Fantastic Plastic Earth Day

The day of the earth began early. Rushed to Paddington Station and thanks to Gad pulling 80 pounds of gear + coffee and smoke dangling from lips, we made the train with seconds to spare...kind of. A beautiful ride as I snored and some child sang Old MacDondald non-stop. We arrived in Taunton 2 hours later. Then a most gregarious and loud cab driver named Ray was perplexed by our interest in a museum of old plastic but still gave us a great primer on the English countryside.

Arriving at the Bakelite Museum, we were immediately struck by the beauty of an old water mill amidst a gorgeous pasture and were greeted by Lucy the sheepdog and owner Patrick Kirk - a man who seemed much more of a Vaudevillian-mustached-eccentric collector than an artisan from the 21st Century. After sussing each other out, we soon became plastic patriots - celebrating design, aesthetic and plastic's inability to degrade. Patrick, a sculptor by trade, houses perhaps the largest collection of kitschy consumables from TV's to radios, cups, napkin rings, tie presses, dashboards, cigarette dispensers, dental implants, vacuum cleaners and even 2 coffins that Patrick himself wouldn't want to be buried in - regardless of the fact that he manufactures plastic trailers and likes to be ensconced in synthetics.

It was a hairy day. Batteries died. Record buttons weren't pushed. And patrons didn't make the interview go too smoothly. Regardless, we made it work and left us with the memory of a character whose passion supercedes any desire for wealth. Patrick was truly a character of his own. If only we had another few days to spend with this exceptional man or as Gad would say, dude. Wait until to you see the film!

Tomorrow is the London marathon. Apparently 26 square miles of the city will be cordoned off and we still have to shoot scenics. Thankfully, our cabbie that brought us back to the hotel reminded us of the amount of plastic cups and bottles that will line the streets along with thousands of spectators. Timing...sometimes...
is everything.

Hopefully one day we will eat sometime before 11pm...

Out.

G+I

Plastic Couture

Today marked the first overseas shoot of Cryptic Moth. It was also our first fashion shoot.

Acclaimed designer, Deborah Milner, welcomed us to her first floor studio to get a sneak peak at her new eco-line of dresses, with the centerpiece being a gorgeous white wedding gown made from plastic bags. The dresses will apparently be unveiled next week at Lohas in California, thanks to funding from Aveda.

The fabric was actually designed by an Irish colleague who used a similar process to tie-dying whereby elegant patterns and spirals were produced by tying the bags in knots and melting them down with an iron. Then the plastic was sewed onto a lining and accents added. Luckily, Deborah was able to wrangle Ukrainian model, Yanna, to show off the dress.


It was a great day of shooting and ended with Deborah and her partner Andre feeding the hungry Canadians with sardines, smelly cheese, tomatoes and bread...very yummy. Many thanks go out to this dedicated couple and we hope they stay in touch.

Tomorrow it's off to the county of Somerset to spend a day with the curator of the Bakelite Museum - a historic walk down plastic's memory lane. Apparently they even have a coffin made from this ever-durable thermoset plastic. We look forward to the 2 hour train ride for those pastoral scenic shots.

And while it is Earth Day tomorrow, we seem to be the only one's who know about it. Reminds me of the words of George W who said, "every day is earth day...if you own land."

I digress.

For those who would like to contact us, we now have a European phone number (no voice mail though). The number is +44 07758 711827 (you might need to drop the first zero)

Out.

Ian + Gad

First We Take London...

Greetings all,

Many thanks to David N. for setting up the CMP blog - complete with witty deks and a post. We have indeed landed in London and are preparing for our first shoot tomorrow. For those that don't know, Gad and I are beginning a global voyage in search of solutions to plastic pollution - from bioplastic to plastic eating microbes, second hand uses and sustainable packaging. Unlike the doom-and-gloom Day After Tomorrow-style of ecodocs, this film will overwhelm viewers with hope. And that's a whole lot more motivating...in our humble opinions. So come back and visit our little blog for updates to all things plastic.

Moth takes off

Yeah man, we're headed for the great blue yonder with three thousand pounds worth of gear and some smokes.... savin' the world, one English pub at a time!