Holstee

How will you celebrate the first day of summer? Coming up this...

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:03:09 -0400

How will you celebrate the first day of summer? Coming up this Friday, June 21st, send us your thoughts (@HOLSTEE) and tag #moreofthis!

My newest obsession is South London native Jessie Ware, who...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:22:38 -0400

My newest obsession is South London native Jessie Ware, who has been appropriately labeled a “proper pop star.” Her soulful-yet-sweet vocals so perfectly suit this Watch Listen Tell acoustic version of her breakout single, “Wildest Moments.”

Also check out: the official music video for this ballad as well as the -ultra-catchy remix featuring A$AP Rocky.

Let’s hear it for hands-on work and building...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 12:02:44 -0400

Let’s hear it for hands-on work and building projects!

Celebrate this sentiment with Dad this weekend: Father’s Day is Sunday, June 16th!

It’s time to do some good! Amazing advocates for all...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:20:13 -0400

It’s time to do some good! Amazing advocates for all things biking, walking and public transit, we’re stoked to devote this Flash of Good round to Transportation Alternatives.

Fifty percent of all profits from Letterpress Cards by Helen Williams will be donated to the TransAlt cause. Sale runs from June 12th-26th.

Music Monday: Moby - Play

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 13:11:32 -0400

A couple of weeks ago I woke up with a song in my head. I didn’t know the artist or song title; all I knew was a bit of the lyrics: “…in my dreams I’m dying all the time,” and it didn’t take me long to find it was a song called Porcelain by Moby. After a couple of times of listening to the song that day, I looked for the album, Play. I started up the first song and listened through the whole album. I was hooked.

I must have heard the song originally on one of my most recent favorite Pandora stations: either Chillwave or Exotica/Lounge.

I now have a different feeling toward Moby, mostly because some weird preconceptions. He’s great! His sound is much different from most other music I’ve listened to in the past. If you’ve never given him a chance, I totally reccomend.

Jamming to your favorite music is the perfect way to spend a...

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 12:02:28 -0400

Jamming to your favorite music is the perfect way to spend a warm spring day!

What are you listening to these days? Send us your tweets and tag #moreofthis.

Congrats @idameretes, you are our newest Instagram contest...

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:26:28 -0400

Congrats @idameretes, you are our newest Instagram contest winner!

The finalists for the second Holstee Fellowship are here! Please vote for your favorite idea on our...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:45:00 -0400

The finalists for the second Holstee Fellowship are here! Please vote for your favorite idea on our Facebook poll here.

Lauren & Cheryl Natoli - Drink Your Juice is igniting a happiness revolution by building a platform for “happiness seekers” to connect, improve themselves and the world around them. DYJ will help subscribers increase their levels of happiness by providing relevant content and support to achieve any desired goal.

Christopher Markl - Kourage is a start-up company that leverages the tradition of Kenyan runners to create authentic Kenyan running apparel. Kourage is 100% Kenyan and African. Everything (aside from sales) is conducted by Kenyans in Kenya including design, photography, testing, accounting, and management.

Blaire Briody - “The Oil Men” will be a nonfiction book and multimedia journalism project covering the oil boom in Williston, North Dakota. What was once a small town, has been transformed overnight into a bustling nearly all-male metropolis. Because of the boom, living costs have skyrocketed, forcing thousands of men to live in man camps where the high rent will barely get them a trailer with running water.

Beatrice Anderson - ETA will conduct a pilot program this summer through a partnership with the Flatbush Development Corporation. Middle schoolers will explore racism as a public health issue through the study of media literacy. ETA will have the opportunity to test the concept of a student-led curriculum, co-planning among learning facilitators, and the chance to further develop methodology and classroom rituals.

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire....

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:05:38 -0400

The most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire. - Ferdinand Foch

As I was going to sign in to upload a post unrelated to what I will instead talk about, my heart sank and my mouth went dry as I stared in awe at the Tumblr background image seen above. I was repeatedly electroshocked by the stark contrast of my reality.

The extraordinary potential of our world and our future is being annihilated by an elite group of supremely gluttonous animals, and those currently on the downside of luck in Istanbul and beyond need our immediate attention and support.

Our Turkish brothers and sisters are fighting for freedom, the same freedom we enjoy each and every day, and they need our help. Their ruthless dictator of a leader is carrying out inumane acts of violence and seizing local media outlets to silence their courageous efforts, and this is my effort to continually share their story and honor their strength, courage and will to push back.

My Turkish friend Ali says the following of the situation, via Facebook:

Michael Kavalus shared A.K. Sarper’s status.

42 minutes ago

Dear Friends,

Many of you in one way or another have heard and seen the scenes that are unfolding in Turkey over the last few days. The only thing that hurts more than not being able to be there with friends and family is the fact that foreign media seems to be more willing to cover the events than its Turkish counterpart. This is the final conquest of a regime which has gained control over all arms of the government, social services and institutions. The events that you see today are reported as a protest against the development of a park in the centre of Istanbul, in reality they are the reaction against years of oppression and slow-but-sure erosion of a nation’s civil rights and liberties. The people of Turkey are fighting for the secular ideals of ATATURK upon which the nation was founded. The people of Turkey are fighting against a corrupt police force, a bought and paid for media and a bigoted despot who this afternoon threatened to “hang a few bodies from those trees”.

Please do what you can to spread the news of these most intolerable and inhumane acts.

Reuters Article with more information found here.

New letterpress card set from our latest design collaborator,...

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 10:25:06 -0400

New letterpress card set from our latest design collaborator, Matt Braun.

Inspired by the prompt to “live mindfully,” Braun created art that reminds us to Reflect, Aspire to Inspire, Shine and Be Steadfast.

Get your set here.

Our team got to take an awesome tour of the Flavor Paper space...

Fri, 31 May 2013 10:43:11 -0400

Our team got to take an awesome tour of the Flavor Paper space yesterday! Such a great opportunity to learn more about their unique process and the company’s history.

Big thanks to Jon Sherman for showing us around!

Nothing says warm weather is here like trips to your local...

Wed, 29 May 2013 12:02:39 -0400

Nothing says warm weather is here like trips to your local farmer’s market for fresh, seasonal goodness!

What are your favorite summer finds? Send us your thoughts and tweets (@HOLSTEE) and tag #moreofthis.

I first discovered the brilliance of Quadron back in 2010 with...

Mon, 27 May 2013 09:57:10 -0400

I first discovered the brilliance of Quadron back in 2010 with the single Slippin’. Every season, I compile a playlist for my friends and I and was lucky to come across that single. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan. With singles like Pressure on her amazing debut album and her ear-gasmic covers, how can you not be intrigued?

Quadron is a Danish duo consisting of singer Coco Maja Hastrup Karshøj and musician/producer Robin Hannibal. The group calls itself and the music they provide, electronic soul. They are about to release their second album “Avalanche” on June 6 and I cannot wait. Their new single Hey Love does not disappoint and it makes me want to take a dance break whenever it comes on. (Check out the impressive acoustic version of Hey Love)

Yesterday was a big day of team building, literally :-) We are...

Mon, 27 May 2013 09:55:49 -0400

Yesterday was a big day of team building, literally :-) We are building out our new studio space with some fresh new reclaimed lumber tables, a kitchen for more cooking adventures and a workshop for prototyping!

We took a lunch break for Deirdre’s homemade veggie green curry and quinoa and had two awesome guest designers, Thierry Blancpain (who designed our logo four years back!) and Dave Foster!

Excited to post more pics as we progress with the space, and give us a visit if you’re in Gowanus!

Personal Posters- #holsteemanifesto

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:54:43 -0400

It’s been one month since we started the #holsteemanifesto campaign on Instagram and we’ve received over 100 snapshots of the Holstee Manifesto in some awesome homes! Keep them comin’! This week’s winner is @Husetpaavikse! Congrats!

Simple designs in bright, bold color: new letterpress cards from...

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:02:52 -0400

http://shop.holstee.com/products/letterpress-cards-by-sascha-mombartz

http://shop.holstee.com/products/letterpress-cards-by-sascha-mombartz

http://shop.holstee.com/products/letterpress-cards-by-sascha-mombartz

Simple designs in bright, bold color: new letterpress cards from designer Sascha Mombartz.

Check them out here.

Safety on the road for commuters is super important, especially...

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:02:38 -0400

Safety on the road for commuters is super important, especially in a busy city environment.

Looking forward to more bike lanes in NYC! Send us your ideas (find us on Twitter, too) and tag #moreofthis.

My music monday this week goes to the super talented Robert...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:03:00 -0400

My music monday this week goes to the super talented Robert DeLong. I recently saw him perform at Sweetlife Festival. Despite being an early show, he managed to turn a not-so-warmed up crowd into a bumping party. He sings, drums, plays piano, mixes - all at the same time. I got to talk to him afterwords (thanks to the glassnote crew) and learned he’s able to jump around and keep the party going so well due to his creative use of Wii remotes.

I think we’ll be hearing lots more of him in the near future.

Spotify link here.

I had two bikes stolen in the past 5 months, both overnight,...

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:49:00 -0400

I had two bikes stolen in the past 5 months, both overnight, right in front of my apartment. This is NYC, that stuff happens, I get it.

But here is where my story is different: that first bike that got stolen? It’s locked and parked outside my apartment right now.

On January 17, 2013, I locked my bike outside my East Village apartment. The next day I went out to go for a ride and ended up walking up and down my street several times before accepting the fact that my bike was gone without a goodbye or a trace. I immediately started tweeting about it, made a Facebook post (even sponsored it hoping to get more reach) but I also went the old school route and put a sign (pictured above) right at the spot where it was taken. Maybe it was the fact that my handwriting is easily mistaken for a 5th grader, but somehow it managed to stay up much longer than I thought. The following week I left New York for a month-long trip. When I returned, I accepted the fact I’d never see that bike again and picked up some new wheels from Recycle-A-Bicycle. My new bike got stolen, again, within a week of when I purchased it. Unable to be in the city without a bicycle, I went out and got a new ride and reluctantly decided I should try parking it inside.

Two days later, I was about to sit down to dinner with two friends at my apartment when my doorbell rang. My friend Eva answered the door. She called me over saying a person wants to tell me something about a bike. When I walked out to the hallway he asked to walk outside, because he ‘has a bike.’ When I stepped outside, to my right was my original bike, in excellent condition, resting against the a gate. I was speechless. It was like someone had come back from the dead. The fenders, back rack, even the bell - exactly as it was on January 17. After a minute of just staring at it, I turned to him and he began with broken English: “I am sure you will not believe me, but I have been trying to bring you this bike for months. I come from Brooklyn on the train to ring your bell and you are not home. I kept it inside next to my bike.” I sensed he wasn’t eager to share the details of how he got it, other than he found it down the street, and I was totally okay with that. I could tell he was a person genuinely concerned with doing what he felt was right. The line that struck be most was, “I know someone must have put lots of work into this bike (which was spot on - I’d originally found this bike discarded in pieces and had been bringing it back to life over the past year) and that they must want it back. I know how it feels when you put time into something and how it feels to lose it. So I wanted to make sure you got this back.”

This man deserved a medal of honor in my book, but barely accepted his reward. He left me inspired and pretty damn grateful.

The original post for the reward sign. The original post when my bike was returned.

Bike to Work Day is this Friday! Share the road, stay safe and...

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:02:33 -0400

Bike to Work Day is this Friday! Share the road, stay safe and get pedaling!

Send us your bike pics and posts (@HOLSTEE) and tag #moreofthis (but remember: no posting/tweeting while riding!).

See you out there!