lioninoil

anthony lawrence-belfair

jackie — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:00:38 +0000

I’ve been spending a lot of time working with the good folks over at Anthony Lawrence-Belfair. Photographing their new Island fabric collection has been a breath of fresh air this winter. Somehow it seems every time I go over to their West 23rd Street showroom, we’re experiencing some sort of post-apocalyptic weather, and spending time photographing this beachy-themed collection has given me a much needed escape from reality. Oh, and their custom furniture is so insanely comfy that I nearly fell asleep while taking five at a recent photo shoot. (more…)

2009 annual

jackie — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:09:59 +0000

Every January we like to put together a little collection of our favorite photos from the year before–a Lion in Oil annual, if you will. And with every new year we vow to top the year before. Well, we did our fair share of traveling this year, and if we want to raise the ante for 2010, we’ve definitely got our work cut out for us. Anyway, our book arrived yesterday and we are thrilled. It’s our prettiest one yet! You can take a look at a digital version on Blurb (where you can also purchase said book).

imperial heights

jackie — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 03:30:28 +0000

The second piece I wrote for Robb Report’s February travel issue is this feature about the new villa suites in the under-construction Octavius Tower at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. I had really wanted to get out there to see them in person but deadlines and holidays collided and it wasn’t in the cards. I wonder: which of the villas would I have chosen to stay in? I do love me some floor-to-ceiling marble, so perhaps the Greek-inspired Constantine Villa. As I always say, it’s not a bathroom without an Esmerelda onyx-lined bathtub surrounded by Doric columns. (more…)

now i know what a gore is (not al)

jackie — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:49:02 +0000

The February issue of Robb Report likes to rub it in our East Coast faces that there are warmer places in the world right now. Though I’m not doing much traveling these days, I did write a couple of pieces for the magazine’s annual travel issue: the one above about the first American globe maker (not at all the snooze-fest one might imagine), and another about three new villa suites that just opened at the Caesars Place in Vegas (coming shortly).

happy holidays!

jackie — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:22:14 +0000

We’re off to Austin for the holidays (sans our rein-kitty, Li’l Frank, unfortunately). Best wishes to all and we’ll see you in the new year!

feeling saucy

jackie — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:06:26 +0000

My write-up about the appropriately-named UFO chandelier from Dutch designer Brian Rasmussen and Italian lighting studio SID ran in the December issue of Robb Report. Each year, in preparation for the holidays, the magazine compiles an outlandish list of insanely expensive gifts for their Ultimate Gift Guide. The wildest part of this year’s issue though is that one of the ultimate gifts was actually purchased: the $1 million duo of a ‘54 and ‘11 Mercedes. Gosh, and all I wanted this year was an electric toothbrush.

just desert

jackie — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:12:16 +0000

Check out a more readable version of the Las Vegas home tour I wrote for Robb Report’s November 2009 issue here. (more…)

faces 4 reform

jackie — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:48:29 +0000

Freelancing can be a tough gig. We’re not complaining—we love our bosses, working in our jammies, and meeting new people all the time. But the flip side of that coin is the lack of 401Ks, sick days, paid vacation, and, most of all, group health care coverage. Luckily we’re young and healthy so the risk we take in not having health insurance is considerably lower than some other people who aren’t so lucky in our country and really have few or no options. This issue has been in the forefront of a lot of our minds for many years, and it is finally in the limelight nationally, so when we learned about Robbie and Robert Bailey’s Face 4 Reform project, we didn’t hesitate to volunteer. Bailey Photography’s project shows the faces of the vast and diverse pool of Americans who are uninsured. They’ll continue with these portraits until health insurance reform passes. Check out their fantastic project (complete with our mugs!) on their Faces 4 Reform website.

no need to debate

jackie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:15:44 +0000

Super-talented John managed to get Lion in Oil a nice little shout-out in the new book Designing a Digital Portfolio. The author, Cynthia L. Baron, contacted John several months ago about his myriad portfolios and records of work, including his gracefulspoon web site and online portfolios on issuu. John does an eloquent job dissecting the future of the portfolio on his own blog, so I’ll just let it suffice to quote Baron in saying “Locke’s creativity is not debatable.” True that! (more…)

in treatment

jackie — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:04:07 +0000

This feature I wrote covering spas from around the US is a bit of a downer for me. The layout: gorgeous. The properties: amazing. The writing: if pressed, I’d have to go with pretty damn good. The problem? It was scheduled for the October issue of Vacation Homes magazine that never made it to newsstands before shuttering for good. Although it may never see the light of publication, at least I can revel in its glory on LIO. (more…)