← Duologue with Leslie Heaney
Duologue with Leslie Heaney
The Ultimate Newport, Rhode Island Travel Guide with Nick Mele
01:07:42
Nick Mele has spent his whole life in Newport, Rhode Island — and turned his eye for that world into a career photographing it, in a style Town and Country refers to as "the Slim Aarons of our time." He's also the photographer behind the book A Newpor...
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- [00:00]
A
Hey everybody, it's Leslie. And you're listening to Duologue with Leslie Heaney. So today I'm pulling an old episode from the interview archives from last summer, last summer's travel series with the incredible Nick Mealy. Nick is a lifelong Newporter and one of the most sought after photographers working today. Town and country calls him the modern day Slim Aarons in this about what it's like to grow up inside a place like Newport and to build a whole career taking pictures of it, which he's done and turned into an amazing book called the Newport Summer. Nick's been busy since he and I spoke last. Earlier this year, he had a solo exhibition in Palm beach called Please no photos. If you're a fan of Nick's work or not familiar with it, you'll really want to check it out. Look it up on Nick's website. But anyway, it's a great episode. We get into his whole story about how he became a photographer, his philosophy around his work, and then all of his secret Newport insider tips and recommendations. This is an episode you don't want to miss. It's great for your summer walk, your summer drive, and it gives you really everything you need to know about visiting Newport and about a professional story. So with that, here is Nick Mealy. Nick, I'm very happy to see you, so thrilled that you're up there in Newport and I can't wait to talk to you about all of your favorite things and places about summer in Newport. And I should mention for those of you who don't know you, that you're a lifelong Newport resident and also a wildly successful photographer. Sort of the slim errands of our time before we get into the kind of the Newport piece, because this is sort of part of this, as I mentioned, kind of this summer series I'm doing for getting kind of behind the scenes of people that are in the know in these different towns. Because I actually got a text from a friend saying where should I stay in Newport? Or, you know, I'm going to Millbrook, what should I do? And I thought, gosh, I should just roll this into the podcast and get people who actually really know what's going on to talk about it. So really grateful to you for, for joining the pod.
- [01:49]
B
Yeah, happy to be here. This is, it's not my first podcast, but it's definitely my first video podcast. So I had to make sure I had the lighting right in the background, that I wife had to approve my wardrobe. Etc.
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A
I was going to say you're looking good you're looking really good.
- [02:05]
B
Oh, thank you.
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A
And your shirt actually is the perfect. I don't know if your wife like gave you some feedback there, but it looks great with the background. So she really. She art directed in a, in a really great way. She's on. All right. But for. I want to. Before we get into the Newport piece though, I kind of want to take it back a little bit and talk about you and, and all of your incredible photography. How did you. Did you always know you wanted to be a photographer? When did you start developing that interest and passion?
- [02:28]
B
I've always been into art. Growing up, I love to Dr. I think somewhere in high school I started taking some photography classes and I realized I liked the immediate gratification. I. You take a picture and develop it and it's done. You don't have to spend hours drawing and things like that. And so I was really into that. And then I did a little bit in college and then when all of my friends decided to go off to New York after college to get fancy finance jobs, I had no idea what I wanted to do. And so I decided to apply to a program at the International center of Photography in New York just as a reason to go to New York. And so I did a one year program there and really enjoyed it. And I still didn't know that that's what I wanted to do as a career. But I started working for Patrick McMullen who was kind of the event society photographer in New York City and doing that and trying to kind of figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The problem is my parents were of that generation that says do what you love, really do, do whatever your passion is and stuff like that. And they failed to impart on me that I actually needed to make money at some point.
- [03:41]
A
How amazing though that you were able. You're like one of the, the rare few that's able to actually do that. Your parents were onto something where, you know, able to do that and doing something you love and that you're so good at.
- [03:53]
B
Yes and no. It's a, it, it's a. That's a great gift but at the same time you lack the, the urgency that is necessary at some point that you actually have to pick something and stick to it and really dedicate yourself to a craft, what or whatever it is. And I think if I could give any young person advice, it's pick something, really give it a hundred percent of your effort and if you find it's not working, you don't like it, you can switch lanes. But my problem was, especially in my 20s, is that I didn't really ever pick one thing. I had a million things that I thought, oh, maybe I'll do this and maybe I'll do that. And so I never gave anything a hundred percent effort. I gave everything about 15, 20% effort and so nothing ever quite stuck. So I actually spent most of my 20s kind of floating. I even went back and got my bit in my MBA because I just really didn't know. I think photography scared me as I don't know how I'm actually going to make a career out of this. So maybe I should try this. Maybe so it really wasn't until I hit 30 and I had run out of all my savings and I couldn't get a job doing anything. I ended up bartending and waiting tables. And so I was a 30 year old with a wife and a kid on the way waiting tables and I had an undergraduate and a master's degree from Georgetown and a master's degree from ICP and I, I was working behind a bar and I thought, God, this is really going to be a failure to launch if I don't figure anything out. And so I went back to photography, which was my original kind of passion. And really that's when I gave it 100% of my effort and that's when things actually started to work and succeed.
- [05:36]
A
Did you go back, was that when you went back to work with Patrick McMahon or did you at that point decide you were going to try to go out on your own?
- [05:43]
B
And so I was working with Patrick right out of college while I was at ICP and right after and it was, that was the easy, low hanging fruit as far as photography work that I knew was there. I met Patrick a handful of times. I knew a bunch of people who worked in his office and I liked going to parties so it seemed natural and easy. So I was doing it just as a way to do photography, but I didn't really, I never really loved event photography. I ended up doing it for quite a while on my own and with Patrick. But, but it, it, it wasn't really for me, but I did learn a lot from Patrick and it was great, but honestly it didn't pay great. It wasn't my, it wasn't my passion, but it, it was a great learning experience.
- [06:30]
A
What would you say, talk about like the lessons that you learned from him or for other, from other photographers of kind of, because I think you're so talented in capturing these rare moments Were there, Was there? Did that come through experience, your eye? Was that something that you got direction on from working with Patrick or from other photographers that you follow and admire?
- [06:48]
B
It's funny because in preparation for our interview, I listened to a bunch of your other podcasts and I listened to your podcast with Douglas Friedman. Oh, yeah, it was great. And I found myself an old college friend of mine.
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A
Yeah.
- [07:00]
B
And I found myself being very jealous because he talked about how when he first started his career, he worked for all the, he assisted all these other photographers and learned a ton. And I think that especially in when he was doing it in the 90s and when I was started, that was really the way to do it. That was the only, the only way you figured out the business. And I. Nowadays there's so many ways in, but. And so much you can learn online. But I didn't really, I was too scared, I think, to do that. I didn't really try to approach very many people. It was basically just Patrick. And I find myself being jealous of Douglas because I think he probably learned a ton of stuff that I never learned and I wish I knew at this point. So a lot of what I, I do has been self taught, has been through experience, has been trying different things. But as far as, but as far as Patrick, what I learned from him, and for your listeners who don't know, Patrick McMullen, he's. During the 70s, 80s, 90s, early 2000s, he was the New York City event society photographer. I think he started off shadowing Andy Warhol and from there he was the guy. If you were having a party in New York, you hired Patrick. And if you wanted to be recognized as part of New York society, you, you sought out his photographers to get your picture on his website. And the thing that Patrick had, which I think a lot of event photographers don't have, is he just had this ability to just make everybody feel comfortable. Yeah, he would get strangers and grab them and go, oh, you're beautiful, you're great. You guys would look great together, get together, let me take your picture. And he just had no fear to really go up to people and talk them. And that was his real talent. I, I don't know that he was some fantastic technical photographer, but he was just so good at a party, making people feel comfortable in front of the camera and also acting like he was at the party. He was not a hired photographer. He was just a guest who happened to have a camera.
- [09:07]
A
Yeah, he captured though, he was, as you said, he would bring people together and grab you together with a group for a picture. And it made it a little, it wasn't planned. Right. It was a little more on the fly or spur of the moment. Right.
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B
And yeah, I think what really, I really took out of that is that people want. There. There wasn't some great secret to event photography. A million people could take pictures at a party, but they wanted Patrick. What I learned from that is it's a little bit of a cult of personality. Yeah, they wanted Patrick because they liked Patrick, they enjoyed his company, they thought he added something to, to the party, to the scene. And so I think I realized early on that the business of photography isn't just being able to take good pictures. It's how you interact with your clients, it's how you interact with the people around you. It's what you bring to set and it's how you make your subject feel. I look at so many, I don't really do event photography at all anymore, but I look at so many event photographers and they're dressed in all black and they're fading into the background and trying not to be noticed too much. And I never wanted to be that. I hate, I hated the idea that. The thing that worried me about being a photographer is I never wanted to be seen as less than, as the help almost. You look at a party, you see the bartenders and the waiters, and the photograph can oftentimes just be seen as an extension of that. And I never wanted to be that in any facet of photography. I. So when I would go to, to an event, I would try if there was a dress code, if it was black tie, if it was, I would dress exactly how the guests were dressing. I would try and dress even better so people would even notice me. I would be in bright blue blazers and cool shoes and I would stick out from the crowd and people would come up and talk to me and be, oh, you should be in front of the camera and all this stuff.
- [11:12]
A
Yeah.
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B
And. And A, I thought that was great because it means I'm memorable and if people see me on multiple occasions, they'll start to put a face to the name. But B, I would get a drink from the bar. I would have to get a drink from the bar because I'm actually terribly shy and it took forever to, to get used to going up to strangers and asking to take their picture. So for the first time, however many years, I was shit faced at most of these parties.
- [11:36]
A
Probably doing some great work by the way, because you were like totally, you know, relaxed and part of the party, right.
- [11:42]
B
And I would, yeah, I would eat the hors d', oeuvres, I would talk. As long as I got the job done, I, I would feel free to mingle and do my thing. And I think that's what makes a great party photographer in a lot of ways.
- [11:55]
A
You think about, There's Pat Patrick McMullen or Mary Hilliard or Julie Scarrett or people that you know, know the people at the party. You have that kind of relationship. And it does make for, I think, a better at the end because the person that's having their picture taken is excited to see the photographer and, and they know that person. It just isn't, it's a, it makes, I think, for a better, a better picture in a lot of ways. So you're 30, you've decided you're going to go back to photography because you, you loved it and you realize you have a baby on the way and this is, you're going to give it your all. What was your first step? Were you thinking about taking sort of more portrait pictures of people? Were you thinking about interiors? Where were, where was your head at?
- [12:33]
B
So I've all. I've always loved people. For me it's always about. Been about taking pictures with people in the scenes. But at that point I would take any job I was offered. At that point it was just about making money that wasn't behind a bar. It was. So it would be food photography, party photography, portraits, anything with an eye on the type of photography I wanted to do. So it was. I would do all that for money. But I knew where I wanted to go. I knew I didn't want to be a wedding photographer. I knew I didn't want to be really an event photographer. I knew that I wanted to do something a little bit more elevated. Maybe it was fashion, maybe it was lifestyle for magazines. I had a sense of where I wanted to be and that was my goal. And we had just moved back from la, so after business school I went out to LA thinking I'm going to get into the movie business, I'm going to do a film finance. And didn't really love the people in la. Didn't had a tough time, time kind of breaking into the, to the business. And I was so far away from the East Coast. I'm in the east coast, kids. All my friends and family were back on the east coast. And so we spent about a year out there and we came home with our tails between our legs and we came and spent a year or two in Newport. I'D never lived in Newport year round. I grew up in D.C. i only spent the summers here. And so we spent about a year or two here in Newport and it was terribly depressing.
- [13:58]
A
I. I'm only laughing because I, I myself, I went to St. George's so I so very aware the Newport winter.
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B
Yeah, Newport is great till about January and then January to June is gray and depressing and half the restaurants and bars are closed and you just want to kill yourself.
- [14:18]
A
Yeah.
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B
And so I was bartending at a bar here that's no longer around called Asterisk and Obelisk.
- [14:25]
A
Oh yeah.
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B
And I was living above my parents garage with my wife and my parents were like, you got to get out of here. You're. You need to figure something out. So I was like, I was applying to a bunch of jobs and nothing was working out and said, all right, I'm going to really do photography. Should we move back to New York or the New York area? Because I didn't want to raise kids in New York. So should we move to Connecticut and I can commute into New York and try and do it there or should we move to Palm Beach, Florida, where I kind of spent a lot of my vacations growing up in winters. And I kind of knew I could get event photography work. I knew some people and I thought it might be an interesting thing. And so we decided on that and it was actually the best decision I could have made. I was in the right place at the right time for, for Palm beach and for my photography. I have a style or I've developed a style that's like you said, very much kind of slim errands esque, really. And I've always documented that luxury lifestyle in these resort sort of towns. And I've always for a long time been very interested in the sociology behind these places and these people having grown up in it and been around it and that sort of thing. And so I had a style that very much fit the Palm beach vibe. And as luck would have it, there had been a resurgence in the last 10, 15 years of interest in kind of that slim errands style and vibe and a nostalgia for the, for the 70s and the 60s and that era, that kind of golden age of luxury. And then Palm beach really started to take off. As I was there, it was a lot of young people started moving down there in kind of.
- [16:07]
A
What time is this, Nick? What, what year are we looking at?
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B
14.
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A
Okay.
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B
And just a lot of young people for whatever reason started moving down there and Palm beach started Getting a little bit hipper and more restaurants, and there were more. It was just a much more vibrant place than it had been when I was growing up. And then Covid hit and it became the place to be. Yeah, all these eyes were on Palm beach and all these brands wanted a piece of it and restaurants and stuff like that. And at that point, by Covid, I was. Had developed myself into a big fish in a small pond. I was every. If you asked anybody, oh, you should hire Nick. Nick's the guy.
- [16:48]
A
Yeah.
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B
So all these brands and people that were coming down there started hiring me and because they wanted that vibe, they wanted that authentic Palm beach look. And so I think I did a lot better than if I had moved to New York. And I was just one of a thousand photographers trying to make it in New York City without a kind of. Without a voice and identity. And what I've realized over the last 15, 20 years of doing this is that you really. Especially nowadays with everybody having access to a camera in their pocket and everybody being able to take a beautiful picture, the barrier to entry to being a photographer is practically gone. You used to have to spend all this money on equipment and know how to use it and stuff like that. So now anybody can take a pretty picture. I could go on Instagram and throw a stick and find somebody who could take a great photo. Yeah, you have to. Nowadays, if you want to get hired and you want to be successful, you have to have a voice, you have to have a point of view. You have to have a brand. You have to.
- [17:48]
A
So interesting. You're actually telling a story. All of your photographs tell a story. It's. And to your point, I never actually thought about that. You're right. It's so accessible. People take a great picture of a landscape or a sunset or a group of people, but that's not where your talent, your value, you're coming at it from actually like creating a. Creating as you use the word vibe, but creating a vibe, but creating a window into a life or a feeling. Right. The pictures that you took, like you did those collaborations with Brunswig and Fee for their law menagerie, like Fabric Line and the Colony Hotel. And there's real. It's almost like you're reading a book or looking at a movie in a way too, with those pictures, because they're telling kind of a story and evoking a certain feeling from the person who's viewing them.
- [18:30]
B
It's funny. When I was in photography school, I was taking a lot of portraits and I was really, I was photographing my grandmother a lot and a lot of her older grandam type friends in places like Newport and things like that. But I was doing these real close ups. I thought, oh, how interesting are their faces with the, and the jewelry and stuff like that? And they were good. But I think someone said, why don't you pull back a little bit? And I realized the spaces that they were in were just as interesting. That there were these fabulous rooms and things like that and that told more of a story. If you can do an environmental portrait and get, get more of the vibe, then that was more interesting. And then so I started looking at it as almost like you were looking at a, a scene from a play or a movie and every element added to it. Especially if you're photographing someone who's not that interesting in of themselves, the space maybe can speak more to make it a little bit more interesting. And then creating kind of a scene where people are like, oh, what's kind of going on here? Or who is this person? I want to learn more. And then that's how it started. And then when I first started my career, I wasn't really working at all. I didn't have that much to do. So I, But I still wanted to take pictures. I'm like, what could I take pictures of? And I just had a son and my wife and I'm in this fabulous location locations. And I was looking at Instagram and there were these people on Instagram and they were showing these fabulous lifestyles and these great places like Newport and things like that. And they were shooting kind of a vibe, a lifestyle that, that I knew very well. But I was, I would look, I'm like, I know that house. That's not their house. Yeah, those aren't the people. That's not. So they were almost. They were shooting in front of other people's houses or renting houses or bars and creating this lifestyle that was very real to me but clearly not fake to them. And so they were fabricating this, this, this fabulous life to look great on Instagram and stuff like that. I'm like, I can do that. I know the people who live there. That's so actually in your case.
- [20:40]
A
And you talk about your grandmother, some of her friends and those rooms and those spaces, the access that you have through your, your relationships and you growing up and things, you're giving people a behind the curtain view of places that many people, rooms, people haven't seen or experiences, particularly in Newport. I actually interviewed Trudy Cox last week. We talked about the history of Newport in the Gilded Age a little bit. But some of those rooms, types of rooms like that, still exist in private hands. Right. Which is sort of going to talk about your book. Right. A Newport Summer and Palm Beach Living. But part of those books is you. You getting. Giving people a look behind the scenes into some of those spaces and people.
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B
That all ties in, I think. Again, another thing I tell young photographers, and that I realize is that it's a very. It's a very competitive field, photography, so you have to lean into whatever competitive advantages you have. I realized for me, my competitive advantage was access. I had access to people and places that most people would never get to see or photograph. And most of these people wouldn't feel comfortable around them. I knew that they had a comfort level with me. And whereas most people, they might say, oh, no, I don't want my picture taken, they. Because they've known me their entire lives or they knew my parents or I'm a friend of a friend, they feel a comfort level that I'm not going to paint them in a bad light or try to expose them or something like that. Or expose. Yeah, man. There's a lot of negative connotations around wealth and things like that and luxury and people never want to be. They never want to be in a position where they're being criticized or looked down upon. And I want to celebrate it. This is really where I grew up and how I grew up and the people I grew up around. I have a lot of reverence for it, and I want to show what I love about it. And I think going back to what I was talking about, Instagram, like, I never. I would look at these people and all this stuff and I would be like, it's almost toxic positivity, this idea that life is perfect and my life is so great, how great everything and how rich I am and how fabulous my house is, and I hated that. I think that no matter how much money you have or the way you live, people deal with a lot of the same problems. And life isn't perfect and raising kids is hard and. And it's really gauche ghosts to show off and say, look how great my life is. So I always wanted to show it with a little bit of a wink and a nod and a little tongue in cheek and say, this is all a little ridiculous. It's fabulous and it's great, but it's all a little silly. And so I, like I said, I wasn't really getting any work at that time. And so I Had these kids and a wife and access to fabulous places. So I just started photographing my family in places like Newport and Palm beach and creating these scenes that kind of showed off like we're not great parents sometimes and we forget what. That our kids are unattended and they've crawled up on something expensive and they're about to kill themselves. You know, like I. Or what I. When I had my two boys, I had. I took a photo where one of them had put the. The other one in a pot on the stove and was decided he was going to bake his little brother. And that's what every older brother wants to do when comes along. So it was. I would create these kind of. These scenes and this sort of thing that people really took to and enjoyed. It was funny and self deprecating and. And people really started to respond to kind of the humor and the whimsy in my work more than anything else. And so I really leaned into that as well because that was a competitive advantage and that was something that, that I enjoyed. So I started to try and bring that humor into all of my work. And then that when I finally decided to get into fine art and sell my prints and things like that, I was creating things that specifically emulated the photography I did with my family, but made it more accessible to everyone. And really tried to create scenes that people could lose themselves in. And the luxurious scenes, they're almost like.
- [24:50]
A
Like paintings in a way. And I mentioned like telling a story. But you really like the scenes. Like if you look at your website, for example, like the landing page, you've got the picture of the.
- [24:58]
B
Of.
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A
I don't know who it is because their back is to. I'm sure it is in the caption somewhere. But he's at a dining room table reading the paper and his horse is in the dining room. Right? Like the whimsy of that. Obviously he's a writer. Maybe he's in Virginia. I can't recall where it was taken, but. So speaking of the horse, this is just me. I've always been curious about this. You've got for the Brunswick project, you had a monkey on your shoulder. You had a camel through a window. You had an alligator for the colony shoot. Like just as a sidebar, just because I'm curious, you get the guy that does the petting zoo that comes. Or was there. Is there a Jack Hanna outfit that comes and does the animal handling? Because having a monkey on your shoulder, I was like, wow, Nick, that's really. This could be like an outbreak Situation. How do you. Is it.
- [25:40]
B
Yeah, I don't know when along the way I kind of became the animal guy. It just happened. I think it started with the colony and just. I've always loved the idea of subverting normal expectations. So if, putting things where you wouldn't expect them and, and if you expect, like I said, if you expect these people to be good parents, maybe show them being bad parents, if you expect, you know, if you expect somebody to, to, to have a normal pet, maybe they have an alligator instead. And also it goes back to stories I heard growing up of these fabulously wealthy people who would be incredibly eccentric and have strange pets and strange things like that. I actually, in Newport growing up, I lived right down the street from Doris Duke. And she had three camels on her property. Yes, he had three camels on her property in Newport, Rhode Island. And you would walk the cliff walk and you would look through the gate and you would see these camels just roaming around in Newport, Rhode Island. And so to me, that was so fantastic and so eccentric and so great and so fit into what I was trying to capture and show. And so when I finally decided to dive into, to find art, I decided to start at the colony. I love the Colony and I love Sarah and Andrew who own it. That becomes two of my closest friends in the world. And so I said to her, it's a pet friendly, it's a dog friendly hotel. I'm like, what if the people staying there didn't have a dog? What if they had an alligator? So I thought that would just be great for this idea I had. And I have a great producing partner named Kristen. And she, I put her on it and she found a guy who had a ton of animals. And we rented an alligator for $2,000 an hour. The most expensive model.
- [27:28]
A
These are the details that I'm getting at because we had, there's that guy that would come to Newport to the club that Nick and I go to there. And he was later arrested, actually. I don't know, that's a sidebar. But they would do animal night or pet night or whatever, and the alligator would come out and they duct taped the thing. And I'm thinking you must have had a similar outfit in Palm beach bring in some guy from the Everglades.
- [27:48]
B
Yeah, we found that guy. And that guy ended up having a ton of animals. A camel and all these other things and a monkey and stuff like that. And so I started, I started bringing these animals into the scenes. And especially you, you talk about the Brunswick and fee thing. Their product line that we were launching was called La Menagerie. Right, Menagerie. And it was all very much maximalist kind of animal print type things. And so I thought, what if the campaign is this family living with a bunch of exotic animals, which, by the
- [28:22]
A
way, as you pointed out, happen in Newport, like at any time.
- [28:26]
B
Yeah, totally. So pretty. Pretty soon this is another barrier to entry, like I talked about with photography, that not everybody is going to go out and hire animals and spend money, but pretty soon with AI, anybody's just going to be able to say, hey, oh, yeah, put an elephant in my backyard. So that's going to. That's going to ruin anything that makes me special pretty soon.
- [28:48]
A
But no way. But the Newport piece. So you mentioned the seeing the, the camels through the gate. And I think that kind of exemplifies maybe a little bit of the spirit of what you and Ruthie Summers, who was the writer, I think, on the project of a Newport summer, and you were the photographer for it, and you guys did it together. But, well, you were, you were trying to capture that, right? To sort of behind the curtain in Newport a little bit.
- [29:12]
B
Yes and no. I don't. I don't like that kind of term, the view behind the curtain or anything like that, because we weren't trying to really expose anything like. Yeah, an inside view. I tell people this is. This is Newport, Rhode island, but this is my Newport. This is how I see Newport. This isn't how everybody sees Newport. This isn't like the guide to Newport. This is my love letter to the new.
- [29:35]
A
Yes.
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B
How I grew up and how I loved it and how I really kind of experienced Newport. And it really sprung out of the fact that I've just been taking pictures here basically since high school, documenting my friends and family, and partly to document, but partly just because I had a camera and I wanted to. And I wanted to take pictures of my grandmother and my parents and things like that. And over time, I started to realize, like I said earlier, that it was a view that not everybody got to see. And I was. It was a competitive advantage. And so I started to lean into that. But it started out, out is just me with a disposable camera taking pictures of my family and friends. And over time, 10, 15 years, I had developed this whole catalog of photos. And some of it was personal, some of it was jobs that I had been hired, things like that. And Ruthie Summers, who was a fabulous decorator, I don't think she's really decorating much Anymore. But she had amazing taste and was good at her job and had bought some of my stuff for her projects. She came up to me as we, we should do some stuff like this. And we did a story that ended up in the New York Times Magazine about kitchens in Newport, Rhode Island.
- [30:55]
A
Oh yeah, I actually, I remember that. Yeah.
- [30:57]
B
All these, all these fabulous houses in Newport have these old kitchens that haven't been updated since the 50s because they're functional and it's not many people nowadays. Everybody spends time in their kitchen. It's the entertaining hub in a lot of houses. But for forever that was just the, you know, the people who worked in the house. Nobody actually hung out in the kitchen. Even if you didn't have help. That's just where you cooked and then you spent time in the dining room, in the living room. So all these kitchens in Newport just hadn't been updated in forever and they were these fabulous kind of vintage things with appliances that were still from the 50s and 60s and worked better than modern appliances.
- [31:39]
A
So we owned, we owned Barton Goulman's house, Starboard house and our stove, the Mantises now own it, but was 5 years old for real and totally functional. It was at a salamander stove. It was gigantic. It was like this dark metal, five year old stove. Yeah.
- [31:56]
B
Nowadays your washing machines always, your dishwasher is always breaking down and your oven needs to be fixed and things like this. All these, these appliances lasted forever. And actually that was as far as Ruthie told me was a, a drawback to us selling the story because so many of these design magazines advertise with all these appliance companies and things like that. And we had all these old.
- [32:22]
A
Oh, that's interesting.
- [32:24]
B
Didn't want to show off these, these dated kitchens.
- [32:27]
A
So it's appliances that you don't have to replace because that'll.
- [32:31]
B
So it ended up in the New York Times Magazine. And I really enjoyed working with Ruthie. She brought a perspective that I didn't have at the time and actually pulled me back in. Whereas I said earlier that in photography school I really pulled out in my portraits to show more of the things. She reminded me that the details are fabulous and whereas not in portraits but in interiors and things like that, I really got into photographing the details and the cracks in the walls and the things that made Newport so fabulous. And so we, we did that story and we pitched a couple of other stories but then we're like, why don't we just do a book?
- [33:11]
A
Yeah.
- [33:11]
B
And so we went out and pitched A bunch of publishers and we met with Von Dome and they loved the idea and they had never done a book with people in it before. They were strictly interiors books.
- [33:24]
A
Oh, interesting.
- [33:25]
B
But they really loved my photos and liked the idea. So they were like, all right, we'll take a chance on it. And I had shot 15 years worth of stuff. But at that point we started to put it together and how's this gonna to be edited and form a story? And we decided on it being like a summer's worth. So every chapter was June, July, August, September. And Newport has a different vibe in each of those months. And so we tried to cater to that where June is slower and foggy and people are just getting there and opening their house for summer. And then July is really when everybody's super excited to be there. Fourth of July and it's really everyone getting to know each other again and having parties and whatnot. And then August is more the galas and the boat races and all the sort of the folk festivals and coaching and all that sort of stuff. And then September is winding down again and is a little bit slower and it's where it's kind of the sunset of the season. And so we really tried to frame the book that way and we had an idea of what was missing. And so Ruthie and I went out and tried to fill in the holes and shot more portraits and shot more houses and details and parties. And I really love this book because it really just. It's not just interiors, it's not just portraits. It's not. It's. It's everything. It's details. It just really kind of gives a vibe of what Newport is for someone who grew up here and coming here and is in kind of the parts of Newport that not everybody gets to see. Behind the hedgerow, if you will. But.
- [35:02]
A
So let's talk about. So you. I love how you. Yeah, I was. You describe it as a love letter. So let's. I want to dive in now to some of the. The places and things that you. Other parts of Newport that you love and why you love them. And so let's. Maybe we should take it from the top in terms of people listening that want to go visit Newport, see Newport. Where would you. If you're going to do a three day in Newport, what would be your first stop of a place that you might want to stay if you're not staying with a friend or someone in the know you're going up.
- [35:31]
B
Yeah, choice. I would definitely recommend staying with a friend because if you know Someone up here, they're going to be able to show you their Newport, which, Which is great. And I know some people are like, oh, I don't want to impose, but things like that. But Newport is definitely the type of place to stay with a friend if, if you have.
- [35:48]
A
Yeah, yeah, you just brought that up. It just really, it struck me, I was just thinking that there are so many parts of Newport like that, the sailing community, for example. Like in and of itself, there are people that I know who go up to Newport and they spend their entire time on the water and they're in sailing races or they're with other sailors and they're experiencing Newport only in that way. Or people that are just going to see the mansions as tourists are going for the weekend or they have a home there and they're. They're playing tennis or they're doing whatever they're doing. There's so many different ways to experiences. Experience it in different types of people that are in Newport. It's a pretty diverse community is what I'm getting at.
- [36:24]
B
Totally. And I. And that's why when I say my book, that it's my perspective of Newport because this is a huge sailing community and I don't sail.
- [36:33]
A
Yeah.
- [36:34]
B
So there's maybe three photos in my book of sailboats. I have a picture of the Volvo Ocean Race. And you've interviewed Nick Dana earlier. I saw that. And there's one picture of polo. I never go out to polo, so that's not my, My, my world. So the, the book and the things I capture are very much my world. But there are whole sections of Newport that someone else who comes to Newport could experience it completely differently than I do. And it is a huge tourist town. There's a. I, I barely ever go into town because town is so focused on the tourist side of things.
- [37:09]
A
Yeah.
- [37:10]
B
I stick to the outskirts and to, to the beach and the club that I go to and my house and my friends and things like that. But there's a whole downtown that's. That really is geared towards tourists and people coming just for the day. Coming from the weekend, coming from New York, coming from Boston, it's really accessible from Boston. It's about an hour and 15 minutes away. New York is about two and a half hours from by train, maybe about three hours if you drive. Not during rush hour, not during traffic. People try and come up here from New York on a Friday driving, and it's taking them six hours.
- [37:42]
A
So it could be three or it could be. Yeah, it depends on what.
- [37:45]
B
So it really depends on how, when you're leaving and stuff like that.
- [37:49]
A
But if you're going to. Yeah, sorry, go ahead, Nick.
- [37:51]
B
It's a little bit less accessible than the Hamptons and things like that, so. From New York. So that will deter. Deter some people. But anyway, to get back to your question, if you're coming in and you're looking at where do you stay? It used to be for a while, there weren't very many options. Yeah, it was either a Viking hotel, which is in serious need of a makeover, or it was bed and breakfast, a small little bed and breakfast, which could be hit or miss. And in the last 10 years or so, 15 years or so, the options have gotten a lot better. One of my oldest friends in the world opened a hotel downtown called the Gardener. It's been open for about two years now, and it's fabulous. They really put a lot of thought into the lobby and the bar and the restaurant and living spaces. And it's right on the water downtown off of Fame Street. And it really, more than any other hotel, I would say, in town, gives you the vibe of old Newport, of kind of the Newport I was trying to showcase in my book. The wallpaper in the lobby is all taken directly as a copy of the wallpaper from my friend's house growing up that was hand painted by his grandfather, Howard Gardner Cushing, who was this very famous painter at the turn of the century. And. And the bar feels more like somebody's living room where you can really. My friend Howard, who owns the hotel, is the consummate host and is just so good at creating an atmosphere that really gives you an experience. So that. And the restaurant Flores has become the, the place to be. The place to go out. The food is fabulous. It's overlooking the water, the, the bay.
- [39:36]
A
Oh, Narragansett Bay.
- [39:37]
B
Yeah. Is that, is it Narragansett Bay or. It's the harbor, basically. And. And so that's a great place to say. And then there's the, the Albert, the Vanderbilt. The Arbaras Group owns the Vanderbilt Grace in town, right in the center of town. And that. That used to be a house, but a huge house, and it's been turned into this fabulous hotel. It's really, I think, top notch, and it's an experience. And it has a. It really also has a vibe. It's a little dark, but the. Because it's managed by this big hotel group that knows what they're doing. It just. Every, every detail is taken care of and they have these amazing experiences. You can do whiskey tastings and they have vintage cars that you can rent. And they have a rooftop bar that overlooks the whole city. So that. That's another great place to say. And then if you want. Don't want to be in town, you can go to Castle Hill outside of town, which is probably one of the best views in Newport. And you can sit out there at sunset with your drinks. I would recommend going there even if you're not staying there to just go and have dinner or. Sunset cocktail.
- [40:47]
A
Yeah. I was gonna ask, what's your other favorite cocktail spot?
- [40:51]
B
I think, you know, growing up, everybody went to the Clark Cookhouse. That was the place to go. It's right in the middle of town. And it's open. It's right on the harbor as well. And it's gigantic. There are four floors, and each floor has a different vibe. The downstairs is called the Boom Room and disco.
- [41:11]
A
Yeah.
- [41:12]
B
Where you can really go and dance. And then the main floor is the restaurant. And then the top floor is called the Sky Bar. And you have to wear a jacket and tie to get in there. And there's a velvet rope. And it's very much everything you would expect out of that. But it's really is an experience. And they have a DJ up there and at the end of the night they play God bless America. To wind everything down. Yeah.
- [41:38]
A
To usher everybody home.
- [41:40]
B
Yeah. And it really is one of those last few places where you have to get dressed up to. To go and everybody. It kind of harkens back to a bygone era of Newport.
- [41:51]
A
That. That is, I think, one of the great restaurant spots. And the. And it's Flores. Right. And the Gardener is also awesome. Any other restaurants that you like, you feel like. Oh, and you talked about. Not the. What's the other hotel? Not the Cliff Walk. Cliff Walk is a location. But we were just talking about it. The. The drinks at the.
- [42:09]
B
Now you've got me.
- [42:11]
A
Castle Hill. That also. They have that restaurant there. Right. That you can have dinner outside if you want to. You know, you've got to make a reservation. But this. The view is so.
- [42:19]
B
But that's a place. You almost have to make a reservation two weeks in advance and yeah. Get on your computer at midnight to
- [42:28]
A
getting fellow Swift tickets. Yeah.
- [42:29]
B
You're like make it very difficult there. But you might also be able to show up and they have space and then.
- [42:35]
A
What about any. Yeah. Any other. I'm trying to think of. Of a Barcino state in Washington Square.
- [42:40]
B
I love Barcino. Yeah. I love Stone Acre Pantry, which is right. Right there as well. There's a great Mexican spot right around the corner from Bartino called Pero Salado. Yeah. It's got a tree growing in the courtyard and. And the food is great. Kind of the staple of Newport that everyone has to go to is the Black Pearl, which is right next to the cookhouse and is owned by a great friend of mine and is actually where I met my wife. I met my wife on the patio. The Black Pear.
- [43:09]
A
Stop it.
- [43:10]
B
Yeah, so it holds a special.
- [43:12]
A
I'm gonna say, do you guys have anniversary dinners there? I love that you. You met your favorite place. That's so awesome.
- [43:18]
B
Yeah, no, it was very cool. She was actually on a blind date with my good friend who owns the Black Pearl now, and. And I met them for drinks afterwards and swooped in and stole her.
- [43:28]
A
That's a story for another. Another episode. Nick. The romances behind some of these things. Okay, so a barcino Parasolado. And then there's also. If you want to do diner dives, there's Franklin Spa or.
- [43:41]
B
Yeah. Oh, yeah.
- [43:42]
A
Handy Lunch for breakfast. Oh, there's a tension Bells too, on the. In the shipyard, which is a really cool experience.
- [43:48]
B
Yeah, Bells is great. I haven't really been back there since the. Was bought out by harbor by the big corporation.
- [43:55]
A
Yeah.
- [43:56]
B
But when it was. I know it was great. When it was owned by the Dana family and Isabella. Dana started it and ran it. It was fabulous. And yeah, there's a ton of. Yeah. Great kind of diners. Annie's is another one right up on. On Bellevue. Yeah. Lots of dive diner, breakfast places a little bit out of the way. One of my favorite Italian restaurants anywhere is this place called Mama Louise's.
- [44:20]
A
Oh, yeah, I love Mama Louise's.
- [44:22]
B
Yeah, that's way down on Thames street. And it's this tiny little place, and it's run by a real Italian family. And they have great pastas and Dover sole and. And things like that. And.
- [44:35]
A
And that's right in a residential neighborhood. Almost doesn't feel like there should be a restaurant there. And it makes it feel like you're eating in someone's house. You are eating in someone's house. It's in a house. Yeah, but that. That's a really great option, too. I forgot about that one.
- [44:48]
B
Every time I go to Newport, I have to get Mama Louise's at least one.
- [44:52]
A
At least once. Okay. What about favorite beaches or drives or walks, Activities for people to do. Let's off the tourist track a little bit.
- [45:00]
B
It is very touristy, but you have to do Cliff walk. Cliff walk is the three mile walk along the coast that goes. Basically starts at Easton's Beach, first beach, where there's actually another great hotel called the Chandler. And it's.
- [45:13]
A
Oh, that's a place for a drink to add to our cocktail spots, right? Yeah, the Chandler, if you want to have that view.
- [45:18]
B
Yeah, that's right. Overlooking. That's on the other side of town. Right. Overlooking Easton's beach, which everybody calls First Beach. And. And that's. They have a great burger there. And the rooms are all different there. Yeah, very cool place. And so you start the cliff walk there. It's about three miles. It used to be really rocky terrain, but they fixed up a lot of it and you don't have to walk the whole thing. You can get off in different places. And then it ends on the other side of the island over by where I live around what's now what people call Rejects Beach. I don't know actually what the. What the technical name for it is, but it's called Rejects beach by. By the locals and it's probably my favorite public beach on the island. It's a little bit lesser known and there's not a lot of parking around there, so you have to park a little bit farther down and walk to it. But, but. And it's a small little beach, but I think it's. If you're trying to avoid kind of that straight tourist crowd, I think that's the one to go to that definitely.
- [46:15]
A
That's a great. I forgot about that. I was thinking more of Second Beach, Middletown. But you're right that. That little sliver there at Rejects, which I also don't know what the actual name is, is such a good spot. Spot to go to. You've got a parking might be a challenge. You might want to Uber. But. But that's at the end of Bell, like where Bellevue meets in the curve. And I don't know how you would tell an Uber driver where to go there, but it's like where Bellevue goes
- [46:40]
B
Ocean Drive and I'm sure. Yeah, I'm sure it might actually like if you type rejects into Uber, it might actually even be.
- [46:48]
A
Okay, hold on. Talking. I'm going to do that now and see if it comes up. It comes up on my phone. Right. So we. So we cliff walk. There's also. What is the place Pass Second beach over by Third beach. There's a nature walk.
- [47:01]
B
Oh yeah, that's. This is one of those things when you put me on the spot, I can.
- [47:04]
A
No, I can't remember either. I'll google that one. But that it's.
- [47:08]
B
That's a great place to walk. The only caveat I would, I would give is I've walked through there and come out with five ticks all over.
- [47:15]
A
Yeah, yeah. No, yeah, we. Oh, okay. Just so we're clear. One second. Reject speech. When you put in reject speech, it comes up as Bailey's Beach.
- [47:25]
B
Okay.
- [47:26]
A
So at least it's going to get you there. For people that are listing which. So it's next to it's shared beach piece with a beach club. But you can access it from the. That's a secret tip. You're hearing it right here live on the pod that it's. You can put in rejects and it will take you to this place called Bailey's Beach. But you just have to go into the public side. Okay. Any other like activities or. I know. I loved how you're describing the different months of the summer and how you laid your book out with that in mind. And August does have so many events. I think also the Tennis hall of Fame has a bunch of events during the year. Right.
- [47:59]
B
And yeah, the Tennis hall of Fame is great. Just. It's just a great place to go any time of year to see. They have the grass courts and it's beautiful. And if you're into tennis at all, it's. It is the hall of Fame for us, for tennis.
- [48:13]
A
Yeah.
- [48:13]
B
It's a. Just a very cool place to check out. And then they do have the. Every summer, I'm not sure what time of year where they induct the new hall of Famies. And they have exhibition tennis matches.
- [48:25]
A
Yeah.
- [48:25]
B
With a lot of pro players or former pro players and things like that. And that's.
- [48:29]
A
Yeah. I think they're. I think. How do I know this? I think Sharapova is the honoree this year. I think it's late July or early August. So they do get. They get super well known tennis. Professional tennis players that come in. Maybe they've passed their prime. Right. They're not active anymore, but as part of their induction they have these exhibition matches there. And it's right next to the, the car museum too. I'm gonna look it up.
- [48:51]
B
The Audrain Car Museum, which is very cool. It's exactly what it sounds. It's a museum with all these vintage cars that, that you can go in and check out. And Jay Leno actually has a house in Newport and he's a huge car enthusiast and you can see him at a lot of these kind of Car events. They have a lot. They have a. I don't know when it is, but they do cars with coffee at. On the lawn of a lot of these fabulous houses on Sundays.
- [49:19]
A
Oh, stop it.
- [49:20]
B
Yeah, and you can go and, you know, get coffee and look at these vintage cars in the background of these fabulous houses. And. And you might see Jay Leno there.
- [49:30]
A
And I did not know about that. We all, I guess, also should thinking about activities besides touring the mansions, which is always an unbelievable thing to do because you can only really. That's a. That's truly Newport experience. Right. Having access to that many different mansions and the history behind them.
- [49:44]
B
And you can do the jobs in general. There's not very many places in the US where houses like this exist anymore that haven't been renovated or torn down or anything like that. That. So just to be able to see them period is a uniquely Newport experience. But it's also cool to do activities on the grounds of these houses with these houses on the background. Another thing that they do during the summer is called Newport Film. And they show documentary films on the lawns of these houses right at sundown. And you go and you bring a picnic and they have. A lot of times they have food trucks and stuff like that, but you bring a picnic blanket and you go and you watch these documentary films on the lawns of these great Newport mansions. And so you can. You can go on the Newport Film website and kind of look at their schedule and stuff like that.
- [50:34]
A
Yeah, I was just going to say that I was going to that, you know, to look at the website. You can get a rundown of what they're showing. But you're so right. That is such a great way to bring kind of art to some of those incredible spaces because you're. You wouldn't otherwise be lying on that lawn like at the breakers at night getting to watch an incredible documentary or movie.
- [50:52]
B
Of course, if we're talking about art, there's the Newport Art Museum, which is a fabulous little museum here in Newport. They. They get.
- [50:58]
A
But you had an expedition. You had an exhibition there last summer.
- [51:01]
B
I did. I had a show there last summer, which was great. It was amazing to. It was my first museum show and it was great to do it in my hometown, or what I now consider my hometown. And. And really to. To be able to showcase my stuff there. It's really a great museum and they do a lot of fantastic exhibitions. I don't know what is on there this summer, but it's right in the middle of town and it's worth checking out. And right next door is the Redwood Library, which also a lot of times will have different exhibitions that are worth checking out.
- [51:32]
A
That. That too is the. I think Trudy Cox told me. I don't misquote, but it's either the oldest or one of the oldest libraries in the US So that from like, a historical perspective, that's another great one to visit. And then you talked about Dar's Duke's house and the camels. That is its own.
- [51:47]
B
Yeah. It's not
- [51:50]
A
its own animal. And you'll make reservations there, right? Separately.
- [51:54]
B
Yeah. If you need reservations, I think you can probably just go and buy tickets. But it's. Yeah, it's its own thing. It's Newport Restoration foundation, which was Doris Dukes kind of charitable thing to fix up the houses in town. For people who don't know. Doris Duke was one of the richest women in the world at. When she was alive. Duke University. I think the. The money comes from cigarettes. I think her family was the first tobacco. Yeah, I think they were the first ones to create rolled cigarettes, like already rolled cigarettes.
- [52:26]
A
God bless them. That's what it's. I don't do it anymore, but it's one of my favorite pastimes.
- [52:31]
B
I know. So she died about 25. 20. 25 years ago, and her house became. Became a museum or horrible. And it's. And now they have great topiary camels on the property as a tribute to the real camels that were there when I was growing up.
- [52:49]
A
Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. That is a great detail to mention. And then. So you talked about August. August is like. There's so many events in August. Right. The Folk festival is a huge one.
- [52:58]
B
Yeah, the festival is great. If you just watch the. The Bob Dylan movie that. That came out last year with Timothee Chalamet. The big focus of that was the Newport Film Festival and how he. He played electric at the festival. And that was considered sacrilege at the time. But it's. Has a history of getting fantastic artists. Bob Dylan, Simon Garfunkel and James Taylor, all these huge artists. And they still. They get some really great headlining acts even to this day. And it's all at Fort Adams, which is right at the end of Ocean Drive. And I think it's. Yeah. The end of July, early August. And tickets at this point are probably are already sold out. But if you can think of in advance for next summer, it really is this cool acoustic concert thing that people even bring their boats around because it's right On Newport harbor. They'll bring their boats right up to Fort Adams and listen from their boats and things like that. So it's a great. That's a great one. And then there's also the Newport Jazz Festival, if you're into jazz. That comes in August as well.
- [54:02]
A
And I was going to say that even just if you can get out on the harbor that you mentioned the tickets being sold out. A great way to do. You're not going to hear the music as well. Obviously, if you take it. So you're at Fort Harmon, but having that option of being on the water so you can hear the music. Can be on the water listening to music is a great way to get to do and get to be out on the harbor, which is a fun thing to do anyway. If you go down to Bowens Wharf, I think you can just find a charter there if you want to. To go out and there.
- [54:28]
B
There are even people who will rent kayaks and kayak over.
- [54:31]
A
Oh yeah.
- [54:32]
B
There and that way. So there's definitely ways to. If you're determined to get over there
- [54:37]
A
that I also forgot about. Just walking down same street. Right. Antiquing. There's so much to do. You and I could be on for two hours. We got. Street would be a good one if you want to just see a bunch of little shops and there's some antique shops there. And it's worsty and crowded. But it's a place where people go. And off of it. The people can rent those. I don't even know what they are. But they're like those sidecar things that
- [54:56]
B
you can take around the bane of every resident.
- [54:58]
A
Exactly. Maybe I shouldn't be encouraging getting caught
- [55:01]
B
behind one of those side cars going 5 mph down Bellevue.
- [55:05]
A
It is. There's probably nothing worse.
- [55:07]
B
Actually.
- [55:08]
A
There's probably nothing worse. But I had to plug it. If people don't have a mode of transportation around Town Point.
- [55:14]
B
Oh, I want to point out one thing for August this year, which is cool. That only I don't know the exact date. I think it's around the. The 17th or 18th of August that weekend. It only happens once every three years, which is coaching weekend.
- [55:28]
A
Yeah.
- [55:28]
B
Which the Preservation Society sponsors. And it's this year and all these old great stage basically that are privately owned by people around the country. They all descend on Newport and tour the town for the whole weekend. And they stop at different mansions and do a little show and they stop at different private homes and you can really just go and see them and take pictures and people the people who own them and ride on them dress up in top hats and all the kind of. Of old school garb that you would expect. And it's really just. It's not more than anything to just go and view, but that those horse drawn carriages with the background of Newport and the houses is really interesting to see.
- [56:17]
A
Oh, totally. It's something you wouldn't see, I don't think anywhere. Anywhere else really but there. And there are coaching events, other places, but as you mentioned, not with the backdrop of those gilded age mansions and giving you a feel of what it was, what it must have looked like when people were using those to get around. Okay, what did we miss? Do we miss anything?
- [56:35]
B
Oh, that's a good question. I'm sure we've missed a ton. Like I said, there's a polo field. So there. It's a little bit. It's in Portsmouth, but there is polo, which is cool to go to if you're interested in that sort of thing. There are great boats to charter in the harbor like you said as well. There's the Tennis hall of Fame. There is so Satuist Point.
- [56:56]
A
I looked it up.
- [56:57]
B
Up. No, that's not it. I feel like that's not it.
- [57:00]
A
It's Satuist Point in Middletown, Rhode Island. It's right. Pat. You can see my.
- [57:05]
B
Maybe it is called Satchu right there.
- [57:07]
A
Satuist Point. I think it is. Yeah. It's that it's definitely.
- [57:10]
B
Now you're gonna have me like break. Break out my phone.
- [57:14]
A
This is like. I don't know. I know you're. Yeah. With me like forgetting the names of places that we just talked about. But okay.
- [57:21]
B
Yeah. So that is Statues Point, but there's also out there. There's the Norman Bird Sanctuary.
- [57:26]
A
Oh yes. Great mall. Great call.
- [57:28]
B
Which is another one that's worth checking out. And while you're out there, there's Sweet Berry Farm, which is. Which is this great farm where you can go berry picking. And they have a little restaurant there where you can get prepared foods and things like that. And so that's right in kind of Middletown, right near the Norman Bird Sanctuary.
- [57:48]
A
That is a great call to. For kids doing the Norman Bird Sanctuary and then Sweet Berry after. And there's also like a tiny. It's a little janky but for a rainy day. People have kids. We mentioned first beach or Easton's beach has a exploration center. Right. You like touch some starfish in there anymore?
- [58:06]
B
I think it all got torn down.
- [58:07]
A
Oh.
- [58:08]
B
Or if it hasn't, it's gonna get torn down. I think unfortunately there was a big controversy and they lost the vote and it's going away.
- [58:18]
A
I did not. Who knew? This is. Oh, you know what? The other place we didn't mention, which I think we probably should, is Pasta beach. If you want like a casual pizza, pasta dinner. Pasta beach is great. Bellevue. And there's some great little stores there, like dress stores and some antique stores there. Oh, great store. Look, if you're looking for some. Some lamps or lampshades, which I know sounds like. Why would you go shopping for lamps or lampshades? But it's such a unique store and has other home goods. Is Newport Lamp and Shade.
- [58:47]
B
Yes, It's. Yeah. Owned by Patrick Dolot, who's a great guy. And it's a very cool place. I had a book signing there back when my book was new. My book, by the way, I think it just sold out. So you might be able to get. Having plugged it this entire podcast, you probably can't get a copy. But maybe if you go on Amazon there, there are a couple copies left, but it's very close to being completely gone. So if you are. And I have a few copies on my website. So if you are at all interested, get them now while you can.
- [59:18]
A
We should all also you just mentioned your website, but for people that are trying to. Who want to see your work or get to see some of the different types of photographs we've described there. You have so many representations on your website and also people. Things that people can buy and prints of yours and other things that you're doing. And speaking of that, you're doing this collaboration called Pause Life Play games with Society. Society Social. And I love the table. I love the game. Like the furniture is just such a. So well designed. It's so attractive in some cases such a throwback. We have a house down in Antigua and there's a. The chair that you have, the rattan blue painted chair. We have those exact chairs that were there from the person that owned it 50 years. Anyway. It's amazing. But you. Yours look a lot better and are much more chic than ours. Ours are sort of falling apart at the seams. But it's a. It's just a. It's just. It's. That's such a cool collaboration. How did that come about? Were you. Yeah.
- [60:11]
B
Now please check it out. For those of you listening, it's Society Social is this fantastic brand. It's owned by Roxy Owens and her family and I can't speak more highly about her or her company. And I've been following them for years on Instagram. They started out. She started out making these fantastic bar carts, which you don't. It's kind of a niche item and you don't really see a lot. Not anymore. But she was these really intricate throwback bar carts and I was obsessed. And then she did a collaboration with the Colony Hotel and did all of their furniture when they redid their hotel a few years ago. And so I got the opportunity to meet her and we hit it off immediately. And I've really, in the last couple years, since I started the fine arts side of my business, have really started to want to expand into more of a lifestyle brand a la Jonathan Adler type thing. And. And doing a collaboration with society, social made total sense and they're really up for that sort of thing. And they asked what kind of furniture I would be interested in designing or collaborating on. And I said game tables. Because yeah, I thought it's one of those things that you don't. It's again, more of a niche item and you don't really see anymore. But I grew up around all the time and had a real affection for. And so I thought if we could do a really cool game table similar to what I grew up with where with hidden compart and things like that, that would be great. And so we went back and forth. I told her what I told them kind of my vision and they brought a design. And I said I like this and I don't like that and can we do it more like this? And so it was really a collaborative process. More. More on their end, more input on mine and design on theirs. But. And they did a fantastic job. And so they created a game table and chairs and some little rattan benches and there's a whole. And these gaming table. These gaming chairs as well, which I. We had the idea for because nowadays everybody's playing video games and there's these things that have developed called video game chair gaming. So hideous. Yeah. So I said let's do a chic version of that. And so we created these little chairs that sit on the ground that are perfect for a kid's room or a den or something like that, that. That you can sit on the floor, say you're closer to the screen and. And all the furniture is totally customizable with different fabrics and. And paint colors and things like that. And so we did this great collaboration where we went and I did the. The photos for the campaign and. And we're selling the furniture together. And I think I love Yeah, I
- [62:54]
A
love what you did. The furniture is so great. It's really great. And I love how you set it up. You mentioned how you can customize it. I think it's terrific. So is that where you're thinking? My next question. My next and final question for you, Nick, is what's next for Nick Milan? I think the. Is that what your vision is? You're thinking more about getting into the. The lifestyle brand or the. In addition to the photography piece?
- [63:15]
B
Yeah, I love photography. That's always going to be my main focus. I do a lot of. A few different types of photography. I do commercial photography. I work for a lot of big clothing brands like Lily Pulitzer and Vineyard vines and Jay McLaughlin and things like that. Roberta Roller Rabbit, Love Shack, Fancy, those sort of brands. But that's not really my passion. And I do a lot of interior photography which ties into. I love fabulous interiors. So I work for a lot of great interior designers and magazines and things like that. But I've really been shifting my focus more towards the books, but also fine art and really selling my prints and really create these scenes and then sell them and go out and. And we sell them. I had a big show at Bergdorf Goodman last summer, two summers ago and last winter. And they still carry my stuff in retail. And I have a bunch of different. I sell direct to consumer on my website, but it's also in person at a lot of retail outlets and sites like Cherish and Artsy and things like that. And so I've really shifted my focus to that, but also towards building myself up as a brand in and of itself as a taste maker and doing these collaborations with Brunswick and Fee and Society Social and. And aligning myself with other brands that are really great. And I think eventually I'd love to have my own wallpaper line and my own sort of things like that. And kind of. I think what I bring to the table, which is great, is that I can create or endorse a product or collaborate on a product, but then I can also imagine the campaign and shoot the campaign and. And I'm not just adding. I'm not just adding a face and a name to these collaborations. I'm adding an actual creative output to
- [65:02]
A
it and your voice and your eye to it and kind of.
- [65:06]
B
Yeah. And integrating the products and the things that I really love and my taste into my photography. And so that's really where my head is at. I'm in the process of doing kind of a fine art collaboration with Lily Pulitzer where I'm integrating their vibe and their clothes into some of the scenes I'm envisioning in places. And ideally we're going to put out a kind of series of photographs together that.
- [65:32]
A
Oh, I can't wait. Is that, are you working on that right now?
- [65:35]
B
Working on that Now. We haven't ironed out all the details, but I've started shooting it and I have a great commercial relationship with them shooting a lot of their campaigns and things like that and the team there. So we're aiming that towards the end of this year, early next year and, and kind of pushing out those prints together as a team.
- [65:54]
A
I can't wait to see it, Nick. I can't wait to see it. It's going to be awesome. I love everything that you, you do. I love your photography. I love just your unique eye and whimsy and your perspective that you bring to the work that you do. And I am so grateful to you to taking the time to give people that are listening all, all the listeners this kind of inside, unique perspective of someone who loves Newport and has grown up there and has got to experiencing so many different parts of it.
- [66:20]
B
Hopefully the people that showed up here to hear about Newport didn't get bored for the first 45 minutes. Talked about myself.
- [66:29]
A
No, you know what it gives me?
- [66:31]
B
This is a Newport podcast.
- [66:33]
A
All I heard was about we're gonna, we're gonna know. But it gives people an insight into who's giving the recommendation.
- [66:40]
B
I was I so still listening right now. I really so glad that I didn't bore the hell out of them and that they may hopefully got something that they looking for out of this whole conversation. So maybe you should preface it for people interested in Newport and want to hear a photographer talk about himself for four.
- [67:00]
A
No, if you just want Newport, pick up a time stamp, whatever we can. But no, I'm really grateful to you for taking the time. It was so nice to see you. I'll be in touch.
- [67:09]
B
All right, thank you. Leslie. Let me know when you're up here.
- [67:11]
A
Okay? I will, I will, Nick. Take care. That brings us to the end of this episode of Duolog. A huge thank you to Nick for joining us, for sharing his holiday whole story, his life as a photographer, and for giving us all of his favorite secret spots in Newport. If you enjoyed this episode, tune in for more of our summer travel series. We're releasing or re releasing a new episode each week. Please like us subscribe to us on Instagram, Facebook, wherever you get your podcasts. We really, really appreciate it. Until next week. This is much for listening to Duolog.