I wrote some words to go along with some amazing portraits by Amber Maalouf for Life & Thyme Magazine. You can view the full piece now live on Life & Thyme.
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“Six months to the day after we shut down Woon due to Covid-19, my friend Amber texted me a medium-format portrait she had then taken of me in our empty dining room. She had come by that day to pick up some of the produce I was giving away to employees and friends, in hopes of avoiding waste. We’d been planning to throw our one-year anniversary party the weekend prior—a celebration meant to be filled with free booze, tattoos, music—the whole shebang. It ended up being a very different reality.”
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“This place relies on every single person doing their respective duties. If one falls short, the entire operation follows. I’ve asked Amber to shoot a portrait series of the entire staff. Medium format film only, each individual in their environment. I hope each one of them can look back at these portraits one day and remember how fucking nuts this time was, and how awesome it has been that we’ve been able to keep the lights on, to keep serving our community as a team.”