At Holstee in a simple and honest moment, we wrote our values for living and growing our company: The Holstee Manifesto. We were excited and honored it was something that resonated with a lot of people. When we decided to print it, to our surprise it immediately became our best-selling product. It brought our brand and story to more people than we could have imagined. For many of you, you’ve already heard this part of the story.

The side that few people hear is that as much as it gave us wings, the unexpected success of the Manifesto brought with it a big, unexpected challenge. It was our biggest creative feat to date and as creators we stood in its shadow, struggling to find new products that could stand on their own, products that would both strike a chord with us as well as with our community.

As we tried (and often failed) to launch new ideas and products, our confidence fell alongside it into a downward spiral. So we took a step back. We stopped doing everything and began to reflect on the building blocks from which we started Holstee. This is what we remembered:

1. We want to share art that inspires people to reflect on their life and the world around them.
2. We want to encourage people to start living with intent and by their own definition of success.
3. We want to build a stronger connection with people in the Holstee community.

We realized the Mindful Art Subscription was a perfect combination of these building blocks. To be completely transparent, while it is our company focus, the subscription alone isn’t making enough money for Holstee to sustain. But we trust that if we keep giving it our all, remain true to our purpose, and most importantly love the product ourselves, business success will follow. We also want to give a special thanks to the early supporters of the Mindful Art Subscription whose feedback and encouragement has been invaluable.

As you might have seen, the cost of the Mindful Art Subscription subscription is increasing from $7/month to $10/month on March 1st. If you haven’t yet, we invite you to sign before the 1st and you will be grandfathered into the $7/month rate forever: you can sign up here. If you are already a supporting member, thank you. We’re excited to continue improving your experience every month as the Holstee journey continues!

As always, here are a few things we came across this month we think you will enjoy:

• Loved reading about the ‘Robin Hood’ of Science [Read]
• Some delightfully funky Afrobeat tunes by Dele Sosimi [Listen]
• Just reread Jason Fried’s Rework, some great business reminders [Read]
• Meet The Patels is a humorous look inside the world of dating, tradition and parents [Watch]
• Choose one or two of these rituals and start incorporating them into your nightly routine [Read]

Anything you read, heard or saw this month that moved you? Let us know, we love hearing from you.

With love always,

Dave + Mike