Latest news with #Bakelite
The Diplomat
5 days ago
- General
- The Diplomat
Plastics: The New and Final Colonizer
From its origins to its everyday impacts, the lifecycle of plastic mirrors the logic and values of colonization, including the priority of profit. One of my favorite things to do is go shell hunting on my beach. These intricate homes made by tiny sea creatures always remind me of all the beauty that can be created in this world. The black sand on my beach glistens in the sun, making it very easy to spot these little treasures. As I walk along the shore, my sight is interrupted by a bright yellow object peeking its way through the surface. I pick it up — a remnant piece of plastic from a bucket? A toy? A bottle? Who knows the history of where this specific piece came from. I look out, spotting pink, blue, green, and orange fragments scattered along the shoreline. And I wonder: how, why, and what can we do about all this plastic? Plastic, in a remarkably short time, has transformed our societies and reshaped the way we live. Ironically, its origins trace back to efforts to save elephants and tortoises from extinction. In 1862, Alexander Parkes patented the first man-made plastic, derived from cellulose, designed to replace ivory and tortoiseshell. Then, in 1907, Leo Baekeland created Bakelite — the first fully synthetic plastic — a material never before seen in nature that ushered in a new era of industrial innovation. These discoveries sparked an industrial revolution of materials. Petrochemical giants like Dow, ExxonMobil, and BASF formed powerful alliances to develop plastic by-products from fossil fuel waste. This partnership rapidly scaled production, turning plastic from a novel invention into a mass-produced commodity embedded within global industries. After World War II, the plastics industry, alongside advertisers and corporations, shifted their focus. Plastic was no longer just durable; it was engineered to be disposable. Industry leaders openly strategized to embed this disposability into everyday consumer habits. A famous 1956 Life Magazine article titled 'Throwaway Living' celebrated this new lifestyle of convenience, praising plastic as the tool of modern freedom and the way to eliminate household chores. Products were designed for brief use and quick discard, fueling constant replacement and an explosion of waste. Today, plastic has colonized every part of our lives — our food, soil, oceans, air, bloodstreams, and ceremonies. Wherever we look, we now find plastic. It continues to colonize long after its intended life cycle ends — and always without our knowledge, participation, or consent. Plastic Colonization The global plastic crisis is not just an environmental issue — it is a colonial one. From its origins to its everyday impacts, the lifecycle of plastic mirrors the logic and values of colonization. At its core is the priority of profit: plastic emerged as a way to convert fossil fuel waste into endless consumer goods, a project driven not by necessity but by industry greed. This same profit-first mindset justified the mass extraction of oil and gas from Indigenous lands without consent, replicating the colonial right to extract — the idea that colonizers, then and now, have the moral and legal authority to take from the land regardless of who lives there. Every stage of the plastic economy demonstrates a disregard for native lives. From Malaysian Indigenous communities living next to toxic petrochemical plants, to Pacific Island Nations drowning in plastic waste they did not create, frontline communities pay the highest price. Their health, waters, and livelihoods are sacrificed for global convenience. Underpinning this is the belief in European supremacy — the belief that Western materials, economies, and lifestyles are superior. Just as colonizers devalued Indigenous knowledge and culture, plastic industries erased traditional zero-waste lifeways and pushed 'throwaway culture' as modern and aspirational. The plastic industry also represents the removal of tapu, the desecration of Indigenous sacredness. Land, water, and species that hold deep cultural and spiritual significance are contaminated or commodified. Plastics choke rivers, smother coral reefs, and pollute food systems, severing the spiritual relationships Indigenous Peoples maintain with their environments. All of this happens under the guise of development, backed by governments and trade laws that serve to protect colonial privilege. Even global treaties and climate policy processes often exclude Indigenous leadership or dismiss their solutions, reinforcing the same old power structures. Lastly, the narrative that Indigenous communities need to be 'educated' on proper waste management or 'helped' through technological solutions echoes Crown paternalism. It frames Indigenous Peoples as incapable of managing their environments, ignoring the fact that many lived in sustainable balance with their ecosystems for millennia — long before plastic ever existed. Global Plastic Treaty Negotiations As world leaders prepare to gather in Geneva this August for the resumed session of the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty negotiations (INC 5.2), Indigenous Peoples are gearing up to fight for a strong, legally binding treaty that is inclusive of our voices. In previous negotiations in Busan (INC 5.1), Indigenous representatives were excluded from informal negotiations. Language invoking the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was stripped from the draft treaty. Meanwhile, petrochemical interests and corporate lobbyists crowded the halls, and Indigenous voices were muted once more. This isn't merely procedural oversight — it is environmental racism. Indigenous Peoples for millennia, have maintained sustainable ways of life. We carry ancestral knowledge that understands that waste that can be not broken down to its original parts can never be part of a sustainable cycle. A truly just Global Plastics Treaty must go beyond symbolic acknowledgments. It must deliver enforceable commitments that uphold Indigenous rights, affirming self-determination, full participation, and sovereignty over our lands, waters, and futures. This includes embedding UNDRIP into the treaty's legal text and recognizing Indigenous Peoples as rights-holders, not mere stakeholders. The treaty must also legally cap virgin plastic production, ban the most hazardous chemical additives, reject false solutions like chemical recycling and incineration that only shift harm, and provide equitable funding for Indigenous-led solutions across all socio-cultural regions. Geneva Must Be a Turning Point Plastic pollution did not arise by accident. It sprang from a system designed to serve a privileged few at the expense of communities like ours. Unless the treaty confronts this legacy head-on, including the full life-cycle of plastics from extraction to waste disposal and beyond, it risks cementing a new chapter in colonial violence under the guise of climate action. What is truly needed is not more colonial oversight, but a decolonial shift: one that returns authority, respect, and resources to Indigenous communities, and recognizes that the plastic problem is not one of behavior, but of a colonial system that treats land, people, and even the sacred as disposable. Geneva must break this cycle. We cannot accept another agreement that protects polluters while excluding the people most affected. We are demanding justice — and a seat at the table where decisions affecting our futures are made. We will continue to resist and fight because one thing is certain: if nothing changes, plastic will be our final colonizer.
Business Wire
23-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Bakelite Completes Acquisition of Sestec, Expanding Product Portfolio and Further Strengthening Leadership in Sustainable Adhesive Solutions
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bakelite announced today the successful acquisition of Sestec, a Poland-based company renowned for its sustainable, protein-based adhesives for wood and composite products. This strategic move significantly enhances Bakelite's position as a sustainability leader in the adhesive industry. By integrating Sestec's technology, Bakelite expands its portfolio of sustainable adhesive solutions on a global scale and continues to assist customers in achieving their sustainability commitments. The acquisition of Sestec, whose adhesives are 100% bio-based and designed to advance environmental stewardship, aligns with Bakelite's commitment to sustainability and innovation. By integrating Sestec's technology, Bakelite expands its portfolio of sustainable adhesive solutions on a global scale and continues to assist customers in achieving their sustainability commitments. "This acquisition is a transformative step for Bakelite," said JP Aucoin, President & CEO of Bakelite. "Sestec's innovative, bio-based adhesives will not only broaden our product offerings but also reinforce our dedication to providing sustainable solutions. This positions us to continue to stay ahead of the increasing global demand for sustainable adhesives." Sestec's adhesive systems, which include applications for MDF, HDF, particleboard, OSB, straw and fiberboard, and plywood, will now be part of Bakelite's extensive product portfolio. The acquisition includes, in addition to their innovative technology, Sestec's administration office in Kraków, and Laboratory & Production facility in Trzebinia. 'Sestec represents the future of adhesives—bio-based and sustainable. The acquisition enables Bakelite to scale our technology globally while maintaining our commitment to sustainable innovation,' said Klaus Hofmann, the CEO of Sestec. 'Integrating Sestec's natural adhesive technologies enhances Bakelite's ability to continue to meet the increasing demand for sustainable materials solutions,' added Hans Edelmann, Sestec Board Member and Co-Founder. About Bakelite: Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Bakelite is a leading global integrated producer of thermoset specialty resins, solutions and engineered thermoset molding compounds serving a variety of segments and end markets across geographies. Additional information about Bakelite and its products is available at About Sestec: Founded in Poland with roots in German-Polish R&D collaborations, Sestec is the innovator behind one of the world's first 100% bio‑based adhesive systems for panels such as MDF, HDF, OSB, and particleboard. Their solutions reduce VOC emissions, cut fossil carbon inputs, and support sustainable wood‑based manufacturing (
The Star
30-06-2025
- Science
- The Star
Life in plastic isn't fantastic
HIS obsession with photography was so consuming that it drove a young Leo Hendrik Baekeland beyond the darkroom and into the world of chemistry—in search of something greater than the perfect picture. At 17, he entered the University of Ghent as its youngest student, graduating summa cum laude in 1882. His early promise paid off—he invented Velox, a photographic paper that could be developed under artificial light. This breakthrough made him wealthy and independent. With time and resources to explore freely, Baekeland set up a private laboratory in his backyard. There, in 1907, he began experimenting with synthetic resins—hoping to create a heat-resistant material to replace shellac, a natural resin used in electrical insulation. When the brilliant inventor combined phenol (carbolic acid) and formaldehyde under heat and pressure, he created Bakelite—the world's first fully synthetic plastic, which had a hard, mouldable substance that resisted heat, chemicals and electricity. Unlike anything found in nature, Bakelite could be mass-produced and shaped into almost anything. It marked the beginning of the modern plastics age—a material revolution that reshaped industries from electronics to automotive to consumer goods. Reef Check Malaysia members showcasing the plastic waste collected during an ocean cleanup activity. Engulfed by plastic What was once hailed as a miracle material is now one of the planet's most enduring threats. The same durability that made plastic invaluable also means it can persist in the environment for centuries. Transported by wind, rain and rivers, plastic waste travels from urban streets to the ocean, where it entangles marine life, smothers coral reefs and breaks down into microplastics. These microscopic fragments are now found in fish, seabirds and even humans. According to scientific studies, including those by The Pew Charitable Trusts and Our World in Data, an estimated 11 million metric tonnes of plastic enter the ocean each year—the equivalent of a garbage truck dumping its load every minute. Without urgent action, this figure could nearly triple to 29 million tonnes annually by 2040, overwhelming marine ecosystems and accelerating long-term environmental damage. Rectifying misinformation Contrary to popular belief, the bulk of ocean plastic pollution originates on land—not from fishing vessels or cruise ships. Mismanaged urban waste, inefficient recycling infrastructure, and litter washed into waterways via storm drains and rivers are the primary contributors. According to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), over 80% of ocean plastics stem from land-based sources. World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia(WWF-Malaysia) Peninsular Malaysia and Conservation Science associate director Dr Jason Hon highlights the critical misconception that the crisis begins at sea. 'The reality is that most ocean-bound plastic is a direct consequence of inadequate waste management and improper disposal. Moreover, the belief that all plastics are recyclable is flawed—only certain types can be processed effectively under current systems.' A 2021 World Bank study further revealed that Malaysia collected merely 24% of its plastic waste for recycling in 2019, with a fraction reprocessed domestically. Hon emphasises that addressing plastic pollution demands more than recycling—it requires a systemic shift towards a circular economy. 'Plastics must be redesigned for reuse, repurposing or elimination. This necessitates reimagining packaging, supply chains, and consumption patterns—particularly within hospitality, fast moving consumer goods and retail sectors.' Reef Check Malaysia chief operating officer Theresa Ng warns that many consumers wrongly assume individual recycling efforts suffice, ignoring the larger issues of overproduction and weak waste management systems. She highlights the rising threat of microplastics—tiny particles infiltrating Malaysia's coastal waters, seafood and drinking water—posing serious health risks. 'Transparency about the true scale of the problem, consumer education on plastic reduction at source, investment in sustainable product design, promotion of reusable alternatives, and advocacy for stronger regulations are imperative. 'Companies that embrace these responsibilities will not only mitigate environmental impact but also strengthen their market leadership and ESG credentials in Malaysia's evolving landscape,' says Ng. From greenwashing to genuine action Ng highlights that businesses with multi-year commitments truly stand out. These companies don't just run one-off campaigns—they launch long-term programmes focused on redesigning packaging, investing in refillable and reusable systems and strengthening waste collection infrastructure. 'What sets these partnerships apart is sustained investment, transparent reporting, and genuine collaboration with local communities and governments. They embed these commitments into their core business strategies, not just their corporate social responsibility.' Ng warns, however, that corporate accountability still falls short. 'Too many firms prioritise short-term profits over meaningful change. Real progress means systemic shifts including adopting recycled materials, redesigning products for reuse, investing in circular economy models, and openly reporting on supply chain impacts.' Echoing this, Hon notes improvements in corporate responsibility but stresses that real progress goes beyond occasional pledges or awareness drives. 'It encompasses measurable targets, transparent disclosures, and the revamping of processes to mitigate plastic production at the source. 'Instead of only promoting recycling initiatives or beach clean-ups, firms can take genuine steps within their operations to diminish their reliance on new plastic made from fossil fuels (virgin plastic).' He adds that true leadership means embracing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) frameworks, piloting reuse and refill systems, and working across the value chain to embed circularity into every stage. Regulatory momentum needed 'Instead of only promoting recycling initiatives or beach clean-ups, firms can take genuine steps within their operations to diminish their reliance on new plastic made from fossil fuels (virgin plastic),' says Hon. Ng notes that setting national plastic reduction targets, establishing clear guidelines for the use of recycled materials—particularly in food-contact applications—and phasing out unnecessary single-use plastics are critical next steps. 'Stronger enforcement of waste management laws and targeted incentives for businesses to adopt circular economy practices are key to driving systemic change. 'Regional collaboration across South-East Asia is also vital, as transboundary plastic pollution requires coordinated policy frameworks to meaningfully reduce plastic inflows into our oceans,' says Ng. Hon emphasises the urgent need to accelerate the implementation of a legally enforceable EPR framework in Malaysia—one that holds producers accountable for the entire lifecycle of their plastic packaging. 'This must be supported by incentives for eco-design, sustainable packaging innovation, standardised labelling, and greater investment in local collection, reuse, and recycling infrastructure. 'These measures align with the strategic directions of the Circular Economy Blueprint for Solid Waste in Malaysia (2025–2035). Enhanced transparency in data reporting and robust traceability systems are also essential to tackling plastic-related challenges.' Encouragingly, the Blueprint, published by the Housing and Local Government Ministry in August 2024, reports an increase in Malaysia's plastic recycling rate—from 30.67% in 2020 to 35.38% in 2023. However, Hon warns that this momentum must be matched with strong enforcement of EPR policies to curb further plastic leakage into the environment. Practical, attainable measures Ng notes that companies can take immediate steps such as redesigning packaging to reduce material use, switching to recycled or recyclable options, and investing in refillable or reusable systems. 'Conducting supply chain audits to eliminate unnecessary plastics and collaborating with waste management providers or community recycling initiatives can further improve recovery rates,' she says. Hon adds that small and medium-sized enterprises can begin by optimising packaging and minimising excess. 'Larger corporations have the capacity to embed circular principles across operations, work with suppliers to reduce plastic use, and invest in scalable solutions,' he says. He points to WWF-Malaysia's Plastic Circularity Toolkit, which helps Malaysian businesses assess their plastic footprint across eight areas—from packaging and waste handling to consumer engagement. It ranks companies from 'Conventionalist' to 'Advocator,' offering tailored steps toward circularity. The toolkit complements WWF-Malaysia's broader initiatives, including the Plastic Action (PACT) Platform and Blueprint for Action, which guide businesses in setting science-based targets, reducing single-use plastics, and driving systemic change through cross-sector collaboration. Corporate action matters As marine plastic pollution threatens both ecosystems and economic sustainability, a growing number of Malaysian companies are stepping up—setting benchmarks for industry-wide action. In 2024, EDOTCO Malaysia partnered with Reef Check Malaysia to remove over three tonnes of marine debris across six coastal states, demonstrating how corporate involvement can directly support conservation outcomes. Nestlé Malaysia, meanwhile, has taken the lead in plastic recovery through initiatives like Project SAVE and the newly launched SELKitar. In collaboration with KDEB Waste Management, the company runs door-to-door plastic collection across Selangor, diverting over 20,000 tonnes of plastic from landfills and waterways. Its beach and underwater clean-ups have recovered an additional 12 tonnes of marine debris since 2018. Other innovators including Klean, Biji-Biji Initiative, and Heng Hiap Industries and more are contributing through technologies like reverse-vending machines, upcycled plastic goods, and recycling of ocean-bound plastics. All in all, tackling Malaysia's plastic pollution demands urgent action from both businesses and government. By embracing circular economy principles, enforcing stronger regulations, and ensuring corporate accountability, the country can significantly reduce plastic waste and protect vital marine ecosystems—setting a powerful example for South-East Asia's fight against plastic pollution. As Sir David Attenborough reminds us, 'The ocean is a source of life and wonder. Protecting it is protecting our future.'
Elle
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Elle
How Wearing Vintage Became 2025's Biggest Trend
Every item on this page was chosen by an ELLE editor. We may earn commission on some of the items you choose to buy. What happens when the vintage clothing craze goes mainstream? Antique fashion becomes the next frontier, it seems. Designer Daniel Roseberry incorporated ribbons he found in a Paris antique shop into Schiaparelli's spring 2025 couture collection, while for fall 2025, Valentino and Simone Rocha each alluded to decadent decades past, namely the Victorian era and the Renaissance. Now the most devoted fashion collectors are scouring antique malls, and their digital counterparts, for old jewelry—and even older clothing. When Anna Sui was dreaming up her fall 2025 collection, the designer and serious antique collector was inspired by madcap heiresses Barbara Hutton, Doris Duke, and Peggy Guggenheim and their affinity for dramatic jewelry. Think Hutton's famous Cartier jadeite, ruby, and diamond necklace, which sold for over $27.4 million at auction, or Duke's emerald earrings. 'They ended up spending all their money on men and jewelry,' Sui says. She has been building an archive of museum-worthy fashion for decades and often goes to Portobello Road Market in London to look for Victorian snake rings or huge Bakelite necklaces. This season, she worked with jeweler Karen Erickson to create antique-inspired brooches and glimmering necklaces in mostly faux versions of jade, coral, and emeralds, which she paired with '30s-inspired tartans, tweeds, jodhpurs, campy leopard prints, and dramatic caftans. Designers aren't the only ones craving the tactile, one-of-a-kind nature of 100-plus-year-old style statements. Take Cora Violet Walters, who has built an Instagram following for her whimsically dark aesthetic that pulls from the ancient world. She grew up thrifting with her grandmother and started her own auction house with her husband in 2016. Her bygone wardrobe staple of choice? A pair of 24-karat gold Roman earrings circa 200 AD. 'They go with basically everything, from a simple white T-shirt and jeans to a '30s lingerie dress,' she says. She also regularly wears antique bodices, circa-1890s corsets, a 1910 Edwardian lace gown, a mourning ring from 1887, and a pair of circa-1730s Iberian gold drop earrings with citrines. She pairs her old-world clothes with contemporary skirts and Maison Margiela Tabis or Simone Rocha Lucite heels. 'To me, a shoe completes the look and makes it feel more contemporary without coming off as costumey,' she says. For millennials and Gen Zers who love vintage, antiquing is the advanced level. Influencer and designer María Bernad wears 19th- and 20th-century crochet and lace and incorporates antique tapestries and other textiles into her upcycled brand Les Fleurs Studio. She collects Victorian Gothic pieces and wears them alongside her Vivienne Westwood corsets and early-2000s Jean Paul Gaultier grails. 'I always say that antique pieces hold history, and the first thing is learning the story behind it: what year it's from, how it was made, and the period or connection with the art movement at the time it was created,' she says. Likewise, the New York–based stylist Chloë Felopulos mixes late-1800s pieces—a Victorian blouse, a chain mail glove, or her great-grandmother's gold chain mail purse—with her early-2000s Dolce & Gabbana zebra-print miniskirt. 'If I could pair every outfit with a family heirloom, I absolutely would,' she says. 'Whether I'm on a weekend trip, visiting family, or just passing through to get to my next destination, one of the first things I'll search is 'Antique stores near me.' ' In an increasingly digital world, there's something wildly refreshing about wearing fashion that has existed for more than 100 years. Imagine how many lives that item has lived. 'I appreciate historical fashion beyond just its aesthetic value; I see its cultural and psychological implications,' Walters says. 'It forces a confrontation with history while subverting expectations—something I find intellectually and emotionally stimulating.' She adds, 'I'm not just collecting historical fashion and vintage. I'd like to think I'm curating a narrative of power, elegance, and defiance through what I wear—the opposite of mainstream or fast fashion.' Plus, you're almost guaranteed to be the only one in the room wearing a 300-year-old ring or 100-year-old piano shawl. A version of this story appears in the Summer 2025 issue of ELLE. GET THE LATEST ISSUE OF ELLE
Irish Examiner
13-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
Join the Western Alliance at Cork's Western Road 'American houses'
IRISH homes of a century and more ago had many parallels to those of our nearest and once colonialist neighbour Britain, impacting on the designs of little and large, in countryside estates, Georgian and Victorian piles, city pads, terraces, and suburban spreads and sprawls. Six of the best But, as the State found its feet, other nationalities from Germany, France, and international movements got a look in too, in industrial, commercial and residential construction: witness the affection still held nearly a century on for Cork City's 'American houses,' of which there's only half a dozen at Annaville, near UCC on the city's Western Road. One of Cork city's much loved 'American houses' will test the Western (Road) Alliance American architecture got more than occasional look-ins in Cork, witness the likes of Neil Hegarty's Dundanion Court in Blackrock; Christ the King Church at Turners Cross; the Ford factory on the Marina, or the industrial output of the likes of local city architect Frank Murphy at the North Mall. Then, even closer to UCC and the Mardyke, at Annaville, as American as Mom and apple pie. Stateside meets Leeside Dating to the interwar period, these colonial revival, red-brick, over semi-basement houses, with white pillared porches, dormer attics with quarter lune windows, side sun rooms (and trellised balconies above accessed off the principal bedroom,) are credited to Boston architect Harry Morton Ramsay, and to wealthy Cork emigrant Cornelius Buckley who developed furniture stores on the US east coast. Buckley later returned to Cork to build a Lee valley summer house, Valley View along with these six, speculative and wholly 'modern' detacheds, with varied design changes in three sets of two, across facing rows in a gated cul de sac, with an ornate gated entrance to the Western Road, and with pedestrian gates to the Mardyke facing Fitzgerald Park. Entrance to the six 'American houses' is on Cork's Western Road Built in the late 1920s, with construction overseen by local architect Chillingworth and Levie, they had much of their build materials shipped over from the United States, including oak flooring, lighting and electrical fixtures; glass, brass and bronze door furniture, hinges, and Bakelite kitchen trims, coloured bathroom suites, the lot, all before the time of shipping containers. Pure Cork, tho' Timing, however, was rotten: started after 1926, they completed just after the Wall Street Crash and sales were slow. Buckley allowed various family members to live in them until sales picked up: they went on to garner increasing success, and recognition up to the present date, with only a few changing hands over the last 25 years. The last appears to be No 6, making €450,000 in 2019: now it's the turn of No 3 Annaville, a property prize if ever there was one for reasons from location to rarity, quality, charm and, yes, bragging rights, albeit on a sub-Trumpian scale. Main bedroom at 3 Annaville has balcony/terrace access No 3 has been the family home of the O'Leary clan since 1963, says Gerald O'Leary, who was aged three when his parents, Denis and Doreen O'Leary had the chops and chutzpah to buy it for a family of four, later to swell to six children during their long tenure here. As American as Mom and apple pie That's only now about to come to an end after the passing of Doreen in November last, a number of years after her husband Denis O'Leary, known to generations as a city pharmacist on Cork's Grand Parade. Denis had come from the Cork countryside, Doreen came from the Ballinlough Road and they all loved it here, says Gerald, all appreciating it for work, city, shops, schools and college convenience, whilst Fitzgerald Park was literally a stone's throw, or a ball hop, away across the leafy Mardyke. Even today, the vastly upgraded children's play area in the city's beloved public riverside park is a superb amenity, within child-chatter and laughter earshot from the rooms on the left hand side of No 3. Three-storey and six bedroomed, with c 2,200 sq ft on c 0.1 of an acre within the overall gated 0.75 acre Annaville niche enclave, it's been a very well kept family home, albeit largely unchanged over many decades, with the main alteration having been opening up three small back kitchen/service/pantry rooms into one where there's now a lurid yellow kitchen: the family also added a ground floor upgraded bathroom where previously Annaville homes had a ground floor WCs for a maid. Maids? Domestic staff (even in almost 'normal' size family homes) were still a feature up to the mid 1900s in middle class Cork. On the button? A maid could be summoned via a floor button under the dining table No 3 has a great reminder of those days, with a brass plate in the dining room under the good table, left over from a floor bell button, when the hostess of the house could summon 'the help' from the kitchen to serve the next course(s), and remove the dirty dishes, at the tap of a toe, without even an audible click of a finger, or a shift in the hostess's seat (nope, didn't work in O'Leary family times, we're told of this tiny museum/other era domestic timepiece.) Fine fireplace in main living room Selling to 21st century buyers and guiding at €895,000 is Michael O'Donovan of Savills who reckons home hunters (with or without staff) 'will be struck by the sense of exclusivity and the architectural distinction of this unique collection of homes: it's a remarkable property, with a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of Cork's residential heritage.' Parking and garage too He highlights the integrity, the 'rich period charm and a showcase of imported American craftsmanship,' including American oak, pine and mahogany staircase, and a layout that today will still suit 'modern' family life, with a dining room off the kitchen, a large double aspect living room and optional dual access points to a bright southern gable sunroom. Above are four bedrooms, one with shower en suite and walk-in robe — a sort of provision not commonplace in most 'new' Irish homes until the 1980s or '90s — as well as a door to the terrace above the sun room, with perimeter low railings for those who'd find themselves having a sit-out use here. All bedrooms have built-in robes (again, novel at the time, almost a century ago), plus main bathroom. A second, almost-concealed staircase behind a door on the landing leads to two attic level bedrooms, with peculiar centre store area with dormer window (yet hard to access,) eaves storage and lovely side hinged gable windows. No 3 is set to the rear of Annaville and so has its own pedestrian gate straight to the Mardyke where Fitzgerald Park, UCC sports arena, Sunday's Well Tennis Club and Cork Cricket Club all line out for sporting attention: the enclave has a more communal gate too, secure, with overhead lamp on an ornate, green-painted trellis, a smaller version of the more imposing gates on Western Road which used to face the long-departed Western Star and with the Bon Secours on the southern horizon. VERDICT: There's been quite the rash of €1m+plus new and older home sales in the past year or two in Cork western suburbs, largely driven by a robust economy and mid and high level medical hospital/consultant post appointments. A handful of high-profile Leeside arrivals are due in the €1.5m/€2m price bracket in coming weeks too, to test the market's upper end mettle. A number of the recent sales make the €895k 3 Annaville look like a good buy. Time to Make Annaville Great Again?
