Santa Monica-headquartered graphic design/ production house Fuel is about to become bicoastal, with the opening of a studio in New York’s Flatiron district scheduled for Sept. 30, according to company owners executive producer Janet Arlotta and creative director Justin Leibow. Heading the Big Apple operation will be creative director Richard Eng and executive producer Leelee Groome.
Eng has been working on a freelance basis with Fuel this year on various projects ranging from TV promos to Fuel’s latest series of spot assignments for such clients as Mitsubishi and Aim Financial. This extended run of working together gave creative directors Leibow and Eng the opportunity to establish a rapport. Eng is a native New Yorker and has spent the lion’s share of his career in Manhattan.
Similarly, Groome works regularly in New York; her background includes producing commercials on the agency side and contracting design talent such as the artisans at Fuel.
"Leelee and Richard have a great depth of experience in commercial production and network branding campaigns, and they are also familiar with the specific nuances of motion pictures and television programming, which will allow Fuel to expand within those genres too," related Arlotta.
Fuel team members on both coasts will collaborate when appropriate on projects. The geographic expansion also underscores the importance of the New York market. The Flatiron studio will enable Fuel to more closely serve its existing East Coast clients, as well as elevate its competitive presence in New York.
The company is in production on several New York-originated commercials, including Clairol for Grey, New York. Fuel also enjoyed recent high visibility in New York with two films it created for Nike’s new Serena Williams line of tennis apparel that played throughout the U.S. Open.
Among Fuel’s noted work over the years are standout spots for Target, playful environments and animations deployed for the Cartoon Network’s Power Puff Girls series and an Emmy-nominated main title sequence for the Showtime series Penn & Teller: Bullshit, which won a Broadcast Designers Award.
