Made In Hollywood Blog

- Posted in Competitons, Marketing related, Polystyrene Uses by Fran

Minister Eamon Ryan & Colm Lyon CEO Realex promote Media 2020 conference. (image mediacontact.ie)

The original idea behind this post was to show you examples of signs that made we created from expanded polystyrene foam (EPS), and which feature government ministers.
I thought it would be topical, particularly with media talk of a cabinet reshuffle and the recent resignations of Fianna Fáil’s Willie O’Dea and the Green Party’s Trevor Sargent.
The title was a little lame, “Polystyrene signs & Politicians”, so I started running through some alternatives and “Polystyrene Politicians” came into my head. I then started to think how the two might compare.

Here is a list of some of the properties and characteristics that apply to expanded polystyrene foam (EPS). I have my own ideas on how they would compare, but I would like you to add a comment below to see how you think they compare to our current crop of politicians.

Minister Batt O'Keefe at the 'F1 in Schools' press launch (image f1inschools.ie)

Lightweight:
Moulded into large blocks, but they don’t require heavy lifting equipment to move them as it is 95% air. It is used to fill large areas on civil engineering projects where ground conditions prevent traditional material being used; on multi story buildings to replicate stone features, and mixed with sand and cement to produce a lightweight concrete.

Insulator:
It can be used in various locations, both internal and external. Applications include: EWI (external wall insulation) for homes and commercial building; in foundations to prevent thermal cold-bridging, and in moulded boxes to ship food stuffs that are temperature sensitive.

Minister Mary Coughlan at the Qikroam launch (image via Cubic Telecom)

Packaging:
It is often moulded to match the shape of the product and protects it from damage whilst it is being transported. Polystyrene’s  shock absorption properties make it suitable for packing delicate items. Blocks can also be cut into custom shapes or can be used as loose fill, known as packing peanuts.

Recyclable:
Expanded Polystyrene foam, also known as Styrofoam, is widely recycled from businesses in commercial and retail sectors. It can be reused, but when it enters the waste recovery stream, it can reprocessed to make new blocks of EPS; melted down and  converted into other plastic products, or recovered as a fuel, due to it’s high calorific value.

Ministr John Gormley at the RIAI launch of the Register of Architects

For those of you that leave a comment we won’t promise you your own politician: we will do better than that. We will select the best comment and let you choose an item that is useful to you, e.g. an air guitar, your name, an outline of Ireland or some other prop.
So, point out a property of polystyrene present in a politician to possibly be picked for a polystyrene prize.

- Posted in Company News, Extended Portfolio, Polystyrene Uses, Videos by Fran

A twenty ten sign for 2010 in 3D foam

A little late maybe, but a Happy New Year to you and I hope it is a healthy and happy one for you. This is the first post of the year and of the decade. Hopefully we will be here for the next decade and a few more after it.
Christmas and New Year was a quiet family time, like so many others. This gave us the opportunity to look forward to the coming year and work on some new ideas, having just updated our portfolio with images from previous projects. One of the smaller ideas being to design and cut a sign to bring in the new decade. This made me think: What is it going to be: “Two Thousand and Ten” or “Twenty-Ten”. The decision was quick, as “Twenty-Ten” flows so much better than the alternative (hence the sign). There was some interesting commentary about it by NAGG (National Association of Good Grammar), a name that insists that it will be correct, on Krishna De’s blog.

Our @madeinhollywood Twitter bird and off spring

Another sign that we created was a large 3D twitter bird sign with our address. We use twitter, a social media micro-blogging service, to interact with clients and friends about new projects or anything interesting to do with polystyrene or motorsport (there are a few petrol heads around here). If you use twitter you can follow us @madeinhollywood.
We are also going to communicate with existing clients and customers using a Newsletter that we intend to launch in the coming month. If you haven’t subscribed, please use the sign-up box (on the right-hand side), as we will be offering a prize in the first issue. We will be keeping you posted on new projects, competitions, offers, and  occasionally giving away free stuff. Yes, free stuff! It does happen from time to time! Polystyrene snowflakes were our last give-away, you can read all about it from SimplyZesty.

3D layered "Good News Friday" polystyrene sign with Jack Murray from mediacontact.ie

Some of our other thinking was about keeping positive in the cold winter days, when all we seem to hear is bad or depressing news. So we were delighted when Jack Murray from Mediacontact, who are Ireland’s leading publishers of media contact information, asked us to design and create a sign for Mediaexpress, which is part of the Mediacontact.ie group. The sign was used for a press launch of  “Good News Friday” which is an idea to harness the power of positive thinking to counteract the current gloom. With the country in the midst of a recession, many positive news stories are completely ignored because there is so much bad news about. So for one day only, Friday 22nd January, Mediaexpress.ie are going to distribute thousands of news releases for free from Irish businesses, organisations and charities, with just one catch: all the releases must be about something positive.
This is an excellent initiative by Jack and his staff and we wish them the best of luck with the “Good News Friday” promotion. You will also see the sign we made in the video below and you can follow the campaign on twitter by following Mediacontact or use #gnf.

- Posted in Extended Portfolio, Polystyrene Uses, Videos by Fran

Santa's & a Giant 7? No, just a prop used for the Windows 7 launch.

Believe it or not, we at Made In Hollywood are privy to the inner workings of Santa Claus in his North Pole hideaway. We are asked to create snowflakes, igloos and snowmen to help Santa out before his busiest day of the year. Polystyrene is the perfect material for creating those wintry wonderlands as well as keeping Santa warm in his workshop. We asked him: How can you visit so many homes across the world? Being extremely generous and organised, he gave us a list, but not the one he’s checking twice to see who has been naughty or nice.

1. Training: An important element in the running of an organisation where timing is of the utmost importance. You would think that there are months of inactivity but elf and Santa training schools help to ensure that every one of his helpers are prepared, and that the presents are ready for delivery on Christmas Eve. That is when the magic begins: where all that practice and preparation are put into practice.

Santa making use of an Apple Iphone

2. Translation: Whether you use Father Christmas, Babbo Natale, Père Noël, Ded Moroz, or Lan Khoong, Santa can always read your letters and street names when he’s flying close to the ground no matter what language they are in.

3.Time Management: Possibly the most crucial aspect when gifts that have to arrive on time. Santa did try and explain some kind of “Time Warping” magic, but it went straight over our heads, a bit like his sleigh on Christmas Eve. He did say that he went to occasional day seminars, to up-skill in planning and delegation techniques. Other than that, he has the experience to cope.

4. Technology: From the information gathered from the International Space Station, the use of the iPhone mobile phone and Windows 7 operating system. Santa Claus has technology at his beck and call. It should be pointed out that some elves and all of the reindeer prefer Apple Macs. (They just prefer apples because they are not into computers but do like looking out of Windows).

The Christmas lights in Dublin being turned on by Miriam O'Callaghan and her son

5. Transport: This is where tradition and cutting-edge engineering merge to create a vehicle that is capable of carrying millions of toys to hundreds of countries. Santa’s sleigh is produced using parts made from the latest carbon-fibre composites with fixtures made from sumptuous red velvet with antique brass buttons. Christmas lights in cities around the world help Santa find his way.

6. Toys: For both young and old, the excitement of opening gifts on Christmas Day should never be lost. The elves occasionally get it wrong, but this is down to Santa’s handwriting. From the high-tech console to the low-spec packing box, the imagination can work wonders. It’s not all about the toys either - it’s the joy and happiness that is had at Christmas and during the year too.

Scrooges and Doubters to be cut from Santa's list. You can bet on it

7.Thomas: This is for the doubters, non-believers and scrooge-type characters that try and spoil the fun for all the rest of us. Be it Hollywood film stars or Government ministers who do their best to kill the festive spirit. But Santa will not be beaten, he will cut them off his list and all they will get will be lumps of dirty wet coal. A very appropriate present for green party ministers who have recently introduced a carbon tax on this type of fuel here in Ireland.

For those who still believe, and who want to keep track of Santa’s progress around the world this Christmas Eve, check out Norad (North American Aerospace Defense Command) or view the video below.
The story of why they track Santa is truly in the Christmas spirit:
“The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa, misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.” (via NORAD)

In keeping with the Christmas spirit, shown by Colonel Harry Shoup, we will send a pack polystyrene snowflakes to the first 5 people who leave a comment about their Christmas.

(image credit Windows 7 Slattery Communications)
(image credit The Big Switch & Boylesports.com Pembroke Communications)

- Posted in Art & Sculpture, Extended Portfolio, Polystyrene Uses, Videos by Fran

Snow covered Cooley Mountains (image by Anthony Murphy)

We might be lucky to get snow this year here in Ireland. I did see a slight dusting recently on one cold morning, on the Cooley mountains. Our workshop has a view of the mountains and when covered in snow they can look very picturesque, but it is still very early in the year to have real snow, and I’m not taking bets on whether we are going to have a White Christmas or whether our political leaders can agree on a strategy for the global warming crisis at the Copenhagen summit.
But I do have a question: Will we ever get enough snow to make real snowmen this year, and how long will they last?
Going by recent years, if you did get to build a snowman, you would have be lucky to have it more than a couple of days before it would melt away.
Does this mean we are going to lose our snowball-firing and snowman-building skills, or are they built into our DNA?
I like to think that it’s in our DNA: that when it snows, we wrap up and go out and roll a small ball into the an odd-shaped body with an equally peculiar shaped ball for a head, adding stones, twigs and a carrot for eyes, arms and a nose. Most of us don’t mind the cold hands and toes with red noses and cheeks, as it’s always good fun, especially getting warm and dry again.

Snowy the snowman CNC cut from a block of styrofoam

There is an alternative, almost a complete polar opposite to the traditional snowman, however. That is a polystyrene snowman.
This snowman is best created indoors, he is warm to touch, he is made by cutting pieces away and he will last a long, long time. A hot day won’t be the end of him, but a windy day might!
But like their watery counterparts, it does require skill to shape them. The polystyrene beads can get everywhere, and they are a lot of fun to make, with the added advantage of not getting cold or wet. Each one is individual, unless they are machine-cut versions like Snowy here, on the right.
Below, we have a video showing the process of creating a unique giant snowman. It was sculpted from solid blocks of foam 8′ x 4′ x 4′ for Arnotts, a Dublin-based department store. The process created many off-cuts, which were bagged and sent away to be recycled to make other blocks of foam. These blocks could be turned into insulation to help keep your home warm on the snow-filled days that may happen this coming winter. If we do get snow, I’ll be the first out to build a snowman or improve my aim with a snowball, as we can make a Foam-man any day of the week, and Styrofoam snowballs don’t fly particularly well.

Top image via www.mythicalireland.com

- Posted in Polystyrene Uses, Videos by Fran

You take it for granted that, while you are travelling along a road, you are on solid ground. In most cases, you are, but what do the road engineers do when they have to build a road on soft or boggy ground?
In years gone by, they may have attempted to dig out the soft ground and replace it with a heavy stone filling, and then tarmacadam the surface, only for the road to subside again.
Civil engineers, surveyors and architects do have a number of options when faced with this type of problem. One of them is to use expanded polystyrene foam (EPS), also known as Styrofoam. EPS is a lightweight and stable fill replacement material that can be used in road embankments, under runways and railways, and for creating inclines for seating in cinemas and grandstands. It is easy to transport, quick to install, and is inexpensive when compared to traditional foundation or fill materials.
The video below shows how they have used high density styrofoam to solve a number of engineering issues during the construction of a new road. This is the same Styrofoam that may insulate the walls of your home, or hold your coffee on your way to work, or protect your new LCD television when it is being shipped to you.

Nobody can ever say that polystyrene foam isn’t anything but versatile; to see examples how we have used it, please have a look at our portfolio.
Maybe it is just as well that we don’t drive directly on the polystyrene, as the squeaking noise would send us round the bend.
Video via Katu.com

- Posted in Architectural, Polystyrene Uses, Videos by Fran

Ireland is renowned for green countryside with it’s ‘forty shades of green’. This is because we get a lot of precipitation. Whether it be a ’soft day’ or ‘raining stair rods’, we get every type of rain.

The streets of Cork city centre flooded November 09 (picture courtesy Eric Dunne Magner)

However, November 2009 has been one of the wettest on record, with unprecedented rainfall levels which has resulted in swollen rivers bursting their banks flooding many homes, businesses and public buildings. Blame is being placed with government and local authorities for inadequate infrastructure and bad planning decisions. This may well be true but some of these problems could be historical or have been caused by unforeseen changes in our weather patterns.
We should look to others who have suffered similar disasters and learn how they have rebuilt their devastated communities. This could also be a time to look at new solutions to mitigate the impact of any future flooding.

One such solution could be to build homes that float upwards as the flood waters rise, in areas of high risk.
The destruction that followed in the wake of hurricane Katrina, in 2005, left many areas of America, including Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, virtually flattened from storm surges and flooding. New Orleans was particularly badly hit.  Architects from Morphosis have designed and built the first floating house permitted in the United States, for Brad Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation. The Make It Right Foundation was launched by the actor in December, 2007 to help residents of the Lower 9th Ward, in New Orleans, rebuild their lives and community in the wake of the hurricane.

Float House designed to rise above any flood waters

The FLOAT House is a prototype model of prefabricated, affordable and sustainable housing, that can be adapted to the needs of flood zones worldwide. It is designed to float securely when water levels rise, on a chassis of expanded polystyrene foam coated in glass fibre reinforced concrete. This innovative base integrates all mechanical, electrical, plumbing and sustainable systems and is designed to support a variety of house layouts.

Another solution could be to embrace the idea of living on water with measures that are aimed at controlling it. There is no better place to examine this than in the Netherlands, where 27% of its area and 60% of its population is located below sea level. House boats are a familiar sight around the canals of Amsterdam but many new homes are built on a base of  concrete encased in expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) also known as Styrofoam. This process is tried and trusted and many floating homes have been constructed using this technique.

The video below shows how expanded polystyrene foam is used to good effect, providing a buoyant and durable base for the floating homes in Maasbommell.

Polystyrene foam is keeping the homes of many people around the world above the water in everyday and extreme weather circumstances but, at this time, here in Ireland, it is more important to try to help and support the people affected by the flooding. This can be done by making a donation to the Irish Red Cross or to the St. Vincent de Paul to help keep their spirits higher than dreaded flood waters.

- Posted in Art & Sculpture, Polystyrene Uses, Recycling, Sport related by Fran

The title of this blog post would never be used for a TV programme as it flows off your tongue like sandpaper on butter - You would need to have a snappy title like Top Gear, Pimp my ride or Xccelerate.
Xccelerate is new to Irish television and is the only motoring programme that is produced entirely in Ireland. However, I don’t think they will be testing any of the vehicles here, though we could arrange it, if they were interested.

Hummer replica carved from Styrofoam

The fullsize styrofoam (or polystyrene) Hummer H1 was created by Andy Junge and was the centrepiece of his show, entitled “American Detritus”. This was  following a three-month residency at San Francisco Recycling & Disposal’s Artist In Residence Program. It was handcrafted from thousands of individual pieces of polystyrene that had been shaped and sanded down. They are held together with five gallons of glue, a case of adhesive, and various screws, bolts, metal rods and pipes. It is 17 feet long, 6 feet high, and with mirrors, over 8 feet wide.

There was no need to supersize the Hummer, as its dimensions are already in that league, however the same isn’t true of our next vehicle.

Giant bike sculpture in honour of Craig Jones

The scale replica of Craig Jones’ World Supersport bike is approximately 9 feet tall and was installed at the entrance of the racing circuit in Portimao, Portugal. People arriving at the circuit for the final round of the 2009 World Superbike Championship, couldn’t help but notice the large sculpture.
The bike was created in EPS (expanded polystyrene foam) and was strengthened using metal armatures with a mesh and plaster coating, then hand-painted to imitate the original bike. The level of detail is quite remarkable considering the size of the item.
The circuit, Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, sponsored Craig’s team, who was tragically killed in a freak racing accident in August 2008. He was held in such high regard both as a racer and as a man, that the team and circuit owners decided to commission the replica in his memory. The intention is to replace it with a bronze piece in the future.

The bike above could be described as giant, rather than supersized, whereas the next car does look like it has been supersized - if you remember the 2004 film Super Size Me.

A unique car by Erwin Wurm

Polystyrene foam and polyurethane expanding foam were, again, used to create this unique-looking car. Hand tools were used to smooth and shape the rounded contours and deep folds.
Erwin Wurm, an Austrian artist and sculptor, created a number of cars in a similar style and even went as far as producing a house with very similar rounded proportions. (via one minute sculpture)

Words like “flowing lines”, “aerodynamically designed” and “with a graceful beauty” are often used in the media, to describe the shape of a car. These words could hardly be used in this case, but what do you expect when you pimp your ride with polystyrene ?

- Posted in Extended Portfolio, Sport related by Fran

Koni Kats team (in black) with Minister Batt O'Keefe

We recently created a 3D sign made from Styrofoam for the media launch of the new  F1-in-schools 2010 season. The event, held at the beginning of September, was officiated by Minister for Education & Science, Batt O’Keeffe.

“F1 in Schools” is a competition for secondary schools to design and manufacture compressed air-powered racing cars. Student teams compete against each other to determine the best-engineered and fastest car in Ireland. The National champions then go forward to enter into the World Championship, to compete against over 30 teams from around the globe.

Koni Kats 'F1 in Schools' World Champions

We are delighted to hear that the Koni Kats Team from St. David’s Secondary School in Greystones, County Wicklow took the top honours at the fifth Formula One in Schools Technology Challenge World Championships held last week, in London. At a glittering awards ceremony attended by Lewis Hamilton and VIP guests from the world of Formula One, the talented students were presented with the Bernie Ecclestone World Championship Trophy, and coveted Automotive and Motorsport Engineering scholarships to City University London. Hamilton, the current F1 champion, presented the Koni Kats with the Best Engineered Car award, which was supported by his F1 team, McLaren Mercedes, and went on to praise the Irish team for their high level of engineering.

Ferrari F1 cars cut from polystyrene

In a blog post earlier in the year, I stated that “Ireland wouldn’t be instantly recognised as a hotbed of world class motor racing talent”. However, with the continued winning performances of Eugene Laverty, lying 2nd in the World Supersport motorcycle championship; Adam Carroll, winning the A1GP 2009 championship, and now the Koni Kats being crowned world champions too, I will have to revise that statement.

There is a possibility that the  Koni Kats team could give me a few tips on how to engineer some improvements to our Styrofoam Ferrari’s, but I have a feeling that they could be heading for a career working on the real Formula 1 Ferrari’s and not a 2-meter Styrofoam replica.

- Posted in Company News, Polystyrene Uses, Videos by Fran

Early in the year, I wrote a post about the 3R’s, talking about the words “recession”, “redundancy” and “receivership”, and the fact that we were constantly hearing them from all sections of the media. Unfortunately, they are still words that are relevant today, but now there is a new “R” word on people’s lips: “Recovery”.

Bizcamp 3D signs in styrofoam (pic by Sean MacEntee)

I have always thought that, as a nation, we have the people who have the ideas, passion, energy and talent to get us to a better place. Now, I know for sure. I was one of 300 people who attended Bizcamp on the Saturday of the All-Ireland Football final weekend.
The free event was held at the fabulous Guinness Storehouse, and was aimed at people from all sectors of the business community, as well as people who had lost their jobs. They came together to share their experiences and information, and to explore new opportunities with each other. The speakers delivered a wide variety of informative presentations throughout the day, with intervals to allow people to share their thoughts and make new contacts. The talks given on the social media platforms Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin proved to be particularly interesting and very popular.
It was encouraging to see enthusiasm, belief and confidence, not just in the speakers but also in other people at the event, proving that we do have the drive to succeed.

At the Global Irish Economic Forum, held at Farmleigh Estate, the attendees were exploring how the Irish, at home and abroad, and those with a strong interest in Ireland, can work together and contribute to a speedy economic recovery.
The topics of discussion may have been different to those at Bizcamp, but it would seem that some participants were reaching similar conclusions: that we do have the people to make things happen on both a local, and global scale, and that we should make the most of this asset. This interview with Liam Casey would seem to reinforce the view. (via Pat Phelan)

Now that these events are over, we hope that all the parties in government can react quickly to the suggestions made at the forum. We need them to support the entrepreneurs and innovators who attended Bizcamp, who have the ability to become winners, not unlike the Kerry football team.

- Posted in Extended Portfolio, Marketing related, Polystyrene Uses, Recycling by Fran

When you thought mobile phones were getting smaller

In April, we created this Samsung Tocco Ultra mobile phone replica for our client, Kick Communications, for the launch of this model onto the Irish market. The launch and subsequent media coverage proved to be very successful but it left the giant cell phone taking up space in their Donnybrook offices. We were pleased to be able to give this phone a new home in what will be a new showroom above our workshop.
With so many new mobile phone models appearing almost on a weekly basis, the task of responsibly disposing of them has become an important issue. This super-sized phone is being recycled, but many others will just lie in an old box in a garage or in that bottom drawer where everything is put and nothing can be found. Now is the time to dig them out and help your child, if they are still at school.

The Jack & Jill Foundation, through its partner Promethean, have launched a campaign where they are asking schools to swap 300 old mobile phones for a new interactive whiteboard and to raise much-needed funds for home nursing care for sick children in the process.

An Apple Iphone that's not quite so mobile

Interactive whiteboards enable anything that can be seen or done on a computer screen to be projected onto a whiteboard, but it can still used as a conventional whiteboard with a wireless pen that writes like any marker pen.
My wife is a primary school teacher and has been lucky enough to have used this innovative technology for the past year. It has proved to be an invaluable tool for engaging students with vivid images, video and music, making the learning process more enjoyable.
So, if you have an old cell phone that is hiding away, let your school know of this offer or, if you’re in the Cork area, donate it to Gordon’s appeal. But whatever you do, try to give it a new home where it can do some good.