Humboldt Made

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the red carpet premier of Love Humboldt and Humboldt Made short films at the Arcata Theatre Lounge. I didn't know much about the short films before going, only that my brother-in-law Clint Victorine had a segment about his business Eel River Organic Beef being shown. After attending and finding out the purpose behind this project, I knew this would be a perfect first entry for this blog project which is focused on community globally. That is exactly what the creators of this project had in mind, to produce a series of short films that showcase Humboldt County's beauty and market its unique locally made products which can be viewed across the world via the internet. This premier presented 16 short films directed by Maria Matteoli, featuring Humboldt County and some of it's locally produced products in a visually captivating manor. Ten of the films were 30 second segments about local entrepreneurs and their products. The ten featured  Humboldt Made businesses were, Lost Coast Brewery, Cypress Grove, Loleta Cheese Factory, Sun Valley Floral Farms, Eel River Organic Beef, Riverbend Cellars, Moonstone Crossing, Humboldt Grassfed Beef, Winnett Vineyards and the North Coast Small Development Center. The goal of this collaboration was to market Humboldt County as a brand by focusing on the natural beauty and quality of life that Humboldt County has to offer and the unique products made and distributed in Humboldt, to a larger consumer base. They plan to utilize YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to advertise Humboldt Made products in an attempt to attract people to Humboldt's way of life and the specialty products made here. You can view the short films on http://www.humboldtmade.com/ as they become available. The 16 segments will be released once a week for 16 weeks. You can also view the released segments on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoDvwzGbjGg and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TYxQvDxlGU.  The first featured segments are five minute vignettes that artistically incorporate Humboldt County's scenery with locally produced products. The vignettes have no dialog and are complimented by a locally produced soundtrack that can be purchased at iTunes.
The spirit of community was alive and well at this premier. The event was free to the community and offered a wide array of foods created with local products by local caterers. The event was packed and seating was hard to find. Not knowing what to expect I was pleasantly surprised by all the stories and success of our local businesses. Most of all I was proud of the work my brother-in-law has done to grow and develop his business. He is a self made business owner who was born and raised in Humboldt County. He grew up in Hydesville and was drawn to agriculture at an early age. He received his degree in ag business with an emphasis in ranch management. He started raising beef and became very interested in the organic market. He worked very hard to get his operation certified organic, which is not an easy process. He is the owner of Eel River Organic Beef and is now featured in a large health and specialty store called Whole Foods which has stores in southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii. He has successfully taken his local product and marketed to a larger customer base. He has done this by taking advantage of the internet by starting a website to sell his product, http://www.eelriverorganicbeef.com/. You can view his segment featured in Humboldt Made and currently being shown in the meat departments of Whole Foods, at . To everyone involved in this project, well done! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VlJdW-XHlk