a sneak peek at Meligrosa's limited edition poster

Our designer Meligrosa is a little bit of a filmmaker herself! Check out the short short she made on Vine - a little stop motion animation of her creation!



Finishing touches tonight! I am very excited!

Caroline Merrill Rides Like The Spinster

Remember this?

 

Presto! Our grand prize supporter, Caroline Merrill has turned her pledge into a new Civia Twin City bike!

 

The guys at Huckleberry customized it a bit for her needs.

 

And Caroline had to don her new Nooworks kitty sweatshirt for her inaugural ride on her new bike, the same ridden by Karla in The Spinster, only in a different color.

 

And away she goes! Caroline admitted to not having ridden a bike since the 1970s and now spins around her SF neighborhood in style.

 

We want to thank all of our supporters again as we head into EDITING, starting NEXT WEEK! It's a very exciting time in Spinsterlandia! We're still on schedule, and have a very talented post-production team helping us out, thanks to all of YOU.

Party like The Spinster - It ain't over til it's over!

Dear Spinster Supporters,

Together, we did it! We've met our minimum goal, but our campaign is not over yet, so let's make the MOST of the next few days.

We are aiming to meet our second goal - DVD production before the holidays. Let's keep on riding towards success and hit the $10,000 mark before Sunday morning.



Please come one and all and celebrate with us at our Kickstarter Wrap Party on Friday 3/29 at Nooworks!

395 Valencia St/15th, SF

7 - 10 pm
Come see exclusive clips from the film (the famous BAR SCENE)
Meet cast & crew
Music by DJ Precious Cargo
Photography by Jillian Betterly
Food by MamakSF
Drinks from Lagunitas Brewing Co, Cerruti Cellars and Numi Tea
Silent Auction includes Nooworks, Po Campo, Hotel Carlton, Animal House SF and more!

https://www.facebook.com/events/119897938197703/

Check out this little teaser for you all:



Try on some clothes, eat, drink and be merry and support independent, local, bicycle film! Invite friends and keep sharing The Spinster!

See you there! Ding Ding!

Kristin

Minimum goal met - thanks to YOU, our supporters!

THANK YOU to ALL OF YOU for supporting The Spinster from day 1 to now! Here are a few words from some of our supporters!











We have two events this week that will help us ride on to meet our 2nd goal - DVD production by the holidays! And your chance to see more exclusive clips from the film.

The Spinster Movie Preview at PUBLIC Bikes in Oakland on Tuesday 3/26 (tonight)!

The Spinster Kickstarter Wrap Party at Nooworks in SF on Friday 3/29!

Come celebrate like a Spinster! See you there!

Together We're The Spinster

Together We're The Spinster from Kristin Tieche on Vimeo.

Dear Supporters of The Spinster,

As of this writing, today we are 75% funded with 5 days left in our campaign. But this past Friday, I was starting to get more than a little nervous about whether or not we would meet our goal. So I set out with co-producer judy b. to film a little video update. On our way to our shooting location, a few auspicious things happened.

1) I ran into one of our first backers, Hiawatha Bradley, in Alamo Square

2) When we reached our location, one of our community supporters, Wine Tasting on the Bay, sailed by in The Neptune

3) judy b.'s neighbor jogged through one of our scenes

I got re-inspired by the support of this community, and I knew we were going to make our goal!

When I returned from filming this update, I saw that one of our supporters, Caroline Merrill, had increased her pledge to claim the GRAND PRIZE! And backers like Jay Schneider, Laura Olson Didier and Ramona Wheelright also increased their pledges. Thanks to all of you, we're still in the game!

So thank you again for your belief in The Spinster. I hope you're inspired by this video update. Please SHARE with your friends and family! Only a few days left! Let's do this!

LOVE,

Kristin

a few heartfelt words from actress/co-producer judy b. (a.k.a. Karla)

With only a few days left on the campaign, actress/co-producer judy b. wanted to share some thoughts on why The Spinster is important to her, and why you should get in on the fun!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1698642756/the-spinster-completion-funds

Pledge today and join us!

Take my hand and we'll make it I swear...

We knew it wasn't gonna be easy, so you just gotta hold on! And please pledge, support and share our campaign!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1698642756/the-spinster-completion-funds

THANK YOU AND RIDE ON!

Meet La Phoebe

Name: La Phoebe

Occupation: Bike Mechanic at Huckleberry & Martial Arts Instructor



Raison d'être: Ass-Kicking

Current city/Neighborhood: SF/Alamo Square

Favorite city to ride a bike in in the world: Budapest - especially the Pest side. Along the Danube is cool too.

Type of bike: Surly Cross Check

Describe what you like best about your bike: The flipped mustache bars with bar-end shifters!

Describe your personal style: Practical yet stylish - think prêt-à-porter/work & social combined into one.

Favorite accessory when riding: Brass-knuckles come in handy, as does my cozy Chrome hoodie when it's cold in SF.

Favorite time and/or place to ride: Midnight on a moonless night.

Tell us a funny story that happened to you on your bike: When I was training for the Olympics (Tae Kwon Do) in Korea, I was biking along a bridge and couldn't understand the warning sign. I kept speeding along & before I knew it, I flew off the bridge ( it had collapsed in the middle). Luckily, it wasn't too high & I landed in a deep part of a river below. Unfortunately, it ruined my competition but I survived.

Vélo Vogue tip of the day: Don't be a douche!

Bring La Phoebe to life by pledging The Spinster today!

Meet Karla O'Connor - The Spinster's BFF!

Name: Karla O'Connor

Occupation: Marketing manager for a small fashion company

Raison d'être: Make people look good and feel good, starting with myself

Current city/Neighborhood: SF/Lower Haight

Favorite city to ride a bike in in the world: I love biking in Paris. My best friend Phoebe and I went there a few summers ago and had a blast with the Vélib rentals. So easy and fun. I love Paris for everything. Except I guess vegetarian food.

Helmet or no helmet: Riding around town, I wear a hat with a brim to hold my hair in check and keep the sun out of my eyes.

Type of bike: Civia Twin City

Describe what you like best about your bike: I love the step-through frame: so easy to hop on and off in a skirt. I also love the smooth ride and easy handling. Civia makes solid bikes that look great too.

Describe your personal style: I find that if I wear what I like, people like what I wear.

Favorite accessory when riding: Po Campo purses because they strap right onto the bike - don't have to carry it, don't worry about losing it or someone swiping it.

Favorite time and/or place to ride: I like riding to dinner in the evening, after work, with my husband, Todd.

Tell us a funny story that happened to you on your bike: I met my husband, Todd, online, and our first date was a Critical Mass ride. I was sporting a super cute Nooworks dress with a very flouncy skirt. So flowy in fact that as we were riding along the ridge above Fort Mason a breeze blew it up in my face. Todd still thinks I did it on purpose.

Vélo Vogue tip of the day: Always wear cute unders when biking in a skirt. You never know who might see you -- or what they might see!

Please bring Karla to life by pledging The Spinster today! You could take home the very same Civia Twin City bicycle that she is raving about, plus the satisfaction of supporting an independent bicycle film!

and now... a few words from some of our sponsors

Join Jen Kennedy, Phillip Ross, Elizabeth Cabrera and Jim Martinez and support The Spinster on Kickstarter!

Merci beaucoup!

The Spinster News - Kickstarter status - 2 events - new rewards

Good news! The Spinster Kickstarter campaign was launched only a week and half ago, and as of today, we've met 53% of our minimum goal!



Please continue to share our campaign this month with friends, peers, colleagues and family:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1698642756/the-spinster-completion-funds

We still have a long way to go in just two weeks! With Kickstarter, we have to raise every last dollar of our minimum goal ($8,500) in order to receive any of it. It's all or nothing!

So I have a few announcements to make that will help us get there.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TWO UPCOMING SPINSTER EVENTS:

Fri 3/15, 7 pm
Bicycle Art Salon
1600 E. 31st Street
Oakland, CA 94602
510-356-5665
(RSVP - space limited - https://www.facebook.com/events/126721980842062/)

We'll show some exclusive clips (scenes from the bike shop) from the film and have a Q & A with Kristin, the director of The Spinster.



Fri 3/29 7 pm
The Spinster Kickstarter Wrap Party at Nooworks (see attached invitation)

https://www.facebook.com/events/119897938197703/

Come see exclusive clips from the film (the famous BAR SCENE)
Meet cast & crew
Music by DJ Precious Cargo
Photography by Jillian Betterly
Food by MamakSF
Drinks from Cerruti Cellars and Numi Tea
Silent Auction includes Nooworks, Po Campo, Hotel Carlton, Animal House SF and more!
Sliding scale donations taken at the door for Kickstarter rewards!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

TWO NEW KICKSTARTER REWARD LEVELS:

1) Thanks to The Spinster's major supporter Civia Cycles, we are announcing a new GRAND PRIZE reward level!



Pledge at the $1,000 level (or increase your current pledge to $1,000) and you'll receive the following:

A new Civia Twin City bike (step over or step through options, as seen in The Spinster), 1 limited edition film poster, The Spinster DVD, a VIP invitation to our private screening party, and The Spinster spoke card. PLUS - a PRODUCER credit in the film's credit roll. (For U.S. residents only. Bike shipped within the U.S. separately from other gifts at this reward level.)

2) For a $10 Pledge, you'll receive The Spinster spoke card.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Any pledge at any level helps us get one step closer to meeting our goal! Please let me know if you have any questions about the campaign, any of our events, or the film itself. And again, thank you for being so considerate during our March Kickstarter campaign. I appreciate your support and generosity! I'm truly blessed to have such a supportive community.



THANK YOU AND RIDE ON!!!

Additional Thank Yous!

We have been having a successful campaign so far, so it's time for me to thank all the people who came to The Spinster Kickoff Party and donated their cold, hard cash!

Chris Mondt
Sophy Lee
Eduardo Aguilera
Braxton Colagross
Megan Johnson
Sheila Wang
Josh Hayes
Sacha Ielmorini
Valarie Grossman
David Nelson
Katie Styer
Nio Anderson
Lindsay Ryan
Aimee Inglis
Jenn Chan
Michael Armida
Meligrosa & Ratta
Mary Kay Chin & Kevin Demattia
Mark Altamirano
Taylor Hadfield
Will Poor

Sorry it took me so long to recognize your contribution. You were not overlooked, in fact, I've been looking at your names gratefully every day for almost 2 weeks!

Merci beaucoup from The Spinster!

Director's Statement

I’m writing my director’s statement for my new film on International Women’s Day in the year 2013. President Obama just re-signed into law the Violence Against Women Act. It seems odd to me that in the 21st century we need a law to remind us that violence is wrong. Regardless, I am glad that this law exists in my country. As an American woman, I continue to enjoy legal protections and freedoms that don't exist in other parts of the world.

And yet, my new film, The Spinster – a horror film – is violent. I know the adage – that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. But taking revenge upon men is not the reason I decided to make a horror film about a woman with a dark side.

When I first started telling people about the film, there was some immediate backlash regarding the title. Some women said that, based on the title, they already knew they would hate it. They wondered why a woman director would want to make a film that might portray women in a negative light. When I asked my long-time friend to play Phoebe, the lead character in the film, and then told her the title, she was apprehensive. Why would any woman at our age, especially a single woman, want to be associated with a term that Webster defines as “an unmarried woman past the common age for marrying”?

Why? Because all the unmarried women in my life defy the insinuation that they are somehow lacking. Today, a woman's worth isn’t tethered to her age or to her marital status. You don’t need me to tell you that unmarried women are smart, ambitious, healthy and outgoing. We seek deep meaning in our lives. We refuse to be taken for a ride. We set high goals for ourselves. We won’t settle for less than what we know we deserve. So the old implications no longer hold water. It’s time to give the spinster a fresh new look.

I wish I could say that I decided to make this film as a feminist statement – that as a woman director, I wanted to provide more complex portrayals of women in film, especially in horror films, in which women are usually the victim. But that’s not really the truth. To be honest, I wanted to make The Spinster because I thought it would be a fun film to make, plain and simple.

Since I was a girl, I’ve always liked horror films, and in my 20s I was a huge fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The horror genre has always appealed to me, especially as a filmmaker, because it is intensely dramatic and imaginative. It’s a genre that pushes metaphor to the extreme. Your lover sucks your blood and all the life out of you. The dead burst from their graves and walk again. That shadow behind you could be your maker. Fear of the dark leads to your untimely death.

As humans, we cycle through extreme emotions that take us to dark places. I often let my imagination deal with my dark moods. That I am a woman and a filmmaker is what lead me to write The Spinster. My female perspective inspired a screenplay that flips the horror genre on its head.

In this film, The Spinster is no victim. She is strong. She is athletic. She is capable. She is independent. She is fun and funny. She is fierce. She is at once the protagonist and the antagonist. You love her and you fear her.

She is single, and she rides a bike, hence the title. In this film, being unmarried and riding a bicycle are normal lifestyle choices for smart, urban women, just as they are normal lifestyle choices for real women in real life.

Ultimately, The Spinster is a fantasy, as all horror films are. As the filmmaker, my hope is not to make you fear women or cyclists. My hope, simply, is that you enjoy Phoebe’s wild ride to the dark side.

Oh yeah, and if you’re a dude, you’d better get your butt on a bike.

Thanks for a successful opening day!

Thanks to all of you who supported online on our Kickstarter campaign and to those who attended our Kickoff Party at Huckleberry Bicycles. We've had a successful start. With 27 days left, we are 28% funded already!

We are so appreciative of your support. Now this film belongs to all of our contributors and supporters. Since Kickstarter works by expanding our network, if you can think of a friend or peer who might appreciate its message, please pass along our link:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1698642756/the-spinster-completion-funds

And please like and share our Facebook page, and comment on our page why you decided to support The Spinster.

https://www.facebook.com/thespinstermovie

Getting the word out via Facebook, Twitter or blogging will make a huge difference.

Thanks again, and we will keep you updated on the film's progress.

Ride on!

Kristin, Director of The Spinster

The Spinster is LIVE!

Here it is, everyone... the day we've all been looking forward to! Our Kickstarter campaign is live and tonight is the our big Kickoff Party at Huckleberry Bicycles! Please share this link with all of your friends and please make a donation for one of our fabulous rewards today!

And don't miss watching the video (above) so you can laugh at director Kristin Tieche huffing and puffing all the way to the top of Twin Peaks!

THANK YOU!

The Spinster Trailer

The Spinster Trailer from Kristin Tieche on Vimeo.

Here's a peek at The Spinster's trailer! On Friday, March 1st at The Spinster Kickoff Party at Huckleberry Bicycles, we'll be showing exclusive clips from the film, not seen anywhere else until the film is released end of summer 2013. In addition, you'll also get to munch on yummy goodies from Localist SF and bid on some silent auction prizes from bikey favorites like Chrome, Po Campo, Cycle SF and more! Finally, I'm super-excited about launching our Kickstarter campaign on Friday, so stay tuned for more details about how to contribute to The Spinster!

The Spinster Kickoff Party on March 1st at Huckleberry Bicycles

We're official now! We are holding our first fundraising party on March 1st in San Francisco!



Come to Huckleberry Bicycles on Friday, March 1st to support Kristin Tieche's new film, The Spinster - a psychological thriller that follows a cycle vixen in search of true love into the dark, shadowy depths of romance. It also celebrates the bicycle community, on and behind the camera.

Come see exclusive clips from the film
Meet the cast and crew
Food by The Localist SF
Music by DJ Jonathan Parra
Drinks from Comrades Brewing and Numi Tea
Silent Auction includes Chrome Bags, Cycle SF, Wine Tasting on the Bay and more!
Valet Bike Parking by SFBC

Sliding scale donations taken at the door for Kickstarter rewards!

Please RSVP to our Facebook invite and spread the word in your social media networks!

We also have a Facebook page! Please LIKE us!