About EVR1™
The EVR1 Logo
This symbol is the result of a long discussion and research into symbol and myth, to find the one image that would express what EVR1 stands for:
- The colons flanking the center circle represent causality and flow.
- To the left of the left colon is the PAST.
- To the right of the right colon is the FUTURE.
- In the center is a circle - the PRESENT.
As such, EVR1 connects you to this past, to a purposeful future and deepens the present. This logo is intended to be a tactile experience, designed to be touched often, to connect you with this moment, to live deeply and mystically within it. Indeed, the present is the only thing we have. Both the past and future cannot really be said to exist, except as guides for which to conduct ourselves in the present. We each will take what previous generations have done, build upon it (or not), savor it (or not), die, and leave behind a memory and/or contribution.
Induce wonder and purpose.
The EVR1 Vision
To
connect modern man with the long, global human story. We achieve
market leadership in sustainable goods that connect humankind to the web
of life, while inspiring wonder & purpose in our employees &
customers.
EVR1 Values
Wholeness.
We believe in the uniqueness and wholeness of each human and welcome
and respect him and her as part of the whole of existence, as part of
the human story and part of the deep interconnected web of life. We
welcome every being’s gift to and sacrifice for the balance of the
Universe. We believe in growth & profit inasmuch as it occurs
within the sustainable confines of the whole Planet Earth. We
are integrity - our thoughts, words and actions are continually checked
against an ever expanding understanding of existence, an understanding
we build every day through being present with each other, diving deep
into humanity's accumulated wisdom, listening and the act of wonder. We
like to space out. We like art. We like nature, systems, and human
excellence of every sort. All of these inform our march towards
wholeness.
Purpose. Life is short and to spend it without purpose is silly, and an insult to our vast gifts and desires. We are committed to every human discovering and manifesting his and her purpose, wherein the word “retirement” has no meaning and each day is lived fully, joyously and gratefully. Each team member is hired for and supported in the discovery of purpose.
Kai zen. We believe in a
deliberate cycle of continuous improvement, not only for our business
operations, but also for life’s inputs, processes and outputs. We seek a
world of efficiency and strive for harmony between deep living, nature,
and being. We dedicate 20% of our time to asking “why?” Why does this
work this way? Why do we use this material? Why is this person happy
and not this person?
The EVR1 Brand
EVR1 draws it strength from “ever”, pointing to the infinite nature
of the cosmos and the continuum of ever expanding human potential; as
well as from “1” signifying the bind between humans and man’s role as
steward of existence, in all its diversity and mystery. The concept “1”
is evidenced in science by quantum entanglement, and in all wisdom
traditions, from the Holy Spirit in Christianity to Brahman in
Hinduism. All the products that bear the EVR1 brand are handmade in the
USA by skilled artisans who are paid and treated well, using best
practices designed to create prosperity for all stakeholders.
Who is EVR1?
Brandon Peele, Co-founder
In 2007, Brandon began toying with library science and information theory, to develop an intuitive learning and discovery experience throughout humanity's most trusted sources. He continues to immerse himself in the theory and design of learning and human excellence.
In February of 2012, during a rough deep tissue massage at the Imperial Spa in San Francisco's Fillmore District, Brandon had a vision. Somewhere in the spaces held together by his vertebrae, an image was produced, a product that was equal parts spiritual totem and rugged utility. He secured the EVR1 URL that night, and began designing products. The EVR1 product suite is the evolution of this vision, further visions, collaboration with Dane, and insight from friends, family and customers.
In April of 2012, Dane joined Brandon on this journey to create a company around EVR1. Together they push for more than great products and right livelihood, but an outlet for all aspects of self - spiritual, entrepreneurial, creative, physical and psychological. EVR1 allows them the opportunity to create goods that are so deeply meaningful and so damned rugged they will be used everyday. There's much more to this story in Brandon's Manifesto.
Brandon is a seeker, traveler, human potential junkie, spiritual economist, meditator, yoga practitioner, romantic, karaoke deity, liberal arts fanatic, Burner, hiker, MKP Warrior, NPR crier, evangelist and cosmonaut in training. As a self-confessed Asiaphile he adores Hindu philosophy, Japanese design and Chinese transgenerational equity.
As an American, he admires East Coast wit, Midwestern pragmatism, Southern gentility, West Coast innovation and the rich and budding American culture, from its native mythology (Hopi, Lakoda), to its inaugural philosophers (Franklin & Jefferson) to its transcendentalists (Emerson, Whitman, Hawthorne, Thoreau & Melville) to blues to beer in baseball bleachers to bluegrass to bbq. Brandon enjoys watching this bold and ineffable tradition continue in the art of Tom Robbins, Christopher Nolan and the Wachowski Brothers and logic of Jared Diamond, Ken Wilber and David Eagleman.
Prior to EVR1, he worked with small companies in strategy and business development. He is also the creator of the Continuum Development Index, a multi-generational approach to quantifying human progress, and a teacher of Entrepreneurship and Global Business Management at UC Berkeley. He weaves all of his interests and hopes together into the fabric of EVR1.
EVR1 Canon Board of Academic Advisers
Psychology - Whit Missildine PhD. Whit received his PhD in Social-Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center of the City University of the New York. As a Senior Researcher for Workplace Technologies Research, Inc., Whit’s current work focuses on behavior change in organizations, workplace cognition, and simulation-based training. During his tenure at WTRI, he has published several papers in activity theory and organization science exploring the nature of change in organizations and the impact of immersive learning and training for expert learners. Prior to WTRI, Whit published several papers in connection with his research examining the cultural and behavioral underpinnings of drug use and unsafe sex practices among HIV positive men in New York City.
Physics & Social Intelligence - Joshua Spodek PhD. Joshua received his PhD in Astrophysics and MBA from Columbia University. After helping assemble an x-ray observational satellite launched by the European Space Agency and researching supernova remnants, Joshua became an entrepreneur with several patents and start-ups doing business around the world. He works with Columbia Business School’s Program on Social Intelligence and has led leadership seminars at the New York Academy of Sciences and the business schools of NYU and Columbia. He also creates art, has taught at Parsons School of Design and NYU-Tisch School of Art, has occasional gallery showings, and installs large public art. He has been quoted and profiled in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, USA Today, Fortune, CNN, and the major broadcast networks. Esquire Magazine named him “Best and Brightest” in its annual Genius issue.
Medicine - Sonya KIM M.D. Sonya moved from her native Korea to New York at age 13. She attended Oberlin College (Biochemistry) and Oberlin Conservatory (Opera) in Ohio, SUNY Stony Brook School of Medicine in New York and trained at the MCP Hahnemann University Medical Center in Pennsylvania in Emergency Medicine where she served as a Chief Resident. She also completed her dual MBA from Columbia Business School in New York and UC Berkeley Haas School of Business in California. As a former partner with California Emergency Physicians(CEP) America, she has been working at an urgent care center in Marin since 2003. She is currently CEO of Redzu.com.
Literature, Gender & Sexuality - Jody Greene PhD. Jodi is an Associate Professor of Literature, University of California, Santa Cruz and an accomplished Vinyasa Yoga and meditation teacher.
Religion - Judith Binks. Judi was the Former Head of Religious Education at Queen Elizabeth's Community College, Crediton, U.K. She is Vice Chair of C.I.S.C.O., an organization that works to improve the conditions of migrant workers through the U.K.
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How sustainable is EVR1?
Unlike 99% of the US consumer economy, which ends up in a landfill within six months (storyofstuff.org), and like jeans and shoes, EVR1's products are durable goods, and are thus designed to stay in use in perpetuity. Each of the materials we work with last decades if properly cared for. Many of our suppliers, such as Kingston, are sustainability leaders. Further, EVR1 consistently seeks to improve its own business processes, to make them sustainable and carbon neutral, such as through the buying of local renewable energy, carbon offsets and locally and sustainably made supplies. EVR1 is proud to be a carbon neutral business with CarbonFund.org.
At EVR1 we view sustainability in the context of the 200k year human story. As such we focus our efforts on involution (simplicity, efficiency) and evolution (innovation, excellence). We believe everything has its place, a belief buttressed by the natural law implicit in the study of closed systems and evident in every wisdom tradition. As stewards of our tiny corner of existence, it is our task to help everything find its place. We create a society that conserves precious resources wherever possible, to develop efficient sustainable systems for basic life processes, so that we may spend our precious resources on magnificent endeavors such as:
- Durable goods: long-lasting EVR1 products, bicycles, accessories, electronics, clothing and furniture
- Infrastructure: public transportation, distributed and renewable energy, distributed agriculture, walking and biking paths, internet backbone
- Elevation: education, entrepreneurship, healthcare, digital divide/accessibility
- Innovation/exploration: NASA, research (especially that of the mind, space, systems and oceans)
- Culture: immersive travel, public art, museums, festivals (e.g. music, crafts, Burning Man)
- Transformation: retreats, programs, personal practices
Community
EVR1 invites everyone into the human story; it stands for the long view. As such, EVR1 enjoys giving 5% of its profits to other organizations that support the long view:
