From time to time, I’ll read an email or tweet from a S’well customer that just wants to say, “Hey, really love this bottle.” Or, “Thanks, my S’well is great.” Or even, “Can’t wait to tell everyone about S’well. Mine is awesome.”

And then, from out of the blue, the extraordinary appears in the inbox. This one I had to share. Just another S’well pal, who loves his bottle. Tells us his friends and crew are a bit envious of it. And even shared an Adventure picture with us...from his movie location [SFX: falling out of my chair] in the desert region of Southern Australia.

Somebody pick me up. I’m a bit starstruck at the sight of this picture of Guy Pearce on location with his S’well. I’m always delighted at the kind comments I receive, validating the work the S’well team is doing to spread the S’well word; because in the same breath, it’s a message to eliminate single use plastic bottles and bring awareness to the world water crisis.

Now I have to go look up the Guy Pearce fan mail address to send him some fan mail…

Caption:

Photo submitted by Guy Pearce, taking a break from The Rover filming. On location in Southern Australia with Jack (Camera assistant), Dave (Director), Guy Pearce,(Grotty looking actor -note, his words, not ours!) , David (Focus puller), Pete (Camera operator)

Hello S'well pals, well, my New Year's resolution of writing blog posts more often is clearly not going well so far! I do have a good excuse; it has been nice and busy over here at S'well so far in 2013. We are in the midst of tradeshow season and we are also preparing to launch some exciting new lines. Stay tuned!

I wanted to take some time to let you know about an amazing organization, Cycle for Survival, that S'well is so happy to help support. I encourage you to watch the video below about the special founder of this impactful organization, Jennifer Goodman Linn, who sadly passed away but her legacy lives on.

What is Cycle for Survival?

Cycle for Survival is a high-energy indoor team cycling event that provides a tangible way to help beat rare cancers.100% of funds raised by this organization go directly to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and are allocated within six months of each event. The donations raised from the event help fund the most promising research and clinical trials, and have led to better treatments for cancer patients worldwide. Jennifer Goodman Linn and her husband, Dave, founded Cycle for Survival in 2007. It started as one spin class in 2007, and now has grown to 10 cities with 13,000 participants with over $26M raised for cancer research to date that has funded 53 clinical trials. This year alone the organization has raised over $8M with events in Miami, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, New Jersey, Long Island, and D.C., and there are still events in NYC, L.A. and Connecticut events still coming up!

Why raising this money is important:

More than half of people diagnosed with cancer have a rare form of the disease. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a “rare cancer” is one with a prevalence of fewer than 200,000 affected individuals in the United States. Many rare cancers are drastically underfunded, leaving patients with limited treatment options. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), the nation's preeminent center for research and treatment, is committed to changing that. Rare cancers include brain, pancreatic, cervical, sarcoma, stomach, pediatric cancersand many others. Each year MSKCC treats more than 400 subtypes of cancer.

Our "ask" and Call to Action:

S'well is helping to sponsor a team of 24 riders from Orange County, CA, who will be participating in the Los Angeles event on March 2. Their goal is to raise $30K as a team by March 2. We would love for you to learn more about this team and consider donating here: mskcc.convio.net/goto/ocspin

Kathleen and Guyan Randall, the team captains, are S'well pals and we are cheering them and their team on to victory. Here's to a day in the future where cancer is better understood and is eventually eliminated. Until then, how wonderful that organizations like this exist to support such an important cause. Thanks for helping to support this team and sharing this story! Even better — an anonymous benefactor is matching every dollar donated this week, so we can really make an impact this week by doubling up all donations.

Hello S’well pals, it’s Sarah, S’wells founder reporting in from the amazing Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. Being here for the design show has been like waking up as a kid on Christmas morning, and being in Disney world simultaneously. It’s that good. I have made wonderful new connections for S’well, found new design inspirations and sourced rare finds for our new S’well pop-up shop in Palm Beach, Florida this winter (more to come on that soon!).

In the meantime, I wanted to share a few pictures from one of my fav designers, Nacho Carbonell. (Maybe there is something about the name Nacho that grants such appeal, as some of you may know of my little crush on the talented polo player of the same first name!)

Anyhow, this Nacho is a Spanish born artist with his main studio in the Netherlands and is certainly someone we will see on the international art and design scene for decades to come. His organic forms are whimsical and full of texture and natural elements. I love the most the benches with the hidden cubbies, the modular desks, and pretty much everything with ladders leading every which way. I first learned of this artist at Rossana Orlandi’s magical gallery in Milan and was lucky enough to visit Nacho’s working studio in the Netherlands this week.

I will leave you with a few pictures. For more about Nacho Carbonell and his work, www.NachoCarbonell.com

Ciao for now, more to come on the #DDW soon, Sarah

I wanted to take the time to share with you all some crazy facts that I have been learning about the clean water crisis around the world.

In many parts of the world, the lack of clean water is a devastating problem. 1.2 billion people globally lack safe water to consume and 2.6 billion people do not have access to adequate sanitation. Most women and children have to walk 3 – 6 miles every day just to get water, so they miss out on pursuing an education, maintaining their households and the opportunity to earn additional income. About 4,000 children die every day, one every 8 seconds, because of the effects of unclean water. That means that at least 2 million people, mostly children, die every year from water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, hepatitis and malaria. In most cases, these diseases would be preventable by having access to clean drinking water and proper sanitation. Over half of the hospital beds in the developing world are occupied by people suffering from preventable diseases caused by unclean water and inadequate sanitation. Dirty water poses a greater threat to human life than war or terrorism.

Bet you didn’t know this one:

Just one toilet flush in the West uses more water than most Africans have to perform an entire day’s drinking, cooking, washing and cleaning.

And finally:

Meeting the UN goal of reducing by half the percentage of people without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 would cost about $4 billion a year for 10 years. That amount represents just one month’s spending on bottled mineral water in Europe and the US.

We want to take the time to thank each and every one of you who has bought a S’well bottle for your contribution to start ending this global clean water crisis.

We think people who treasure water are just S’well. So when we heard Lucien Cousteau — ocean environmentalist and grandson of celebrated ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau — speak at a recent conference here in NYC about how social media can help save our oceans, we were in awe.

When Mr. Cousteau saw us swilling from our S’well and said, “Oh, those bottles are all over my office,” well, we were in love.

Cousteau heads a nonprofit called Plant a Fish <http://www.plantafish.org> that supports local communities as they work to protect their marine environment. A project in New York City is repopulating the Hudson River’s oyster population.

A project in Florida is revitalizing Mangroves to protect the shoreline from storms and erosion. Another project in the Maldives and Florida Keys is working hard to save our coral reefs, the tropical forests of the sea.

Tweet that! By Cara Lipshe, Water Lover and S’well Empire Builder

Here at S’well, we just don’t want the holidays to be over! So, here’s a little recipe to keep you toasty and warm all winter long… while letting the spirit of the holidays fill your senses (and your S’well!). This recipe for Gla’Cløgg (which means Happy Glogg of course), is a hot spiced wine & liquor drink. Fill your house with the scent and your S’well bottle with the taste. Simply substitute apple cider to serve a designated-driver version of the same. And make this the authentic way--don’t bother with measurements. Two pinches of cardamon seeds Handful slivered almonds 1 or 2 cinnamon sticks (sticks, not the ground stuff please) 6 figs (no, not prunes, figs. try the produce section, near other weird fruit) crystalized ginger slices (just a little) orange peel (sure, peel an orange or clementine and throw it in!) two handfuls raisins or craisins 1 bottle burgundy wine equal parts orange juice & pineapple juice brandy (pour out and say “glugg, glugg, glugg” and you’re done) 1 bottle port wine sweet vermouth (more “glugg, glugg, glugg”) Best to start this the day before you plan to serve. Crush cardamom seeds in a large pot. Combine with rest of nuts and fruit. Pour enough wine over the fruit to cover it by about an inch. Bring this to a rolling boil. Cover and cool. Let stand for a few hours. Actually a day. Make that two days. Return pot to the stovetop about 2 hours before serving. Add the fruit juices, brandy, remainder of burgundy wine (oh, we forgot to tell you, don’t drink the rest of the bottle!), port, and sweet vermouth. Heat on low, DO NOT BOIL, and it will be nicely warmed when guests arrive. Enjoy!

Happy Friday S’well pals and loyal blog readers! I thought you’d like to know a bit about what team S’well has been up to this summer and why I haven’t been posting to the blog often. It has been a very busy summer of attending Gift Shows. The Gift Shows are basically one large store for retailers to shop for their stores. Before this past summer, I didn’t know anything about this world. However, after having S’well bottles in shows all over the US, I am convinced that the next great reality show will be about the shenanigans that go on at these shows and the crazy products that are sold… if you can imagine it, I saw it in a booth at a show this summer!

Meeting the retailers was super fun and rewarding. I am happy to report that S’well bottles can now be found in cool stores from coast to coast- we are in well over 100 stores now and we still have lots of new orders left to ship. It was also great to meet in person many of our happy S’well fans, S’well bottles in hand, and to hear their stories of where they take their S’well bottles and why they agree that they are the best insulated stainless bottles on the planet. I couldn’t agree more, of course!

Gift Show season was mostly hard work but there were some fun times had along the way. Some highlights: Spending time in Atlanta with good pal Ashley and enjoying gourmet food truck night. At the Los Angeles show I learned many new magic tricks, but failed miserably at trying to make balloon animals. I also attended a vendor party where a vacuum cleaner salesman wound up in the swimming pool. Really. While in San Francisco, I met with the curator of the Perils of Plastics exhibit at the Aquarium By the Bay (blog posting on this forthcoming) and had an amazing meal with dear friends Julie and Chris. The New York show was thankfully closer to home, and I enjoyed meeting potential new partners from around the world through an amazing program, Aid for Artisans.

It was also nice to spend time with our S’well sales reps and to meet the other companies exhibiting products. Many new friends were made, and as an added bonus I now have all my ideas for holiday shopping planned out!  Okay, back to processing orders and shipping product over here. Have a S’well weekend, and wishing everyone in the path of hurricane Irene a very safe weekend too.

When I first came to New York City, I expected to see tall buildings when looking up but I didn’t expect to see so many water towers sitting on top of almost every building. This caused me to wonder- why does NYC have so many water towers ?  And, how do they work? 

The Water S’wells

Little did I know that the story of NYC water towers that dot our skyline starts way back in the 1800’s, as the NYC population dramatically increased and housing/apartment buildings started to grow higher.  To prevent excessively high water pressure (which could burst pipes) when trying to reach these higher floors , the city then (and now) required buildings higher than six stories to be equipped with a rooftop water tower.   The original water tower builders were barrel makers who expanded their craft to meet these new building requirements.  As then, no sealant is used with these wooden structures to hold the water in.  Wooden walls, which are not painted or chemically treated so as not to taint the water flavor, are held together with cables.  At first, the walls leak until water saturates the wood that swells to close the gaps which then become impermeable. 

To learn more about the history behind these towers and to know how they work, this 2009 article by Sean Joseph from AM New York provides an engaging overview of these skyline icons and relics of the past (and our present).  http://www.amny.com/urbanite-1.812039/water-towers-nyc-s-misunderstood-icons-1.1143133

Water Towers and the NYC Skyline

Skyline icons and relics of the past they are.  Andy Rosenwach  of Rosenwach Tank Co. (one of two family businesses in operation since the late-1800s that continue to build water towers in NYC) has said "Paris has the Eiffel Tower, Pisa has the Leaning Tower and New York has the water tower."   So next time you’re out and about in NYC, look up to see the variety of water tanks that adorn NYC rooftops.  There are wood tanks and steel tanks, large tanks and small tanks, round tanks and square tanks.  Some are in plain sight and some have been enclosed in ornate or decorative structures.   How many different tanks can you count?

Finally, here at S’well, we think water crisis has a third meaning, evoking the waste in our planet’s beautiful waterways. It is a crisis to have all this plastic mess in our oceans and waterways. This stunning photo is 2 million plastic bottles, or the number of plastic bottles discarded every five minutes in the US alone! Yuck. As a Floridian and ocean lover, this mess simply breaks my heart.

So, this World Water Day, I encourage you to give thanks for the clean fresh water we have access to. I encourage you to learn more about the global water crisis and what you can do to help others to have access to this basic human right. And, let’s all try to make simple everyday adjustments to help conserve this precious resource, in every way we can.

Our world is mostly made of water. Over 3/4 of the earth is covered in water but 97% of this amount is salt water, and of the 3% freshwater, only a tiny fraction is available for drinking (most of this is stored in the atmosphere and in aquifers, not as ground water). Water is a basic human necessity, yet 884 million people, or 1/8 of the world’s population, do not have access to safe water. March 22nd is World Water Day, and to celebrate this, I have dedicated this posting, and the ones to come tomorrow and the next day, on what the water crisis means to me.

The term water crisis can mean many things. First, it describes those without water, and there is a long way to go to provide clean water to so many in need. This need affects women and children primarily, who do the bulk of the work to fetch and carry water (often unclean and unhealthy water at that) back to their homes. Every 20 seconds (yes, 20 seconds) a child dies from a water-related disease and shockingly- diarrhea kills more children every year than AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Households (generally women) in rural Africa spend 26% of their time fetching water and 443 million school days are lost each year due to water related diseases! I am an efficiency seeker, and can’t imagine the waste of this time and energy that should spent being engaged in fulfilling vocations, attending school, having fun and enjoying life instead of all this water gathering! Organizations such as WaterAid, our partner, and other aid organizations have been working to address this critical issue. To learn how you can make an impact and bring attention to these issues by donating, volunteering or even simply signing up to link your social media accounts on World Water Day can help to bring attention to these issues, visit http://oneweekforwater.org/.

Are you getting your 8-10 glasses each day?

Be Healthy- Drinking more water is good for you. But, really, you already know that. Your body is mostly made of water, you are healthier, have more energy, are smarter, and look better when you drink more of it.

If you remember back to your grade school science classes, our bodies are made up of cells, and these cells are primarily made of water. If you are dehydrated, your cells cannot function properly and you start to feel lethargic and tired. Making matters worse, many of us will then reach for a caffeinated beverage for a pick me up, which only dehydrates our bodies and causes more fatigue. Drinking water instead helps reinvigorate us by helping to move essential nutrients around the body, while helping our kidneys filter out toxins.

The most sensitive area of our bodies to becoming dehydrated is our brains. Remember those firing neuron cells in the brain don't multiply like other cells in our bodies and cannot regenerate once damaged. So when we become dehydrated, our brain function slows down and we can’t process information as efficiently.

Water also plays a key role in keeping our bodies at a healthy weight, as it is an important part of how our metabolisms breakdown proteins and carbohydrates. This is why almost all diet plans recommend drinking a healthy 8-10 glasses of water each day to help to burn fat and assist in losing weight.

Drinking more water also makes your skin healthier, as your skin is the organism through which water if first lost through sweating… and of course it the part of you that allows you to put your best face forward! To have healthier skin, drinking plenty of water is vitally important. When skin is dehydrated, the rate of repair decreases, causing dreaded wrinkles.

Finally, drinking enough water also helps us be happier by directly preventing depression by ensuring our bodies adequately replenish the neurotransmitter serotonin and it helps ensure a good night sleep by producing the sleep regulator melatonin.

So, go enjoy a glass of tap water to your good health! Tap water is healthy and in many cases much healthier than bottled water.A few easy ways to get more water into your day:

1.       Start each morning with a refreshing glass of water, before doing anything else. It will jumpstart your day and energize you even before having a healthy breakfast.

2.       Try making water more exciting, squeeze lemon, lime or orange slices into a pitcher in the ‘fridge- and try to finish drinking the whole pitcher each day.

3.       Tie drinking water to daily activities, such as every time you jump in the car or head to the subway for your commute, or each time you take the dog for a walk, grab your waterbottle as part of the routine.

4.       Be sure you have a few reusable stainless steel water bottles that you really love… of course, our favorite is the S’well bottle because it keeps water cold forever. Keep one at home, one at work, one in your gym bag!

5.       Take a break at 3pm everyday, walk away from your computer, roll your shoulders, relax and have a large glass of water. You will gain so much energy, avoid that mid-afternoon slump and also have a fresh perspective when you return to your tasks.

6.       Sip some water while you prepare dinner, it takes the edge off hunger which is often exacerbated by thirst. Oftentimes you think you are hungry when really you are just thirsty!

7.       Finally, take a moment before heading to bed to have a glass of room temperature water. This will help you begin to relax and will help your digestion while you sleep.

Cheers!

S'well bottle enjoyed reading this story by Christopher Gray in the NYTimes. 200 years ago in New York City, clean water was celebrated and the water supply system was a visible part of life- as evidenced in this photo of the distributing reservoir right on Fifth Avenue at 42nd street, where Bryant Park stands today. Back in that era "you might see some of the best society in New York on top of the Distributing Reservoir", where today many (most?) city dwellers don't have a clue where their water comes from. A striking fact, back in 1842, New Yorkers used 24 gallons of water per person per day. Any guess how much water the average NYC resident uses today? 130 gallons, and rising. An interesting tidbit to keep in mind as we try to reduce our water use this year.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/realestate/23scapes.html

Welcome to the new S’well Bottle website. After a busy year of product design, development and production, we are excited to launch this innovative new product and bring S’well bottles to the world. Thanks for your interest. We hope you enjoy using your S’well bottle. Why not join us on Facebook by hitting the Like button below?

Our vision is simple. We envision a world uncluttered by plastic bottles needlessly wasted, tossed away and polluting our planet. We envision a world where every human being has access to fresh drinking water. We envision a world where S’well bottles are synonymous with style and function, where those proudly carrying a S’well bottle are not only well hydrated, but also are rightly perceived as having a high level of social and environmental consciousness... not to mention great taste.