“How do you keep the creativity going, and how do you find different ways to keep the sizzle — that’s something we ask ourselves constantly,” says Rob Barber, vice president of Atomic Design’s rental division. The answer for Atomic is making sure the common denominator is modularity in all things, providing a level of flexibility in renting scenic pieces that allows for a completely original end result.
But first — what is in the water of Lititz, PA, population 9,385?
Nearly 50 years ago, brothers Roy and the late Gene Clair founded their sound company here and would go on to define what pro sound could be in a burgeoning live event industry. In 1970, English-born scenic designer Michael Tait would drive into town and begat Tait Towers. (The Clair brothers and Tait took Parnelli Audio Innovator and Visionary awards back to Lititz after the 2008 ceremony.)
Another arrival from London was designer Tom McPhillips, who also became a Lititz citizen in the early 1990s working with Tait. McPhillips would form his own shop, and came upon the name of the company as in “A Tom Mc’ Design.” His new company got a boost with MTV Unplugged in addition to other work, including Michael Jackson’s tours.
So some major tours of the 1990s would come to the not-so-sleepy little town for a few weeks and go to Clair for sound, Tait for staging, and Atomic Design for scenic.
“We’re all pretty much next door to each other, so there’s this super-cool vibe in the air that makes Lititz like no other place,” Barber smiles.
Attention to Rental
Barber has made an atypical entrance in this business. His background is in IT, and he worked for a large agriculture firm for 25 years. In 2010, current Atomic president Soren West and Barber had a mutual friend, and Barber happened to be housesitting at the house when West contacted him. “As a gag, he wanted in to hang some … let’s just say ‘inappropriate art,’” Barber tells. “We got to talking, and nine months later I was here.”
It was a good fit, as Barber’s formal education was in fine woodworking and cabinetmaking before pursuing a degree in computer science, “so I always had an eye for quality and good design,” he says. “Being at Atomic is a wonderful fit because you have that creative element, but then you also need the methodical process of developing a successful product line. It requires both sides of the brain.” It was a good fit for Atomic as well, as the company was interested in growing the rental division, which has now doubled since 2010.
“Atomic is known for a lot of beautiful one-offs in terms of set pieces, and much of the creative on that side of the company plays a big part in what we do in the rental division,” he says. “So we build on that ‘wow’ factor and quietly add the extra elements of increased durability with quick set and strike times that pack small and play big.”
In addition to that, there’s been a “mind shift” at Atomic Rental over the past few years. Until recently, they were supplying the backdrops and sets as requested. But what if the approach could be tweaked to deliver something a little more unique — a little closer to the creative possibilities of a one-off, specially built piece? “We wanted to empower our clients by not limiting their creativity and the way they could use our products. We want to give them a blank canvas so they can create unbridled designs with our rental products,” Barber explains. “So we shifted to modularity in all things — a ‘Lego block’ mentality that allows many pieces to be universally connected, and enables unlimited creativity in crafting a unique set look every time, even with the same pieces.”
This “modularity” idea is carried over to set pieces too. (If you attended the 2013 Parnelli Awards, you might have noticed Atomic’s simple but elegant set pieces in the cocktail reception area.)
The company has also taken a modular approach to their backdrop/drapes. They now have the soft goods in five-foot pieces that zipper together in seven different styles to allow the client to mix and match and build to suit. And there are other advantages too. “The standard Austrian is a 50-foot drape may weigh up to 1,500 pounds — a shipping nightmare. Compare that to our mock-Austrian Buule. At the same 50-foot size, it weighs only 80 pounds and ships in a cardboard box anywhere in the U.S. for about $100.”
A “Blank Canvas”
The rental clients coming to Atomic Rental fall into three categories. First — tour and entertainment, which includes anything from a touring band to television studio work, such as The Voice, Ellen and “Dancing with the Stars. The largest segment is corporate and includes conferences, trade shows and experiential. This category includes the big stuff, including Super Bowl events and television upfronts in New York, where the networks present their new TV series in to potential advertisers in big, bold ways.
The third is the worship and megachurch market, which provides Atomic with another “Lititz advantage.” “One of the steps in our prototyping process is ease of setup,” Barber says. “We pride ourselves in simple, Ikea-ish approach, less the funky wrench. So we’ll take a new product to the megachurch down the street, who we have a great relationship with. We intentionally leave out the instructions, and then we observe. It’s win-win — it allows us to fine-tune the prototype, and they get funky-fresh product straight out of the oven.”
The clients arrive in all shapes and sizes, bringing anything “from sketches on a napkin, which our Studio 10A division brings to life, to full-blown detailed CAD specs, which we’re happy to fulfill.”
As for the company itself, along with its headquarters in the little town that would be the “backstage to the world,” Atomic Design has offices or partnerships in Los Angeles, Edmonton, Brisbane and Singapore. They’ve just rebranded with a new website (at atomicdesign.tv) and there are 75 associates now working for Atomic, including McPhillips, who is actively involved in big shows like the Summer Sonic Music Festival in Japan, the NFL Super Bowl Blitz and the Soul Train Music Awards every year, along with a wide array of other projects.
While that adds up to an impressive amount of creative firepower, Barber is quick to note that “we don’t want to dictate their vision. We spend every waking moment making sure those who come to us have an expansive palette.”
