Offline Encounters with Camilla Marcus & Nate Brown
Welcome to Offline Encounters in its newest form- conversations with creatives, from chefs to artists, athletes, and founders, on what it means to scroll less and LookUp more.
As you well know now, LookUp is a brand creating physical reminders to LookUp from your devices, starting with a tin box. As you may or may not yet know, The Charlie Fund is a non-profit that provides resources and programming to help educators, caretakers, and students build emotional fluency + tools to build healthier, more intentional communication. And we are so lucky and excited to be partnering them.
Together, we’re holding space for conversations with creatives, from chefs to artists, athletes, and founders, on what it means to scroll less and LookUp more. In celebration of Mental Health Month and as part of this partnership, LookUp is committed to donating 5% of sales to The Charlie Fund during May.
Our first two conversations were with Camilla Marcus, the founder behind
, a thoughtful pantry-staples brand with a mission to do better for the planet, and Nate Brown, a NYC-based creative director who’s worked with Beyoncé, Calvin Klein, and Nike for over 15 years. He’s also the cofounder behind Rosaluna Mezcal. Most recently, Nate launched Handstand, his agency fueled by curiosity.An Offline Encounter with Camilla Marcus
Food and language have such a strong connection. How has life as a chef changed the way you communicate outside of the kitchen?
When you live your life connected to how food is grown and then transformed to nourish others, I look at everything through an even more intentional lens. Quality time is my love language, so it grounds me to bring people together. I’m also a very fluid, visual creator, and I think that infuses into how I communicate and show up in the world - with passion, some spontaneity, vibrance, and care.
How do you think a meal changes when you approach cooking with curiosity and creativity?
My cooking philosophy is all about playing jazz - letting the ingredients, your mood, the occasion, and some outside inspiration guide you as you dance through the process. To me, the thrill and vibrance of creating a meal and taking care of others comes in act of creation - not knowing completely how it will come out in the end and taking chances on a new piece of produce or technique I’ve not tried before. In that way, it becomes an adventure and meaningful growth experience, rather than a routine or chore.
How do you connect to yourself? (offline, no screens!)
I try to do something every day for me, just for me - a solo bright spot. Sometimes that’s a walk with my dog, sometimes it’s a solo hike, other times it’s just hanging with our chickens and listening to the garden, while other times my moment is cooking testing out a new recipe or idea. I find meditative practices in really being with my own thoughts, giving time and open space to a creative spark, or just even an indulgent nap when my body feels I need it. It’s never the same respite, but it’s always intuitive.
Who is someone in your world who inspires you to LookUp? (put your phone down, be present, etc)
There is nothing more grounding in my life than my children and our animals. They have an innate cosmic connection to the universe that’s raw, unfiltered, and spontaneous. Their limitless capacity for joy, exploration, and unpredictability keeps me on my toes and pulls me into reality at any given moment, away from the world of tech and responsibility. Being with them, you feel everything without distractions if you let yourself fully surrender to the moment with them.
An Offline Encounter with Nate Brown
Creativity can be so subjective, what does it mean to you?
Finding the answer to the unanswered questions.
How do you suggest finding and nurturing your own unique creative voice?
You already have the voice, creativity is the act of revealing it. Reveal it by making things, failing at it, learning and adjusting, and making more. Enrich yourself by learning about as much as you can, and surround yourself with people who show you new things.
How do you connect to yourself? (offline, no screens!)
Meditate, write, and sleep.
Who is someone in your community who reminds you to look up?
I am always inspired by one of my best friends (we also co-founded Rosaluna together), Terry Lee. We’re always sharing books, music, travel, food and more together, and we’re never on our phones when we hang out.
Bonus question: You mentioned you’ve been experimenting with making a concerted effort to spend less time on your phone, even deleting social media from your device. Have you felt this impact the way you approach your world, if so, how?
It has, reality is what you want it to be, so my reality just shifted, and you adopt pretty quickly. I use social media, though, it’s a powerful tool that has connected me to many talented people around the world in ways never possible without it. But I took it off my phone to break the habit of mindlessly opening it.
Thank you to Camilla and Nate for kicking off our Offline Encounters series, and for being a beautiful reminder to us all of the beauty that exists outside of our screens.
We challenge you to take one piece of inspiration out into the world with you this weekend- cook a meal with a friend, make a thing, unplug.
Stay cool and LookUp,
Your favorite phone-health evangelists