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The Accutron Show
The Accutron Show episodes
- Sustainability or sustainababble? with Susan Rockefeller
Award-winning documentary filmmaker, artist, and conservationist, Susan Rockefeller, joins our hosts to discuss the meaning and actions behind the word 'sustainability.' Susan is also a designer of inspirational jewelry. She sits on the Program Committee of The Stone Barns for Sustainable Agriculture, the Global Leadership Council for NRDC, the Audubon’s Women in Conservation, and is Chairwoman of Oceana’s Ocean Council.
Episode Highlights:
10:30 - Sustainability at times can be sustainababble. The term is overused. What I try to think about right now is how I can do less harm to the Earth. We need to look at what we are purchasing and consuming and especially look back at the simplicity of how people used to lived. Real sustainability is very vital and it should be taught throughout our lives beginning in school and through everyday life.
14:00 - 'Kiss the Ground' is one of our latest projects on Netflix. The biggest takeaways is that soil is one of the key solutions to climate change. We need to regenerate it with far less chemical and fertilizer inputs. We should combine building a healthy soil ecosystem and eating more protective foods such as legumes and fruits.
38:00 - Social media: we need more design and media literacy. Who is designing these social media programs and how are they affecting us and our children? If you are not paying for it, then you are the product from which the techs mine our data.
Learn more about our guests:
Susan Rockefeller:
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
40 min - Pleasantly Tormented by a Puzzle with Steve Richardson
Our hosts are quite.. puzzled by the story of this episode's guest, Steve Richardson, Founder of the iconic Stave Puzzles. Together they discuss how this very successful company came to life, the mechanics behind its jigsaw puzzles, and why Steve calls himself a tormentor! Discover which well known couple gets very competitive when it comes to finishing a puzzle and why the book "The Happy Hooker" has anything to do with it all.
Episode Highlights:
10:56 - "Sir, how much were you paying these two guys in New York for these fancy puzzles?" He said, "300 dollars!" Well, back in 1974 that was a lot of money, so I said to my partner "Dave, all we have to do is sell two puzzles a month to get both of our mortgages covered!"
21:25 - Bill and Melinda Gates have been customers for over 30 years. They are very good. They buy identical puzzles and compete against each other!
29:30 - In this COVID era, we have been doing really well; we cannot keep up with the demand. People are hooked and won't take a step down to a laser cut puzzle.
Learn more about our guests:
Stave Puzzles:
- Website
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
36 min - Building by Feelings with Suchi Reddy
In this episode, our hosts meet with Suchi Reddy founder of Reddymade, a firm with a human-centric approach to design, dedicated to celebrating diversity and equality, as well as addressing the economic, social, environmental and cultural impacts of its work on both the user and the planet. They discuss neuroaesthetics as well as the future of architecture and design.
Episode Highlights:
16:25 - I design from the “inside”. In fact the mantra of my practice is this idea that ‘form follows feelings’; from that moment when I knew that my house actually made me feel and become a certain way, I always wanted to design form the inside out.
18:05 - I’m a micro-apartment liver. 375 square feet and I practice as living as large as I can in that space, which includes (in the days when I could) having dinner parties for 10 people and a big stand up cocktail party for 40 people. And we had great a time!
19:40- It’s always been a huge interest of mine to melt the arts and the sciences; the minute I found that neuroscience and architecture could be put together, I started getting interested on who was working in this field. So I came across this field called neuroaesthetics.
Learn more about our guests:
Reddymade:
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
33 min - Walking into Sneaker Culture with Jonathan Riley
In this episode, our hosts meet with Jonathan Riley, CEO of Portland-based agency Better, that operates within multiple industries and networks in order to empower under-served communities and people of color with awareness, access and opportunity. They discuss the many facets of the sneaker industry and how it has become the global and cultural phenomenon it is today.
Episode Highlights:
12:35 - The music culture is the driver now; and I think that was the biggest problem at Nike, which was focusing mainly on athletes.
19:06 - Top collectable sneakers are Jordans, The Chuck Taylors ,and the Red Octobers - plus anything signed by the designer of the sneakers.
26:17 - To start collecting, look at YouTube – incredible videos of people who talk about their process and criteria to collect sneakers.
Learn more about our guests: Jonathan Riley on Instagram
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
36 min - Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
- A Unique Car Ride with Elliot Cuker
Renaissance man, actor, car aficionado and art collector, Elliot Cuker, is the guest of this episode of The Accutron Show. Together with our hosts, Elliot shares some of the most memorable moments of his career and talks about the beauty of classic cars and how the modern automotive industry is evolving the concept of luxury and beauty. If you want to learn how Elliot began the tradition of getting married in a Rolls Royce limousine (and much more), tune in and ride along.
Episode Highlights:
11:40 - I am actually a pioneer in the West Village. I had the first big deal in real estate. I had a company called "Cooper Rolls Royce Limousine Service" offering the service of getting married in a Rolls Royce in New York; that was me, I created that in the United States.
15:20 - I had one of my cars stolen in front of Studio 54. We found it two blocks away, on 52nd Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue, in the middle of the street. Luckily, the thief had no idea how to drive it.
36:32 - In the 50's, that's where we were at, that was our mentality. We looked at things black and white back then, we wanted strength, we wanted power. The design of cars were sculptures. Today's car designs are dry, there is no romanticism.
Learn more about our guests:
Cooper Classics:
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
47 min - Inside The Barrel with Ralph Erenzo
In this episode, we discuss the rise of niche distilleries in America. Our hosts meet Ralph Erenzo, founder of Tuthilltown Spirits Farm Distillery, New York’s first whiskey distillery since prohibition that creates some of America’s most prized spirits in the Hudson Valley. Ralph shared with us some great stories about the distillery, the secrets behind the multiple award-winning Hudson Whiskey line, and their special collaboration with Accutron watches.
Episode Highlights:
23:38 - A variety of happy accidents made us discover how to make great whiskey. We did not have a device to separate solids and liquids and in a funny way it all just worked out.
24:09 - Our distillery business is a cross between a craft, which is functional and art, which is subjective and irrational. The result is Hudson Whiskey.
30:15 - We had a fire in 2007 that almost destroyed our distillery. Many of our barrels were charred, but the whiskey came out amazing. They are now a collector's item.
Learn more about our guests:
Hudson Whiskey:
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
35 min - Fashionably on Time with Timo Weiland
Timo Weiland is an American fashion designer, DJ, and entrepreneur, as well as the co-founder and creative director of the Timo Weiland brand. Timo started his career designing bowties and went on developing one of the most interesting and relevant fashion labels today. An eclectic and multifaceted personality in the studio, Timo discusses the status and future of fashion with our hosts.
Episode Highlights:
7:06 - How did Timo go from designing bowties to creating such an epic fashion label?
14:16 - Fast-forwarding from 2008 to today, would a DJ with a tie line be able to follow the same entrepreneurial path? Or is everything different now?
26:38 - With designers being tasked with so many collections and collaborations per year, is that sustainable today?
Learn more about our guests:
Timo Weiland:
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
34 min - O Sister, Where Art Thou? with Maria Brito
Maria Brito is an award-winning New York-based contemporary art advisor, author, and curator. A Harvard graduate, originally from Venezuela, her first monograph “Out There” published by Pointed Leaf Press in 2013, was the recipient of the USA Best Book Awards in both the Art and Design Categories. In this episode our hosts talk to Maria about art, artists, galleries and curators in America today and where this massive industry is heading.
Episode Highlights:
8:41 - Art can be an entry point for education and for very challenging conversations without having to get to a contentious point. I think all that is left in the world is human beings and their souls.
17:55 - In the past 5 years, a lot of collectors and galleries have been paying more attention to black artists; some people were not happy with the results of the election and started paying attention to opposing views.
25:55 - You mentioned the art world is still in New York - are the artists still here? Has the internet done anything to the flatten the geography of where artists create and work?
Learn more about our guests:
Maria Brito:
- Website
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
35 min - Pens In The Digital Age with Ryan Sirignano
What is the meaning of handwriting in the heart of the digital age? What is the passion (or obsession) behind the art of collecting expensive pens? This podcast features guest Ryan Sirignano, National Director of Sales for Esterbrook Pens, a company founded in 1858. Esterbrook pens were used by U.S. Presidents Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson to sign legislation; by Disney artist Carl Banks to bring Donald Duck to life and by Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz for all his comics.
Episode Highlights:
16:22 - Pens are collectible items and can go for over 2 million dollars. The value is a combination of their history, the materials (gold, marble and with diamonds) and complicated mechanisms.
18:00 - Esterbrook history is incredible – in 1970 we produced over 3 million pens. The pen has had illustrious owners like JFK and Lincoln and was used by top illustrators. Charlie Brown and Donald Duck were drawn exclusively with Esterbrook pens.
31:30 - "The most important document I signed is the deed to my house but if you ask my wife and I don’t say our wedding documents. She will be very upset…"
Learn more about our guests:
Esterbrook Pen Company:
- Website
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
33 min - Time Travel with Jack Forster
This episode features watch connoisseur royalty, Jack Forster, Editor in Chief of Hodinkee.com. Jack discusses with our hosts the origins of his renowned digital platform, the future of print media and the book he wrote to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Accutron. How successful can a digital platform be when it jumps into print media? What was the process of writing a book about Accutron? Tune in to find out more.
Episode Highlights:
15:40 - The Accutron book is a pretty decent technical and sociologial history of the timepiece, past, present and future. Jack mentions it was great to get access to the Accutron archives and learn more incredible details about the watch and the brand.
23:11 - Back in the 60s, time accuracy was a very important selling point; it is what inspired Accutron to develop the tuning fork technology; especially in a time when quartz timekeeping technology was not as popular as it is today.
Learn more about our guests:
Jack Forster:
Hodinkee:
Learn more about the Accutron watch here, and follow @AccutronWatch on Instagram. Subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to hear new episodes as soon as they're released.
Follow our hosts on social media:
- Bill McCuddy: Facebook / Twitter
40 min
About The Accutron Show
From the publisher's feed
Time travel into American consumer culture through a series of conversations with notable guests and experts from various fields. Presented by Accutron watches.