Offline Encounters with Tara Thomas & Amy Mazius + Davy Greenberg
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 next two conversations were with Tara Thomas, an NYC-based chef and food artists who has worked with brands like Glossier, contributed to Apartamento cookbooks, and been profiled in Cherry Bombe, and Amy Mazius and Davy Greenberg, the founders behind metahaiku, a creative studio with a physical space in the Art’s District of LA. The metahaiku HQ hosts popups, photoshoots, and also has its own soap with Graza.
Also an announcement before we jump in! We are collecting a bit more information from YOU, our community, about how you want to see LookUp make its transition out of your homes and into the world. Take our SUPER quick survey here and share your thoughts with us! We would be so eternally grateful.
An Offline Encounter with Tara Thomas
What do you think is so special about the human connection formed over food?
The most special human connection happens through the medium of food whether it’s dining together, cooking, sharing ingredients, or farming. The connection between all facets of food brings us together. I will die on the hill that food sovereignty will bring world peace, conflicts between communities around the world begin with food insecurity and oppression through nourishment. Food connects humanity and humanity to the biome, to experience commune nourishment and space to experience compassion for one another is truly powerful.
What questions do you ask yourself when you're putting a room together?
When putting a room together I ask myself a few questions:
Does the atmosphere and objects communicate the purpose of guests coming together – is everything there to have the experience I’ve envisioned?
Are all guest accounted for and am I prepared to provide the a hospitality experience that welcomes them and respects their boundaries?
What are guests taking home from this experience physically mentally, spiritually? Does this experience have the ability to become a nostalgic moment that lives in space and time!?
How do you connect to yourself? (offline, no screens!)
Well, I’m a bit of a cyborg but I’m very much a human. Daily I have rituals around my bedtime routine, a fabulous everything shower and getting cozy. I live part-time in Norway so a few times a year I escape to our farm to just be in a space that I don’t typically pick up my phone in, some times we go to the cabin where there is zero service… it’s so restorative to foster that human experience without devices.
An Offline Encounter with Amy Mazius + Davy Greenberg
Communication is the foundation of any good relationship, personal or professional. You two balance both under one roof. What tools have you developed or leaned on to be intentional with your language when communicating with each other?
We truly believe we’re on the same team. Communication comes surprisingly natural for us which is probably a big part of why this works. We both voice our opinions while also keeping perspective. It’s important to remember that even if something feels critical in the moment, it’s always best to take a step back and look at in context of the bigger picture (and our relationship). We both win by remembering what really matters.
What's the best advice you've received about maintaining a healthy relationship working with a partner?
We remind each other constantly that our value is more than our work. The things we believe in, the way we spend our time, how we show up for others and ourselves is just as big a part of who we are as anything we do for work. It’s a slippery slope to hinge all your value on external success; we try to look at life holistically.
How do you connect to each other outside of work (+ without screens)?
We take the saying “touch grass” seriously in this household. Phone-free hikes are a regular part of our routine. When we get the chance, we love getting outside of the city, getting our bare feet on the ground and waking up surrounded by mountains/desert/forest.
Another quick fix is a delicious, phone-free meal. Connecting over our shared vegan-ethos and enjoying every bite takes us out of a work headspace and allows us to just experience the moment with each other.
Thank you to Tara, Amy and Davy for joining us in 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