One of my favorite features of Lincoln Restaurant were the mirrors that are embedded with famous Lincoln quotes. Six one-of-a-kind mirrors line the 52 foot back hallway.  Each mirror has it’s own Lincoln quote selected by O’Neill Studios and created into an 8 ft custom modello.  The O’Neill Studios team used mirror stripper and patina solution to embed the graphics into the back of the mirrors.  To see more about the mirror process click here.

Maybe it is the political science major in me but Lincoln’s famous quotes are not only inspiring and poignant but powerful enough to be art themselves. So in honor of Lincoln’s one year anniversary we took the same graphics and made them much more portable and affordable These pieces are printed and hand embellished graphics on painted and embellished wood surfaces. Perfect for the politico in your family! Also perfect for anyone who loves a great quote to be inspired by everyday! To see images of these graphics click here!

This time last year one of my favorite and most ambitious projects opened it’s doors to the public.  Lincoln Restaurant is not only an excellent restaurant for dining but a HUGE nod to American Pop art.  It also was an epic accomplishment for the O’Neill Studios team of artists, who custom made nearly the entire place! From light fixtures to the floor and every wall and table top in-between we custom made every item.

For more in progress images click here.

Thank you to everyone that was able to attend The 6th Annual Salon Party on Saturday night. It was a wonderful evening and a hugely successful event. In ticket sales alone, we raised $15,800.00 for Research Down Syndrome!

If you were unable to attend on Saturday, you are in luck! This year, we have extended the exhibit for an additional week. This temporary installation, known as ‘Salon Week Studio’, will continue to benefit Research Down Syndrome as well as provide increased exposure for the artists that were featured at the event on Saturday.

 O’Neill Studios ‘Salon Week Studio’ will serve as a think-tank where multiple local designers will come together and work on-site throughout the week. So stop by, meet some of the artists and shop to benefit Research Down Syndrome.

 Featured Artists: Rodger Schultz, Maggie O’Neill, Chris Cooley, Tina Palmer, Karen Suderman, Dominique Fierro & Brittany Sims

 To see more images from the event go to:

Join us March 24th for our Annual Salon Party!!

This year will be the best Salon Party yet!

Over 60 pieces of artwork by featured Artists: Chris Cooley, Dominique Fierro, Maggie O’Neill, Rodger Schultz, Brittany Sims, Karen Suderman, & Tina Palmer.

Live painting and dancing with DJ Big Des.

Food by Lincoln & specialty drinks by Wooden Nickel Bar Company.

Purchase your tickets at Eventbrite.

Proceeds from Artwork and ticket sales benefit Research Down Syndrome.

For more information or to preview the artwork http://oneillstudios.com/salonparty2012/

O’Neill Studios 6th Annual Salon Party is scheduled for Saturday, March 24th.  Be sure to mark your calendars for what is sure to be an amazing night!  If you have been in years past you are well aware of the good time had by all and this year will be sure to exceed expections!

Be sure to follow O’Neill Studios and Maggie O’Neill Fine Art for details on the event & read our YEAR IN REVIEW 2011 NEWSLETTER for discounts at our 2011 commercial projects.  The special discounts won’t last forever!

“It’s not hard to figure out the Sax appeal”
By Tom Sietsema
Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011

Sax might be the only restaurant in Washington to list a choreographer on its payroll.

Like a little action with your yellowfin tuna? Beginning each night around 6:30, the newcomer to downtown accompanies dinner with performances by eight or so dancers who gyrate on a glass-front 20-foot “infinity” stage above the bar. The cabaret – ballet meets burlesque meets Cirque du Soleil – lets the owners take advantage of the cavernous space left behind by Posh but also “add more visuals to just dining,” says Nancy Koide, who co-owns Sax in addition to Oya and Sei, both in Penn Quarter.

Sax opened in May with a side of controversy: murals poking fun at official Washington, including one of a bare-chested Bill Clinton cavorting with a familiar-looking brunette in front of the Capitol. Within three weeks, the titillating scenes had been painted over. What remained was still an eye-opener dressed with reclaimed chandeliers, wrought iron, even a big church door. What’s not gold leaf is red velvet.

Factor in the ornate balcony seating and the cleavage-baring servers, and you could be in Las Vegas, Versailles, the Playboy Mansion.

The food comes as a surprise. Much of it is more refined than you might expect given everything that surrounds it. A bowl of corn soup arrives with icy islands of red pepper sorbet on its surface. Scallop carpaccio is set off with refreshing grapefruit, biting ginger and a froth of coconut milk. Deeply flavored, shredded braised lamb gets its crunch from red quinoa and sweetness from an apple sabayon. It should come as no surprise that the wine list in this over-the-top oasis tilts in favor of champagne.

Jonathan Seningen, who comes to this kitchen from Oya, knows he faces stiff competition in the dining room. “I have to draw people away from the show and the room and the servers – the eye candy,” says the chef, 33.

Good luck, sir.

As our waitress runs down the dessert choices, she purrs her preference for what amounts to a giant petit four: “My favorite is the Saxual chocolate cake.”

Check out the original article at http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/restaurants/sax,1214583/critic-review.html

Irish Whiskey

The owners of the Mighty Pint have recently taken over the lease for the property at 1207 19th Street, NW (previously Porter’s Dining Saloon) and have hired O’Neill Studios to create a cosmopolotion public house. Renovations are under way and expected to open in October 2011.  This will be a place for locals and regulars alike to sit and enjoy their whiskey or beer in a traditional pub setting!  We are extremely excited by the challenge and task of helping to create a different kind of experience in a local Irish Pub.  There are very few variations on this theme that are not generic “dive bar oriented”.  We want to create a space that is less commercial and more thoughtful, contemporary and authentic with the use of traditional materials in unconventional ways.  Stay tuned for more pictures!

O’Neill Studios is thrilled to begin work on Irish Whiskey.  This week we are focusing on staining the floor boards different shades of brown to create a multicolored hardwood floor.  We are then sporadically stenciling a custom Irish Whiskey label on the floor.  We will also be toning the trim to blend with the floor and applying a brass metallic paint to the walls which will then be treated with foil. Stay tuned for more in progress pictures this week!