In their own words, “Selected by MovieMaker Magazine as one America’s “coolest film festivals,” the Disposable Film Festival was created in 2007 by Eric Slatkin and Carlton Evans to celebrate the creative potential of disposable video: short films made on everyday equipment like cell phones, pocket cameras, and other inexpensive video capture devices.”

Check out the festival trailer to get a taste for what it’s all about.

Team Rickshaw will be attending their premier event this Thursday March 22nd at the HIstoric Castro Theater where we will be debuting one of our coolest custom bags yet, but fear not! After debuting in SF, the festival travels around the world and may be coming soon to a city near you. And in the meantime here’s a super sneak peak of the bags.

How cool is this drive in? Anyway, one thing we’ve learned is there are amazing, fun, simple, stupid and inspiring moments everyday that are easy on film. At Rickshaw we try to capture factory life and share it with you as often as possible, who knows maybe next year we’ll even have an entry. What are you waiting for? Go out, point, and shoot!

Bike-in theater? Count Rickshaw in!

Two new spottings this week:

Lawyer in SF Municipal Courthouse. Spotted March 17th at 12:28pm.

Fan Clayton with his Green Gears Rickshaw bag at 2nd and Mission Streets, San Francisco. Spotted March 15th 9:10am.

Custom Medium Zero Messenger for Green Gears in SF

Spotted at QBar in San Francisco March 22nd 11:22pm.

Hey guys,
Wanted to share a find from last night.
This man was outside of Walgreens, munching on chips and I noticed his sweet ride.
It would have been trashed, but he salvaged it from a dumpster a few months ago.
The bike was originally purchased at Sears.
It’s in great condition.

-Lisa.

Vintage Sears bike rescued from near death!

Sears headplate. We're having bike lust.

Besides visiting my sister and her family, my goal was to visit our newest retailer: Missing Link Toys on N. Mississippi Street.  Can I just say, that all of the neighborhoods in Portland have distinct personalities, just like here in San Francisco, but N. Mississippi Street was my favorite.  Just a quick drive and a short walk we easily found Missing Link Toys and popped in.  Our bags were beautifully displayed in the window and along three shelves on the side of the shop.  We were greeted by a sweet old dog, who allowed my young niece and nephew to pet and play with him.  Susan, the shop owner was so nice and friendly, and was so enthusiastic to have our bags in the store.  She showed such passion for her business of selling toys, games, bags and much more.  She was incredibly knowledgeable about where all the items come from, whether it’s a bag maker in SF, or a screen printer from Portland.

You can tell right away that she cares deeply about small businesses, local goods and her community.  I bought myself a Missing Link T shirt, and a second shirt from a small company called Squidfire who screen print in Baltimore.  I also picked up a PVC-free Neanderthal Eraser made by Kikkerland designs, for my boyfriends office.  Overall I loved the creativity and variety of items at Missing Link Toys.  After saying our goodbyes, we explored the rest of the street and walked away with many more gifts.  I absolutely recommend visiting this neighborhood next time you find yourself in Portland. Of course if you live in Portland, please stop by and say hi to the friendly folks at Missing Link, and tell your friends that they can buy their own Rickshaw Bag there!

As for the Kiss Me Kits, my niece was excited to make Valentines for her mom and dad, so we spent the afternoon sticking hearts and learning to spell Valentines. The chocolate went over very well with mom and dad (and visiting auntie), as did the mints for clearing up stuffy noses.

The goal was to design a custom gift for the Green Team leaders as well as something that will surely be a much sought after item in giveaways at Green Team events and online. The final designs turned out beautifully.

The Green Team works on projects to make eBay’s operations more environmentally friendly, including reducing energy and water consumption; encouraging lower impact commuting; reducing the use of consumable/disposable products; bringing more sustainable food into its cafes; and getting involved with local communities.  It was started by 40 employees, and today, more than 2,300 employees and 300,000 eBay users around the world are eBay Green Team members – promoting green business practices within eBay, volunteering in communities, and supporting environmental legislation.

At eBay, small actions can make a big difference in the world. And that’s what the eBay Green Team is all about: encouraging and empowering individuals to buy, sell and think green every day. We have a similar vision at Rickshaw. We call it Change for Good. Small steps to encourage positive change in your life and the world. This is a part of my personal vision and my New Year’s resolution.  Ultimately, I’d like to know where and how everything I have purchased is created. Along with that, I’d like to support only local businesses.

I’m thrilled that Rickshaw and I are able to be a part of eBay’s sustainability initiatives. Its refereshing to know that a large company like eBay  has committed to change for good.

Lisa Taylor

Owners Ian and Annabelle share the "love"

We were ecstatic when Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous opened their doors less than a year ago. As you can imagine we love the Dogpatch but we love it a little more with ice cream in arms reach of our Rickshaw factory! With old-fashioned style and delicious nouveau flavors, our friends Ian and Anabelle have made quite a splash.

Each batch is hand spun from organic ingredients, and when it’s gone that’s it. So if it jumps out at you, take a pint home. Our personal favorites are “real” mint cookie, bananas foster, chicory coffee and of course ballpark (Anchor Steam beer flavored ice cream with salted peanuts, chocolate and pretzels.) Homemade toppings like Recchiuti fudge, caramel, house made whipped cream and fresh toasted almonds complete an amazing sundae.

Outside of the deliciousness we’re pleased to see our local community grow. On a sunny day we see more and more smiling faces walking by with a hand rolled cone and we’re so excited for all the development happenings in the Dogpatch as we speak. We’ve been lucky to make great friends along the way, and we love supporting small businesses especially these guys who rock our world on  a weekly basis.

I think I see an ice cream bag in our near future! Mr. and Mrs. Miscellaneous 699 22nd St. (at Third St.); open daily, 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m.