IN THE NEW YORK TIMES with a cowboy named SLIM
- Lucie Ayres
- Aug 14
- 2 min read
A MAXIMALIST CRAFTSMAN FOR ONE OF OUR OG CLIENTS GETS FEATURED
Hello friends -
GIDDY about this - our project is in The New York Times!! Having grown up in New York, this is a huge deal for me and I couldn't be prouder.
I read the article early morning in bed, and it was SURREAL. A few people have asked how it happened, and it's really simple: I pitched Tim Mc Keough, the writer, directly. He came back with a yes in less than two hours. TWO HOURS.
The incredible Noah Webb shoots all of our projects, and Noah also shoots for the NYT. So by the time I pitched, the photos already existed, they were already at the level the Times needs, and they came from someone their editors already know and trust. Which is really the whole lesson: the pitch took ten minutes, but the thing that made it work took years.
Side note - I really wanted them to run a photo of me AND Grey together (the one posted above) They apparently don't do that. So it's Grey and her cat Luther, which is probably the better photo and I am not complaining.
This project really was all about the architecture of the home, the antiques Grey has collected over the years, how she actually lives, and what makes a home HERS. Grey's line about the two of us is so spot on: "She has this minimalist, very precise vibe, and I have a drugstore cowboy." That's perfect, and it's really how our client relationship has worked for 12 years. That kind of trust is the thing you can't shortcut, and it reminds me of what I was taught at Cornell: design is way more about listening, translating and curating than it is about sketching or picking out beautiful things. It's about creating spaces for the way people live and thrive. And I LOVE DOING IT.
Final note - there was never a fight about SLIM, the wooden cowboy. I love him as much as she does. He's in the dining room next to the piano, right where he should be.
Photos by the brilliant Noah Webb.
Thanks for reading. More soon.
Lucie
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