people + place
office wall art
Each week we update our office’s entry wall with our awesome cup designs. We’ll keep an on-going collection of the creativity our office has come up with. Check back on Mondays!
Week 11: June 10, 2013
Linda Whittig, “Disco Party”
Week 9: May 27, 2013
Daryl Beeson, “Scan This”
Really. Scan it.
Week 7: May 13, 2013
Jeremy Oliver, “Boise Cityscape”
Week 5: April 29, 2013
Marie Brochier, “Ralphie”
Week 3: April 15, 2013
Mark Curtis, “Lincoln”
Week 2: April 8, 2013
Claudia Button, “PacMan”
Week 1: April 1, 2013
Jeff Harder, “F”
earth week at foerstel
Linda's bicycle after returning from the market.
In celebration of Earth Day (Monday, April 23), here at Foerstel, we decided to give you some ideas this week to reduce your carbon footprint in your regular lives. Members of our team are taking on a little extra something to remember that every small contribution can make the world a bit greener.
Linda: For me, it’s not what I’m doing this week, but ongoing…
• Compost
• Recycle (duh)
• We pretty much walk or ride our bikes all the time on the weekend to run errands or go downtown for dinner/drinks
• We are part of a community garden – some friends have a BIG garden area in their backyard and there’s a group of us that work the ground and grow pretty much all our veggies for the summer
• I took out all the grass in the backyard a few years ago to help save on water during the summer
• I have a 200 gallon rain barrel
• In nicer weather, I ride my bike to work almost everyday. In fact, my car hardly moves all summer long!
• We always take our own bags to the grocery store (there’s such cute ones now!)
• My girlfriends and I do a clothes swap two times a year – spring and fall. It’s a great way to “recycle” gently worn clothes and get a new wardrobe at no cost!
Janell:
My Earth Day Countdown:
• Monday ~ use less paper day ~ use both sides for copying
• Tuesday ~ save energy day - turn thermostat down
• Wednesday ~ no toxins day - mop floors with toxin-free cleaner
• Thursday ~ conserve water day - plumber will fix drippy faucet in bathroom
• Friday ~ conserve energy day ~ use cold water for laundry
• Saturday ~ reduce waste day ~ take all recyclables to waste management center
• Sunday ~ support sustainability day ~ fix entirely organic dinner
• Monday (Earth Day) ~ renew my commitment to being greener today and everyday
Kim:
I recycle at home and at work. At home I also have a compost pile. I use reusable bags for groceries.
Jeremy:
I started planting my garden this week. I always only buy organic produce and meats and I try to get everything as local as possible. It is just a better way to live!
Megan:
In addition to my ongoing recycling and organic foods, this week I’m trying my hand at growing celery indoors and making a conscious effort to walk or bike more places. Boise is such a pedestrian friendly community, plus we have a lot of sun!!
Marie:
• On the big scale–we are working out a plan to paint our house this summer and planning to use VOC paint.
• Consolidating trips around town–fewer and farther between
• Acting as chief recycle police at my home (nothing like digging through the trash!)
Laura:
We are building a garden and compost bin this week to be more Earth friendly!
Claudia:
This year me and my two children are building a vegetable garden using organic soil and organic seeds!
Tom:
It’s really just part of our lifestyle so we don’t even think about it for the most part: recycling and composting (of course) eating and drinking organic and local as much as possible including what we can raise in our garden that the deer don’t eat, thoughtful energy use, contribute to the organizations that are working to keep the planet (and all the critters on it) healthy. But as a special spring Earth Day 2013 project we are planting two trees, and just finished the installation of a fire break at our house using a drought-tolerant low-maintenance grass that also helps with erosion and noxious weed control.
Mark:
To conserve water, I am not showering all week.
But seriously, I am riding my bike everywhere now, even in the morning when it is cold and dark out, but not really because of Earth Week. But you can say that is the reason. Other than that, just the normal stuff we do around the house – turn off lights, don’t leave water running when brushing, recycle the recyclables from the trash.
Office:
We’ve begun planting of our outdoor vegetable garden at the office. We’re using organic soil and organic seeds! We’ll keep you posted on the progress as we make our way through the growing season!
Are you taking on a green challenge? What do you plan to do in spirit of Earth Day/Week? Share with us on Twitter or Facebook!
foerstel honored as a “best places to work in idaho”
Internally as a group, we’ve always known Foerstel is a great place to work. Heck, some people have been loyal to Tom for over 25 years and now, the company as a whole is being recognized as a “Best Place to Work in Idaho” by the Idaho Business Review.
I’m writing this as the “new kid on the block”. I am Megan and I am a part-time employee at Foerstel in Marketing/PR and I started in October 2012. Having only lived in Boise for about 4-1/2 years, I’ve always felt Foerstel was the top-notch agency in town - they were different than others for reasons I couldn’t quite explain, until I got on the inside.
The environment here is open and fresh, the employees are warm and welcoming, the leadership is engaged and inspiring, the mission is about sustainability and design, the lack of communication is minimal, if not obsolete, and the entire team is united and creative freedom is encouraged. The mere combination of these is something I have never experienced in my professional career. I can truly say that Foerstel is indeed a fabulous place to work.
Despite being an employee here only half of the time for about half of a year, I am not alone. I asked everyone else why they considered Foerstel a great place to work and these are their responses:
“It’s all about teamwork. We’re all here for the client and here for each other.” - Marie Brochier (employee for 25 years)
“Flexibility!!!” - Mary K Johnson (employee for 10 years)
“The absolute best reason to work here is the “Freedom” that Tom not only provides but fosters! The freedom to be creative, to be flexible, to work together or separately, to eat anytime or anything we want on work time, the freedom of space that we have to enjoy inside and outside of the office, plus the freedom to choose to be here…which we all do, everyday!” - Laura Martin (employee for 5 years)
“Generous and compassionate management; and flexible work schedules.” - Janell Count (employee for 13 years)
“Great health, dental and vision coverage. Massage day every other week. Good clients, interesting work, a variety of challenges each day. Open work environment, no cubicles. Flexibility in work hours to accommodate personal errands or issues that arise. Generous vacation and holiday time off. We work on Macs not peecees.” - Mark Curtis (employee for 26 years)
“I have lots of answers spanning from massage Wednesday to working in an environment where I genuinely like the people I work with – both as coworkers and clients. Having a boss that recognizes quality of life – doesn’t expect or want us to work a bazillion hours – and is supportive. I think there’s a lot of freedom here to grow and learn new things. Shall I go on and on? :)” - Linda Whittig (employee for 21 years)
“My favorite thing about working here is how well Tom treats his employees. He surprises us with birthday treats, we get messages every other week, he encourages us to participate in industry-related events on behalf of Foerstel and the Boise design community. In general, a good guy all around!” - Jeremy Oliver (employee for 1.5 years)
“One of the reasons is the projects we work on: They are for companies who pledge social and environmental responsibility and allow us to contribute to the well being of the planet. And did I mention bi-weekly massages?” - Claudia Button (employee for 10 years)
“Great work and great people to work with in an easy-going environment.” - Jeff Harder (employee for over 11 years)
“Foerstel has hired a group of talented people that enjoy their work. We work well together and we have a generous boss.” - Kim Bergquist (employee for 7 years)
“I love working at Foerstel. The people here are so diverse. I learn something new and exciting everyday.” - Daryl Beeson (employee for 16 years)
Congratulations Tom and all of the Foerstel team; I am proud to be a part of it.
Foerstel is among other honorees who will be acknowledged at an awards ceremony Thursday, April 18, 2013 at the Linen Building in Boise, ID. For tickets to the event, please contact the Idaho Business Review directly at 208-336-3768 or reserve online here. A special publication will be available at the event as well as go to all IBR subscribers and newsstands on April 19, 2013.
festivitee: foerstel goes bowling
This past weekend the Foerstel team got together to celebrate the holidays over fried food, great company and many strikes (okay, okay gutter balls) at Emerald Lanes in Boise. Cheers to another fantastic year!
idaho shakespeare festival
We proudly partnered with local Boise company Retroscope Media to capture some spectacular moments of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival into a series of promotional videos. Have a look here!
blanketing boise
via Greenbelt Magazine, by Elisabeth Sharp McKetta
Hundreds of local homeless Boise residents receive warmth from the idea of one thoughtful woman and her rallying company and community.
Anyone who has ever had or been a child understands the significance of blankets. My toddler daughter says a longer, more tender goodbye to her blanket than she says to her father or to me.
Three years ago, Laura Herrick, an account director with Foerstel Design, worked with her company to create the Boise Blanket Drive after recognizing the transformative power of blankets to help the homeless.
Foerstel Design is located near 16th and Main Street, near the hub of Boise’s homeless care facilities. One autumn night in 2009, Herrick and a colleague were working late. When they left the office they were struck both by the sight of so many homeless people overflowing from the shelters and also by the thought that for most of the year in Boise, these people are out in the cold. Herrick knew that Boise has a generous number of food and coat drives, and it occurred to her that these people could probably use blankets.
“A good blanket can keep a family warm all night,” Herrick says. Both she and her colleague had unused blankets at home, and so they brought some back the next day.
The response was overwhelming. The homeless shelter invited Herrick to their annual memorial service, always held the day before Thanksgiving.
“It was such a touching ceremony,” Herrick says. “It is an outdoor vigil with candles and a bonfire. The shelter provides a big dinner for the homeless that night. The ceremony honors the homeless who have died during the year, telling personal stories about the value of those people’s lives.”
The ceremony includes an assortment of religious rituals, in hope of speaking to as many people of different faiths as possible. A local bagpipe player volunteers the music. And this year, for the third year in a row, the ceremony will include the gift of blankets.
Now every year Foerstel Design creates posters for the Blanket Drive, places them around town, and offers their office as a receiving place for donated blankets. The Blanket Drive has had a generous turnout of givers in its first two years, which goes to demonstrate one of the many wonderful things about Boise: if you give people here an avenue for helping others, they will use it. And many people have extra, unused blankets in their houses.
To participate, bring a clean blanket in good condition to Foerstel Design (located at 249 S 16th St, Boise, ID 83702) during the two weeks before Thanksgiving. Blankets do not have to be new.
Baby blankets are welcome, too. Roughly one-sixth of the homeless population is made up of children, from babies to pre-teens. One year someone brought a stack of Disney blankets, and the homeless children were over-the-moon excited.
There are a thousand worthy ways to donate to the community: you can give time, give blood, give money, give toys, give clothes. In giving blankets, the people at Foerstel Design have found a way to give that helps the homeless keep warm in more ways than one.
“A coat is functional,” Herrick says, “but a blanket is personal.”
top shelf at whole foods, boise
The Foerstel team took a break from the office and ventured out to the Grand Opening of Whole Foods Market in Boise, Idaho. While perusing the aisles (and dodging a gazillion people with shopping carts) we found a familiar label perched on the top shelf by the checkouts. Mamma Chia is an organic vitality drink with the magic of chia seeds; containing omega-3’s, antioxidants, dietary fiber, protein, calcium and it’s gluten free and vegan! Happy to see one of our many organic and natural clients carried by Whole Foods gaining momentum on our home turf.
The arrival of Whole Foods Market into the Boise community is not only great for creating new jobs and having a wide range of organic and natural foods available, their business model places a strong emphasis on supporting our local farmers, bakers, brewers, even music booking agents in order to help our microcosm grow, prosper and thrive.
Check out the new Whole Foods Market in Boise at 401 S. Broadway Ave. and follow on Facebook and Twitter.
digital nomads
Have you ever been on a cruise and ended up standing in line at most places? Or have you ever felt like you didn’t get to see enough sites on your vacation? And I think we’ve all uttered the words “my vacation wasn’t long enough”. Well, two adventurers, Michael Powell and Jürgen Horn, decided to set out on a journey across the world, combining work and travel as digital nomads and changing the perception of being a “tourist”. They spend 91 days in each place and their method of slow travel enables them to really take it all in and blog about it every step of the way.
The two set out on their adventure in August 2010 in Oviedo (Asturias, Spain), from there they ventured to other places like Savannah, Georgia, Sri Lanka, Palermo, Italy, Buenos Aires and currently they’re touring our fine state of Idaho. In between their day jobs (obviously working remotely) the time they spend in each place allows them to find unique beauty in each location they visit.
“We want to comprehensively learn about the places we visit. Becoming familiar with a city’s rhythm and culture takes some time. We thought 3 months ought to do it. About 91 days.”
Here are some photos of their recent trip in Idaho. You can follow Mike and Jürgen on their blog, for91days.com, on Facebook or Twitter.
Now, who wants to go on a vacation? We sure do.
idaho shakespeare festival volunteer night
Foerstel is delighted to partner once again with the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, now in its 36th season. Each year, this nationally recognized festival brings our community together to entertain through theatre.
In addition to our ongoing marketing and design work for the Festival, we signed up to be volunteers for the evening at a performance of The Imaginary Invalid. We arrived a few hours before curtain time and they put us to work cleaning every seat and tabletop in the amphitheater, after which we gathered for orientation. The House Manager explained how things would unfold before breaking us into groups and assigning jobs such as tearing tickets at the door, ushering guests to their seats, and even acting as “bouncers” in case anyone tried to sneak in!
Once we toured the facility, it was time to put our volunteer skills to the test as theatre fans of all ages began filling the entrance with eager smiles and some of the most delicious snacks we’ve ever seen! When the show began we were relieved of our duties until intermission. The next hour and a half was spent relaxing on the grass, eating snacks and enjoying The Imaginary Invalid (which was fantastic). As soon as the lights went back up and intermission began, we were in the crowd helping attendees dispose of trash, bottles and other recyclables that had accumulated during the first act of the play.
The second act started and proved to be just as whimsical and fun as the first. Following a standing ovation, the audience began filing out while the Foerstel crew shifted into cleanup mode. After making multiple runs to the recycling bins and dumpster, gathering rental chairs and returning a purse to the lost and found, we found ourselves at the end of our time as volunteers.
Our evening at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival was nothing short of amazing. The festival is an extraordinary production and we feel very fortunate to be a part of it. Everyone at the Idaho Shakespeare Festival is fantastic at what they do and deserve more praise than we could ever give them. The staff and patrons were all very gracious and appreciative of the help we provided.
So what are you waiting for? Call the Idaho Shakespeare Festival and sign up to volunteer. We highly recommend it!
peanuts are good for you and so is art
Each week, a new issue of the Boise Weekly hits the streets and with it, a new piece of local art is featured on the cover. The image below is from the May 23 issue and features a piece created by Brienne Oliver, wife of our very own Jeremy Oliver.
Brienne’s beautiful reduction linocut and screenprint piece is titled ‘Goober Peas’ and will no doubt be enjoyed by everyone that picks up a copy of the BW’s latest issue.
Congratulations Brienne!
