The Making of "The Evolution of the Water Bottle"
A few weeks ago we teased you guys about a video we'd just wrapped - 'The Evolution of the Water Bottle'. We'd spent that entire Saturday setting up a fake crime scene in Katya's kitchen and photographing Natalie's wide range of emotions (murderous, repentant, disgusted).
Natalie's husband Tony (member of the Greyslater patented Panel of Dudes) took the kids for the day and we had lots of fun Googling "how to make fake blood" while our creative and enthusiastic friend Matt Lewis (also on the Panel of Dudes) snapped photos.
Next, Katya mercifully Photoshopped the bags from underneath our eyes and made the blood look more bloody, and Matt stayed up past his bedtime editing everything together with some stellar voiceover work. Natalie stayed home and baked whoopie pies. Mmm...whoopie pies.
A few weeks, a couple of thrifted 80's business suits, a bloody skull and one unfortunate goat later and here we are - showing you our very first video! We hope you learn something about reusable water bottles (mainly that the ones we carry are the coolest) and that you like it so much you share it with your friends! Enjoy!
Greyslater's First 1% For the Planet Donation Recipient: North Carolina Rail-Trails!
About a month ago, Greyslater joined 1% For the Planet, a organization that requires members to donate 1% of their gross profits to environmental and social justice non-profit groups. We knew we wanted to get started right away, so we took a look at the list of eligible recipients- there were over 2,700.
"Um, how do we decide?" we asked each other. After perusing the list more closely, it was obvious we were picking groups from Chicago, which didn't seem quite fair. Of course we support local non-profits (and actively volunteer) but we have friends and customers around the world. So...now what?
Natalie and I decided that it would make sense to let our Facebook fans decide, since they've been loyal supporters from the start, so we announced that our 500th fan would win $50 to spend at the store and choose the non-profit. We were overwhelmed by the response- we had over 200 new fans in a couple of days- and it didn't take long to reach our goal. Hooray!
Our very excited fan ended up choosing North Carolina Rail-Trails. She and her husband are active bike riders and are soon moving to North Carolina from Wisconsin. Perfect. I was geeked at her choice, too, since I used to ride the awesome converted trails in western Michigan while growing up there. Below is a bit about what NC Rail-Trails does, from their Executive Director, Carrie Banks:
"North Carolina Rail-Trails is a state-wide land trust, focusing on preserving rail corridors and creating rail-trails. We are currently working in 17 communities that have active rail-trail projects. Donations assist us in offering technical and grant writing support to these communities. Rail-trails are so much more than just walking trails...they preserve history, create economic development opportunities, provide safe public spaces for exercising, commuting and recreating, as well as oftentimes becoming the heart of a community, that has lost much of its identity with the collapse of the manufacturing businesses in the south."
Well, I'm off to find more great stuff to add to our site- keep an eye out for the cuppow, Metamorphic Gear messenger bags, and Skweet water bottle cleaner, coming soon!
Katya
President and Nerd-in-Chief
Greyslater
Greyslater Gets Logo'd Up
Have you seen our awesome new shop logo? Check out our homepage or any of our various social media accounts (Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr just to name a few) and you'll see the work of New York-based graphic designer Ken Rosenkrantz. Ken isn't just an uber-talented designer, he's also kind of a mind reader. Allow us to explain by summerizing how our creative consultations went with Ken:
Ken: Sure, I'll work on a logo for you guys. Let me know what you want to do.
Us: We want it to be Game of Thrones-ish. And orange and grey.
Ken: OK, here are some designs, what do you think?
Us: These are cool! Can you add a direwolf and maybe a skull?
Ken: OK, here are some more designs. Do you like the wolf?
Us: Yeah these are nice. Now can you do them all over except without a wolf and skull. And maybe add some leaves. Yeah. We like leaves.
Ken: Here you go, a Greyslater coat of arms with a banner and leaves and four stars just like the Chicago flag. It's orange and grey, and it doesn't have any direwolves, but it's still really cool.
Us: Yaaaay!
We can't thank Ken enough for giving us exactly what we wanted. Go check out his Tumblr to see more of his great work.
Greyslater on Crain's Chicago Business
Oh hey! How's your Tuesday treating you? Cool, cool... you finally got around to cleaning up your inbox and shaking out that area rug? Yeah, that is pretty sweet, way to go.
What did we do today? Oh, I dunno... appeared on Crain's Chicago Business for one thing! Can you tell we're stoked? Go check out the article and tweet it like crazy! We love seeing new Chicago businesses getting props, especially when it's ours!
Greyslater - First Video Wrap
Greyslater co-founders Natalie and Katya just wrapped the company's first-ever video. There's goats! Skulls! Blood! And even MURDER. The video is coming up in a few days so subscribe to our channel and stay tuned!
Recent Articles
- The Making of "The Evolution of the Water Bottle"
- Greyslater's First 1% For the Planet Donation Recipient: North Carolina Rail-Trails!
- Greyslater Gets Logo'd Up
- Greyslater on Crain's Chicago Business
- Greyslater - First Video Wrap
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