Fin Giveaway Winners!
Earlier this month we held a Facebook Giveaway for a chance to win a sold-out Holstee Fin. Here was the challenge:
To win: We have been amazed by how many people have taken the initiative to write down their own Manifesto of values and goals for life after being inspired by the Holstee Manifesto. We think this is a great way of defining what matters to you and what you actively seek out of each and every day. So- we want to hear what would be on your personal Manifesto!
We were blown away by the amazing responses that came in and absolutely loved reading the entries. It was definitely a challenge to pick one winner, so we chose two! Congratulations to Anthony and Hallie, and thank you to all who shared their wisdom with us! The winning Manifestos:
"To show others that they, along with life, are beautiful. That true wealth is not measured by the size of one's house, by luxury cars, or the amount of money in a bank account. But that true wealth is measured by one's life experiences, by the friends we make and take along on our never ending journey, and the impact we leave on others once we are gone." -Anthony of California
"Challenges help you learn every day of you life." -Hallie, age 7
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
- Views
Burn Burn Burn Like Fabulous Yellow Roman Candles... JK
After spending 6 nights in the high desert of Nevada with 63,000 other people for the 25th Anniversary of Burning Man, life will never be the same. Between the fascinating people I met, the superb creativity I witnessed, the other-worldly energy I encountered, touched and shared, and the many soulful conversations I had, I'm quite sure nothing compares to such a gathering and celebration of life, love and freedom.If I tried to put Burning Man in a simplified descriptive box, that box would melt.If I tried explaining the extent to which the artwork, workshops, people, celebrations and conversations were mind-bending in a way unrelated to foreign substances, my friends would think I'm off my rocker, which isn't a bad thing since my buddy Jack Kerouac and I go for the mad ones-"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'If I tried to pretend I dreamed it all, my body would instinctually shake me down with a brutal dose of truth and recall with absolute conviction that I did experience the human soul on fire, arguably the most powerful weapon on earth according to Ferdinand Foch, and I agree.
My appreciation and gratitude for touching and exploring and playing with the universal human soul has no end in sight. We are one-of-a-kind in terms of our extraordinary individiual and collective power to imagine, create, share and connect with others, and above all, that truth and real experience is what I have graciously returned with.We can do whatever we put our minds to. Period. And with a heightened sense of self, collective experience beyond imagination, and an even more tremendous fire now burning in our hearts, we are reinvigorated, reignited and supremely charged to continue forward on a level we only dreamed about.Come one, come all. It's gonna be a hell of a ride here on. :D
Guest Post: Manifesting the Holstee Outlook in Cork
Below is a Guest Post from the Holstee Community, written by Billy Boucha from Cork Ireland. Thanks, Billy!Three months ago my life was in crisis.
My partner of five years had moved out and left me for a younger woman. For the two years prior to this I had been suffering from a depression that wouldn’t lift. Everything felt heavy and tiring and disconnected. I took medication, went for counseling, changed my diet and began exercising and still the dark clouds stubbornly remained. I contemplated suicide only because I was suffering with so much torment. Luckily, there were people (and a lovely loving dog) in my life who needed me and so I stayed alive for them, but not for me.
In this black haze I came across two pieces of writing that gave me the motivation to live and to live with purpose. The first piece of writing was Tracey Emin’s autobiography Strangeland which I found on sale for €2 in a socialist worker’s bookshop. I found the second piece of writing on the Facebook wall of the lecturer who had supervised my university MA. It was called The Holstee Manifesto. Being attracted to any grouping of words that inspire a positive outlook I read it, fell in love with it, printed it out and began to share it with those close to me, many of whom asked me for a copy. And so I began making copies and giving them out, and it always heartened me to call over to a family member or friend’s household to find they had The Holstee Manifesto hanging up somewhere in the household; on the fridge door, the bathroom mirror, the bedside wall, above their desk. Something about this manifesto spoke to me and the people in my life in a very direct way. There was no pussy-footing about. It was clear and gave instructions; DO, CHANGE, QUIT, STOP, START, APPRECIATE, OPEN, ASK, TRAVEL, SEIZE, START, LIVE, SHARE.Three months ago, I took The Holstee Manifesto and Tracey Emin’s Strangeland back to bed with me and by the time I next left my bed, something had awoken in my consciousness; a need to express myself in ways I hadn’t contemplated before. Up until then I had mainly worked as a journalist and writer. I had one non-fiction book published and had half-written various plays and books that never made it to fruition due to my depression or just plain laziness.
Words have always been important to me. I always find it incredible that just looking at the word EXCITEMENT or COSY can make me feel just that; excited or cosy, if only for a short time. And so I knew that while my new need or my previous untapped need to express myself in new ways would include the use of language, I also knew it wouldn’t be through the structured rhythms of writing I was accustomed to when writing for newspapers and magazines.
But what is it I wanted to communicate? The answer to this was written on the forlorn faces of the people I queued with in the rain every month at the dole office. Cork, being the largest county in Ireland, has been badly hit by the recession over the past few years. Teenagers morosely make their way from their school line to the social welfare line where they watch older generations, disenchanted with political and religious scandals, grimly accept their unfair fate. It’s said that in every recession, two areas of industry prosper; organised crime and entertainment, both of which often overlap. Entertainment is a form of escapism; something to soothe the panicked minds of the masses. And Irish people are great at escapism; which is probably why there have been so many literary greats born or bred in this country. However escapism doesn’t solve problems, only avoids them so I wanted to work on projects that would cut into the reality of people’s lives and offer them positive words of wisdom for the real world. I wanted to say - be grateful for what you have, try find the positive in every situation, keep your head up, do or learn something new.
I started with a project called Affirmative Elephants. Over the years I had collected 55 different types of elephant ornaments from my travels or as gifts. I paired each of these elephants with a Louise L. Hay positive affirmation card, and began leaving these at random locations throughout my home town. My hope was that whoever would come across these Affirmative Elephants would feel like they had been given a gift, and that maybe someone might be having a hard time but upon finding the Affirmative Elephant would be lifted out of their burdens for a moment.
Looking and being inspired daily by The Holstee Manifesto that hung on the wall beside my bed I decided my next project would be to print 101 copies of this, laminate them (to prevent rain damage…it rains all the time in Cork!) and hang them up at random locations throughout Cork city. Accompanied by my lovely dog Roxy and my grumpy 9 year old cousin Cian, the three of use took to the streets armed with 101 Holstee Manifesto’s and two rolls of sticky tape. I hung up Manifesto’s on bus stops, school gates, park bench’s, lamp posts and every other available surface. I called into grocery shops and hairdressers and asked if they would stick one up to inspire people. I put some through random letter boxes and handed others to people on the street. I handed one to a tall forlorn French man on a bridge and he gave me a hug. I handed one to a hairy busker who put it in his guitar case. I handed three to three art students who kept repeating the word ‘amazing’ while reading it. One woman I handed it to looked at the word ‘LIFE’ in large lettering and assumed it was something to do with the pro-life movement so shoved it back in my face. I eventually persuaded her that it was pro-life, but not in the way she thought.
I’m a quiet person who avoids crowds, public spaces and talking to strangers at all costs. However, my enthusiasm to spread the word of the Holstee Manifesto gave me enough courage to do all three with gusto. I know now that one sure way out of apathy and inaction is to take action; to DO, CHANGE, QUIT, STOP, START, APPRECIATE, OPEN, ASK, TRAVEL, SEIZE, START, LIVE, SHARE.
Best Month + Burning Man + Thank You
We are off to Burning Man this wkend with open minds, arms and hearts, and will be bringing with us this giant 10 ft. Manifesto recreation by #Agent99 that is inspiring us to stay on our A game, especially since this past month has been one of the best yet.
Our entire Holstee family finally got together for a looooong overdue celebration, we're happily expanding the family, and we're on one of the biggest forward kicks in terms of community growth and outreach, thanks to the collective efforts of our team and, in particular, Mr. Agent 99 himself- Ilya Spektor.
Now, we're off to Burning Man thru Sept. 5 with the intention of following our genuine intuition and continuing to spread our mission + values.
To all our fans near + far, old + new, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU.
Your amazing support + encouragement keeps our collective dream alive and adds fuel to the fire burning in our hearts for a more conscious lifestyle with all those we touch.
Best wishes + let's keep this RockNRollstee Holstee train movin' movin' + groovin'!
:D
#apieformikey
This is a beautiful example of how an online community came together and supported one of their own in the best ways they could. Please take a moment to watch this-Below is an excerpt from the original post on White On Rice Couple. We're honored the good people behind this beautiful video even included lines of the Holstee Manifesto.If you haven’t already heard the news, then hopefully this video will share it all. On Monday, our dear friend Jennifer Perillo’s husband died of a sudden heart attack. Jennie is a special force in the food community and is loved by many.
We had a gathering in our garden with friends Brooke, Jen, Gaby, Penny and Rene when we heard of the news. It was a shock to us all and were left speechless for a long moment of silence. Fortunately we were together to comfort one another in the pain.
Jennie asked that in honor of those we love, to make a Creamy Peanut Butter Pie and share it. This pie was also a favorite of her husband, Mikey. You can read it on her blog.
In full force, with fierce love and commitment, the online food community banded together as one family to celebrate Mikey and everyone dear to us. Under the twitter hashtag #APieforMikey , a beautiful explosion of peanut butter pies came pouring out of all our hearts to be shared with our loved ones.
We were devastated at the news of Mikey’s passing. To heal and share in our grief with Jennifer’s family and the whole online food blogging community, we made a pie in honor of Mikey.
To also celebrate our friend Jennifer, her strength, courage and love, we’re giving her a gift in the best way that we know how: by video.
- August 25, 2011
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Written by: Michael Radparvar
- Views
Hand delivered @chazvanqueen his poster at the recording studio and got to hear his new album coming in Sept!
As an online company we don't get the chance too often to connect with our customers offline, so when the opportunity to arises its always super nice to meet. Today I got to meet Chaz McQueen, a local musician and producer as he was finishing recording his new album just around the corner here in DUMBO. Check out his tunes and stay tuned for the album drop in September!
A Nice Pairing, Back To The Roots + Holstee
Check out Holstee's Manifesto poster side by side with the Mission - Vision - Value statement of Back To the Roots.
Seems like it's not often that statements like this carry such great energy. I also love how well it seems to pair with our manifesto.And, if you're not already familiar with these guys, check out their brilliant gourmet mushroom growing kits, grown out of coffee grounds!!The Truth Of The NY Subway
Having lived in NY for nearly 4 years, I rode the subway multiple times a day across the entire city and all buroughs and my sentiments were often the exact same... why is there no eye contact? Why do people act like they're in their living room? Why do people push and shove without any hesitation? Why do people make other people uncomfortable? Why don't people show simple respect for others? Why do people act like they are the only one riding the subway?
The truth of the matter is everyone is trying to make sense of it all in ways that matter to us and in ways that allow us to individually understand this game of life. Everyone is trying. Everyone is struggling. No one has it perfect. We are in this together. We are, on the subway, together. And on the subway, our individual thoughts and mannerisms and morals and styles and languages and backgrounds and values and perspectives and physical presence collide. And Luke captures the raw beauty and truth in that.
We speak our understanding of life through our manifesto and wake up everyday to the challenge of living another honest day with ourselves. It's not easy by any means, but it's incredibly uplifting when you acknowledge and embrace and act in sync with the standards you set forth. Having those fall in line with people around you tho is often the greatest challenge.
I tip my hat to Luke for speaking the truth and having the courage to engage NY subway riders as anyone who's riden the subway knows it's a different world down there.
A Manifesto With A Commitment To Do Better
We found out about the folks from Orontas when we were looking for a natural solution to get our bikes ready for the summer. The non-toxic and fully biodegradable Bicycle Cleaner and the petroleum-free Bike Lubricant are the perfect solution to get your bike pimped and maintained in an ecological responsible way.
Their Manifesto says it all: they are a pretty awesome company with values we agree upon a 100% and we're proud to welcome them in our shop!
Keep cycling and if you'd like to learn more about Orontas and their passion about Bike Polo check out their blog.
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