In a delicious little piece of serendipity, my eye was drawn to this poster, which appeared in the margin next to a wonderful web video on creativity that a friend sent me. This poster is the "Holstee Manifesto" and it encapsulates the philosophy of the Holstee company. Their story (copied from their website):
In the heat of the recession in May 2009, brothers Mike and Dave and their partner, Fabian started Holstee. More than a company, or clothes, the trio wanted to create a lifestyle. Starting in the summer of 2009 they dove head first into the world of design and production. After six months and a huge learning curve, Holstee launched its first line of Recycled Tees made of 100% recycled plastic bottles that were milled, cut and sewn within 150 miles of each other in North Carolina. Starting with this first round, 10% of all sales were lent to entrepreneurs in extreme poverty through non-profit micro-lending organizations like Kiva.org - a tradition they are proud to still embrace.
These guys are the anti-Dilberts. May their philosophy take hold and flourish!
The manifesto resonates with a novel I just read: "Replay," by Ken Grimwood, about a guy who dies of a heart attack at age 43 and then wakes up 25 years earlier in the body of his 18-year-old self but with his memories intact. The book has its flaws (e.g., the minimal roles played by his family seemed implausible), but I found it moving.
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