Photographs by Sean Gin Dear Reader, Are you curious how I made this giant painting? And then stuck it in my normal-size bedroom? Read the full story on Refinery29! More shots of the finished bedroom next week! Love, Orlando Miss the refinery link before? It’s RIGHT HERE!
Dear Robert Smith, I saw the above image on my friend Jeffery’s Facebook and I just had to see more. Apparently you shot an awesome series of masked portraits in Palm Springs a few weeks back and I’m just loving the results. I’m not going to blabber too much about these images, I think they speak for themselves, but I’m glad you made them. Enjoy! Thanks! Love, Orlando PS: A mini artist’s statement, from Robert Smith “My interest in shooting masked portraits began after a weekend marathon of watching the 90’s TV show Twin Peaks. That crazy town is filled…
Dear World, You know how you get all scared when you look at your shelves and bookcase? Wondering how on earth you are going to be able to fill all those nooks and crannies? I hear you. I recently spent some time with my parents, who just installed the above built-in shelving in their sitting room. I basically went into their house and bossed them around about what should go where and they acted like they liked it but then they threw a huge party after I left to celebrate their freedom, tears of joy streaming down their previously tormented…
Dear Diary, I’ve had a renewed interest in exploring California lately and it’s kind of funny. Funny because it’s making me feel way more dumb than normal. Like I’ll drive to Malibu and be like “Oh wow I totally forgot this was here!” I have this weird thing with California where it feels like home but also whenever I go anywhere lately I’m like “Oh this is so magical” like a maniac and it makes me feel like I just moved here or something. There’s slightly too much wonder. Like I kind of want to slap myself for being so…
Photographs by Sean Gin Dear My Father’s Closet, Thanks for always providing me with some fun when I can’t afford to go shopping. I can always count on finding something cool in you. My dad has always been a stylish man, mostly classic American brands like Levi’s, Pendleton, and 80s Ralph Lauren. Also those brands that we all used to be totally embarrassed by until we grew up and realized how classic and comforting they are (Lands’ End, L.L. Bean, etc). My dad’s style has been a big inspiration to me. So I’m starting a new mini-series about clothing items I…
Dear World, This is Sean Gin. I found him when I put out a call for an intern. Much to my surprise, he turned out not to be a crazy psychopath like everyone else on the internet. The only thing crazy about him is his talent. Like me, he studied art at a fancy, pushy, competitive university and, like me, he has perfect taste in everything all the time. He is a very talented photographer I fell in love with his series of square format photographs of California. They take a strangely removed, alienated view of California that is still…
Photographs by Sean Gin Dear Hello Mr Magazine, I am glad you finally exist. I was introduced to your founder, Ryan Fitzgibbons, by Richard Haines, my friend the fashion illustrator. I was then introduced to the magazine itself, which is really a breath of fresh air. It describes itself as a magazine for men who date men, but I feel like it’s filled with such great stories and such beautiful images that it will appeal to everyone. These promo graphics express the magazine’s sensibility: For years, Gay magazines have been cheesy and gross and filled with fake tan waxy steroid…
Photographs by Evan Joseph, Eliot Kauffman, Carl Wooley [Courtesy Michael Haverland] Dear Michael Haverland, As one of my favorite residential architects, you’ve done a ton of projects I love. But this particular New York loft captivates me because I am currently working on a modern minimalist beach house that is making me love minimalism more than ever before. This space is crazy, apparently the oldest concrete structure in New York and built in a space converted from a parking garage. I love this hallway with all the built-ins. And that terrifying staircase with no railing. The shot on the left…
Dear Diary, It’s been a crazy few weeks. Well it’s basically been nuts since I joined Homepolish in December. Like good crazy. Working seven days a week loving what I’m doing crazy. I hired an intern to help me do blog stuff, which is exciting. He’s a totally awesome, insanely talented photographer named Sean who I’m really happy to have found (I’ll be featuring his work next week, excited to share it with you). Everything in my life has been art and design lately, and that’s really exciting. I finished a giant painting based on a paint-by-numbers seascape and hung…
Dear Gays, I’ve noticed a trend amongst my friends. Not necessarily a new trend, but one that is growing nonetheless. A lot of people are meeting new guys, new love interests, new hookups on hookup apps. It’s not like the old days when you had to put on a decent outfit, go to a bar, and use your in-person social skills to make a connection. Now you can just go on Grindr, shop for a guy, and hookup with the best one you can get. It’s a confusing world, because the more available everything becomes, the less satisfying every interaction…
Dear Printed Matter, I first fell in love with you when Buzz Spector, my book-art-obsessed college professor, introduced me to you sophomore year. Now no trip to New York is complete without a visit to your Chelsea store (which, uncoincidentally, is around the corner from my old apartment on 21st street). Thus, I was delighted to hear about the LA Art Book Fair you hosted over the weekend at the Geffen Contemporary. The fair itself was exhausting, a giant space filled with tiny, fascinating objects from limited edition books to handmade zines and weird art t-shirts. But still totally worth…
PHOTO CREDITS: DOMAINE HOME (PORTRAIT), BETHANY NUART (ALL OTHERS) Dear Diary, You know, we’re a few weeks into 2014 and I must say it’s just awesome. You know how sometimes your life just sucks? Like you get dumped and your job situation is lame and you’re like freaked out about money and everything is just totally gross and annoying and stupid? Well that’s pretty much how 2013 was, until about November, when I met Kelly Oxford and started working on her office. Coincidence? I think not. Working with Kelly made life way more fun. That and my new kick ass…
Photo via Filth & Wisdom Dear Reader, A friend of mine shared this story with me recently that I like too much to keep to myself. It begins now. I was dating this guy, this handsome, confident, outgoing guy who lives in Miami. He totally wined and dined me and flew me out to go to a wedding with him in Florida. He introduced me to his friends, doted on me, and made me feel really attractive. [Sidenote: Like me, the friend relaying this story has a warped self-image, is totally self-conscious, and has questionable self-esteem]. While I was in…
Dear Santa, Christmas came a little early for me this year. In the form of aTOTALLY exciting new job! Don’t worry, I’m still an interior designer. But now I’m also so much more! About a month ago, I accepted a job as the Creative Director for Homepolish LA. Okay, okay. I know you have a ton of questions. “You have a job?” “What’s a Homepolish?” “You’re a human man?” “Colorado legalized pot before California?” “Christina and Gaga performed together?” I know. It’s so confusing. Yes, I have a job. I’ve been working with residential clients for years, but now I’ll…
Dear Smokey The Bear, Do you own any lamps? I bet you don’t. You don’t even have a shirt. But if you did own a lamp I bet you’d want to own a lamp like this awesome pinecone lamp I found recently at American Way Thrift in Burbank: That’s right. I snagged this piece of garbage for $12.99! At first I thought it was the worst thing I’d ever seen. But just like Freddie Prinze Jr in She’s All That, I knew a makeover was possible. I started fantasizing about spraying it matte black and putting a simple drum lampshade…
Dear People Seeking Balance in Your Lives, Does your life feel crazy, imbalanced, and out of control? Do you ponder why work either feels like a pitching machine throwing raw eggs at your face OR a lonely horse standing in a field wondering if anyone is ever going to come and pet him? Like you’re either way too busy or way bored because there’s nothing to do? Well if you’re feeling this way it’s probably because you don’t have a driftwood mobile to stare at. If you did you’d realize that all is right in the world. That there are…
Dear Curbly, I love the video of the makeover Emily and I did at your house a few months back. Check it out: [vimeo http://vimeo.com/79982012] Love, Orlando
YOANN LEMOINE Dear Music Video Director/Photographer Yoann Lemoine, You know that point in the evening, when you’ve been hanging out with your friends all night, when everyone switches from wanting to catch up and find out about each other’s weeks to wanting to show each other Youtube videos? Well that happened the other night and we started by watching the video you directed for Woodkid’s “Iron.” Woodkid is your band. Which might explain why the videos for Woodkid’s songs are the most incredible videos I’ve ever seen. Just breathtakingly beautiful, so emotionally rich, the perfect combination of darkness and light…
Dear Brooklyn, I have often quipped that if I ever move back to New York I’d move to Brooklyn. Mostly because it seems a lot calmer and less yappy than Manhattan. And then I found out that my favorite store in the world is in Williamsburg, so now I pretty much have to move there. Fresh Kills has a lot of really beautiful regency and mid-century furniture. It’s kind of like a museum filled with rare, gorgeous pieces. Below are my ten favorite finds from Fresh Kills: Brass Fireplace Tools, $750 I don’t have a fireplace but I want these….
Dear Diary, The last few weeks of my life have been filled with all sorts of glamour and excitement. Mainly because they took place in my two favorite places, California and New York. The day after my brush with death at LAX, I found myself luxuriating at the home of a famous architect in Malibu (I wasn’t allowed to take pictures because it’s going to end up in Architectural Digest or something). After being stuck in LAX for 11 hours the day previous, a day at the beach was much appreciated. I love the large-scale rope in this little fence,…
Photo By Jill Ulicney [This post is centered on the recent LAX shooting incident. If you don’t know that story check out the LA Times Coverage] Dear Reader, I had a weird experience a two weeks ago. I showed up at LAX, for my flight to New York. I was a bit late. It turns out I’m getting increasingly bad at showing up sufficiently early to the airport. Like I show up just in time to run through security and run directly onto the plane after my boarding group has been called and I’m sweating and annoyed because I’m dressed…
Photographs by Joshua McHugh, Portrait by Richard Phibbs ROBERT STILIN Dear My Friend Faris That I Met In Grad School and Am Still BFFs With, I had a crazy day on Sunday, running all over New York, from Williamsburg to SoHo to Chelsea to the Upper West side. So by the end of the day when I was trying to meet up with you back in SoHo, I was a mess. I was just getting over the stomach virus I got (from nuzzling a baby), my phone was dead, I was sweating, and I had no idea where I was going….
Dear Reader, As you may have noticed, I’ve done a little bit of restyling to Hommemaker.com. The changes include: ▲ Wider pictures (formerly 500 pixels wide, now 700 wide). ▲ Simpler, cleaner navigation featuring four main categories: Art, Decor, Life, Style. ▲ No ads. Although this is going to change. I’m working on incorporating ads for products and services I actually like and use. When they come back they’ll be hand-selected and more thoughtfully worked in to the site’s layout. All of these changes were made possible by my awesome web designer Forster Rudolph. The whole redesign is a sort of mini-rebranding for…
Photographs by Evan Joseph Dear Boffo, I enjoyed stopping by your installation at the Superpier (15th at the Hudson River) while I was in New York. This was part of the Building Fashion series, a series of collaborations between architects and fashion designers. Each year, thousands of architects and designers compete for the chance to work with Boffo to create an innovative, groundbreaking space. For the fashion designer, it’s an opportunity to showcase their work in a space customized to the concept/aesthetic of their line. For the architect, it’s a chance to design an outlandish, exciting space. The first in…
