Annick Mayer moved around a lot as a kid, so much so that when you ask her about her hometown she slips in a cheeky “kind of”. These days, though, she’s firmly planted in Venice, California, sticking around to fulfil her role as the LA executive producer of international music and sound company Butter. Being a fully-fledged Los Angeleno, she drives a Prius and snacks on tacos from a truck.
This year she’s also found that life has filled up with a bunch of fun stuff, having made a deliberate decision to get off life-draining social media. In January she deleted Instagram and has been turning her hand instead to activities such as an ‘Intro to the Wheel’ ceramics class. She is also known in her family for her ‘Liquid Gold’ recipe. Find out what that entails, and more, in her Essential List.
Lifestyle
o Place of birth: Mississauga, Ontario
o Hometown: Kind of Brookline, MA… my family moved… A LOT.
o Staycation: Joshua Tree
o Vacation: Anywhere with incredible hikes, adventures, and good street food. My last two vacations were to Japan and then New Mexico respectively. Worlds apart, both incredible.
o Pet: Two dogs, Rue is a rescue from Taiwan and Roy is a (rescue) Rhodesian Ridgeback. The littler one is the boss; she both takes care of Roy and also bullies him...
o Place of work: Venice, CA at BUTTER LA
o Place of workout: My house set up for weights, Yoga Salt in Culver for Yoga, and my neighbourhood for runs!
o Side project: I don’t have one dedicated side project... but trying to focus on hobbies more in 2020. I recently finished an ‘Intro to the Wheel’ ceramics class which was wonderful. Something about getting your hands dirty as an adult feels very important.
o Mode of transport: A Prius… I know, how LA of me.
o Bonus travel essential: Eye mask and ear plugs
Culture
o Artist: Max Galyon, Georgia O’Keefe, Louise Bourgeois, David Shrigley, David Hockney, Sophie Moore Ceramics
o Musician: Thelonious Monk
o Series: Watching Sopranos for the first time right now... and damn it’s good
o Book: Love all of Huruki Murakami’s books. Finally attempting to read 1Q84
o Podcast: SO many. The Catch & Kill Podcast, Pod Save America, The Daily, Radiolab, Dolly Parton’s America, Science Rules with Bill Nye, the Wilderness, Song Exploder... list goes on
Food and Drink
o Breakfast: I eat toast with peanut butter and black coffee in my backyard before work
o Restaurant: BAVEL, best restaurant in LA hands down.
o Cheap bite: Tara’s Himalayan, Mayura, A Taco truck at a gas station (corner of La Brea and Venice) Mizlala, Highly Likely
o Working lunch: Gjusta
o Favourite dish: A homemade pasta, any slow cooked meat, fresh vegetables
o Signature dish: Super slow roasted cipollini onions and tomatoes (aka Liquid Gold as dubbed by my family). Perfect to spread on crusty bread
o Guilty pleasure: An apple fritter donut
o Booze: A light and ‘funky’ red wine
Kit
o Phone: iPhone
o Computer: MacBook Pro
o Headphones: I have some nice Bose noise cancelling headphones for travel, for the studio I have Grado Labs headphones
o Soundsystem: Sonos home setup for Spotify/TV and Audioengine a5+ for my record player
o Pen / pencil: Pen
o Where you document an idea: Notes on my phone
o Casual clothing: Jeans and a T-shirt
o Smart clothing: Black pants and a T-shirt and good shoes
o Footwear: I wear my white Koios almost every day
o Watch: Don’t wear one
o App: Nike Training app, Strava, Zwift, KCRW app
o Favourite social media feed: I deleted Instagram off of my phone on Jan 1 and I’m NEVER GOING TO LOOK BACK (OK maybe not never…we shall see...)
o Morning grooming / makeup essential: Davines Shampoo and conditioner, Santal, and drug store mascara