Freelance Follies #1

Cartoon Coasters for The Famous Hay-Adams Hotel in Washington DC

Kristi Noem beer coaster

One of my favorite freelance jobs of my long career has been my partnership with the famed Hay-Adams Hotel. Located adjacent to the White House, The Hay-Adams is a Washington institution noted for its first class amenities and attentive service.

One of its notable assets is its basement bar. As it is often frequented by Washington power players, it is aptly called Off The Record.

A distinguishing characteristic of Off The Record is that the room is festooned with cartoon caricatures of prominent political leaders.

Photo courtesy of Imbibe Magazine

Some years ago, my cartoon colleague and good friend, Matt Wuerker from Politico asked if I would like to contribute some artwork for the walls. I was delighted with the kind invitation and excited that my long-time cartoon chum Ann Telnaes would be also joining us.

For over a decade the three of us have had fun decorating the bar room walls with caricatures of contemporary political personalities.

Our teamwork with the Hay-Adams expanded when we were commissioned to create coasters for the bar. Each coaster would feature an important politician drinking in Off The Record. At the start, there were a handful of coaster options available. But over time new coaster characters have been rotated in and others rotated out. Over time, our cartoon trio has created 50 different versions.

The coasters have now become a well known feature of the hotel. Many folks visit the bar to expand their coaster collection (to the slight chagrin of the proprietors who have to regularly print more).

Some fiction writers have mentioned the coasters to add color to their DC based storytelling.

In the week’s ahead, I will feature some of the cool coaster designs I have drawn over the years.

The cartoon the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem at the top of this post is the most recent.

If you find yourself visiting Washington DC, I recommend that you visit The Hay-Adams and Off The Record. Share a pic of a coaster if you see one!