We hope you are staying healthy and safe...
The pandemic has created challenges for all of us. Our hearts go out to all those who have faced the worst. At the same time, our spirits are lifted by the creative ways folks have adapted to the changes COVID forced on us. In this first newsletter of 2021, we bring you up-to-date on our activities of the past year and tell you our plans for the coming year, which include broadening our connections with you despite the present isolation.
As of this writing, our media manager, Marc Huberman and his fiancé, Christine have contracted the virus and are recuperating at home. We send Marc and Christine our best wishes for a speedy recovery.
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NEWSLETTER TABLE OF CONTENTS
- ATB streaming worldwide
- Marketing/PR position available
- Engaging our audiences
- The L.H. Baekeland Project YouTube Channel
- ATB at the MAK Museum in Vienna
- Introducing our revised trailer
- A word from Hugh
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We are in the final stages of putting All Things Bakelite: The Age of Plastic on several streaming platforms. These popular services will deliver our film on demand globally, reaching more diverse and larger audiences than ever before. Leo Baekeland’s invention changed the world, and very soon the story of Bakelite goes worldwide, too!
We are fortunate to have a great team of people working to deliver the many components of the film required by the streaming platform aggregator:
Our media manager, Marc Huberman, is coordinating the deliverables going to the aggregator, which will launch them to our chosen streaming services. Among myriad other duties, director, John Maher is supervising foreign language versions, including Chinese, Spanish, French and German. Film editor, Craig Mikhitarian has readied the 59-minute film and a newly revised trailer. Wordsmith, Bud Mikhitarian, wrote copy for PR and for the synopsis that appears on the streaming platforms. And the beautiful ATB posters and graphics you will see on those channels were designed by our web designer Terry Laslo at Wingcat Web Design, and Toby Welles, at WowHouse Productions.
A big heartfelt thanks for everyone’s talent and hard work!
Please stay tuned for news about the actual premiere date of ATB streaming. Our two disc DVD box-set will continue to be available for purchase on our website.
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Marketing/PR position available |
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Our work to get the film out to the world is far from done. That’s why we are actively seeking a marketing/public relations person or firm to help us promote the film globally.
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With global internet streaming venues opening up to us, we can connect with our audiences more than ever before. Inspired by the enthusiasm our live discussions received at screenings and other events, we got a bright idea: Why not record roundtable discussions or create webinars that can be widely distributed across various media platforms, and thus, continue the conversation? So, we are currently developing show ideas with timely, exciting topics and noted guests that will appeal to diverse interests. Some we are considering include:
- Bakelite in New Technologies
- The New Plastics
- The Art of Bakelite
- Plastic Pollution Solutions
- The Plastic Economy
- Bakelite in the Industrial Revolution
Do you, or someone you know, have something to say about any of these subjects, or more? If you are interested in participating in our future programs, please let us know. We’re in the early stages of putting our slate of programs together and we plan to record them later in the year for distribution. Along with this initiative we intend to create a more engaging and interactive blog on our website.
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The L.H. Baekeland Project YouTube Channel |
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One way we have continued to stay connected with our fans and interested audiences is through our YouTube channel, The L.H. Baekeland Project, LLC. There are currently 14 videos up, some just added in the past year. Check it out and if you subscribe, you’ll be notified whenever we post a new one. There is always some aspect of the Bakelite story to experience. Watch an origin story video of a 2009 roundtable discussion with employees of Union Carbide/Dow Chemical in Bound Brook, New Jersey that actually helped us create our film. The original Bakelite Corporation was bought by Union Carbide in 1939. Several in-depth interviews with now deceased former Bakelite Corporation employees are also available.
Speaking of audience engagement, our YouTube Channel recently managed to re-unite a couple of old acquaintances. Bruce Walker, a Baekeland family friend from the 1930s, now living in San Francisco, contacted us after spotting the video we posted on Youtube of Cornelia “Dicki” Bagarotti. Reminiscences of her grandparents, Leo and Céline “Bon Bon" Baekeland, inspired Bruce to reach out to Dicki, writing: “Dear Dicki, What a grand surprise to find you reading about Bon Bon with memories of her in Yonkers and at Camp along with photos of your teen years. I loved seeing Bon Bon's paintings and video of her as a healthy and classic hostess. My mother El was a big fan and friend of dear Tiss (Dicki’s mother, Cornelia “Tiss” Baekeland). I sent you a birthday card on your 100th birthday. I hope you received it. Love, Bruce Walker (age 88) .”
We love the way our new technologies create such serendipity, especially in connecting people.
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Cornelia "Dicki" Bagoratti remembers her grandparents |
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ATB at the MAK Museum in Vienna |
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In August, Reindert Groot, owner of the Amsterdam Bakelite Collection, notified Hugh about a Bakelite exhibition at the MAK Museum in Vienna, Austria. Thinking our film might be included, Hugh emailed the PR department and the director of the MAK Design Shop. He also emailed Professor Katarina Posch formerly of the Dept. of History of Design at Pratt Institute, who appears in the film and is now living in Vienna. Hugh’s idea was to promote the museum’s exhibition along with the film, with a tie-in to Prof. Posch. Turns out the film wasn’t part of the exhibition schedule, so further promotional opportunities didn’t materialize. But, the manager of the Design Shop at the MAK, Mario Piskor, purchased DVDs from us and graciously made them available for sale to the public during the exhibition, which ran to mid December 2020. Katarina Posch continued to offer her support, visited the exhibition and reported back to us on its success.
We thank Mario Piskor, manager at the Design Shop for his kind assistance.
We always like to hear news of upcoming Bakelite exhibitions and events. ATB can be an exciting component of these activities and we are always willing to help promote them. Please let us know if any such opportunities appear on your radar!
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As mentioned above, we revised the official trailer for the film. It’s a great promotional tool; you’ll see it in our listings on streaming services and it will be our calling card for the expanded worldwide exposure we are looking forward to once the pandemic ends. |
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This is a trying time, but like the pandemic 100 years ago, this too shall pass. I find myself reflecting on how my great grandfather Leo Baekeland and his family must have worried through that 1918 scourge just as we are doing now! As the new year progresses and the planet gets healthy again, we trust the people of the world will emerge more compassionate for each other and for the earth. And we look forward to reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, as we resume our in-person public screenings, events and conferences throughout the world. In the meantime, with bright Bakelite days ahead, we hope you stay safe and well in 2021.
--Hugh Karraker - Executive Producer
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