Grace Lee – Creative Director & DJ
As a Creative Director of LA’s Runyon Group, and a brilliant DJ, Grace Lee is a multi-faceted force to be reckoned with. Born and raised in New York, she spent much of her childhood in Korea, and now lives in LA, so she’s very much on board with travel as a way of life. Case in point, she once planned a trip to Nicaragua to get away from city life for a bit, and ended up staying for months (and falling in love while she was there, why not!).
Though Grace Lee now splits her time between music and hospitality, DJ-ing used to take priority. Playing venues like The Standard’s Boom Boom Room, affiliated with artists such as Mia Moretti and Venus X, and working for Warner Brothers Music Group, her taste in tunes is second to none. As is her taste in food – between 2017 and 2018, Grace Lee ran New York’s award-winning restaurant, De Maria, with friend and Co-founder, Camille Becerra. We’re currently petitioning them to bring it back!
Part of our Insiders series, this is your window into the worlds of the coolest people in Safara’s network. These are the contacts we’d hit up for travel inspiration, whether it’s a hotel recommendation, a new track for our in-transit playlist, the best mini-products to pack, or just to daydream about where we’d open a boutique island hotel (this changes with each Insider guide we read – we’re easily and happily influenced).
Read on for travel inspiration from Grace Lee.
Name three of your favorite hotels?
Amangiri Resort in Utah. Bowery Hotel in New York. And Maderas Village in Nicaragua.
What is the most unique hotel amenity you’ve ever encountered?
A complete custom-menu based on my blood type at a hotel in South Korea. Very personalized service.
What hotel room design element can you not live without?
An ambient bedside lamp (lighting can completely change a mood).
What are your favorite “offices” while traveling?
The rooftop of Boom Boom Room at The Standard Highline. Or the back patio of the Bowery Hotel.
Where would you go to digital detox or just generally to get off the grid?
Meditation and solitude is usually found when I go to the desert or the woods, anywhere in the world. Being in LA, Joshua Tree is a great place to access that sphere.
You travel a lot for work, was this something you were seeking in a career? And how do you make it as relaxing and fun as possible?
Absolutely. As a multi-faceted creative, I believe fluidity is so healthy, and surrendering to the notion of how other parts of the world can inspire us is really important. It’s a gratitude to travel – an ode back to our world to truly embrace and nurture it. I always make sure that I bring my personal relics and totems with me to remind me of a sense of home and comfort. That includes my journals, typewriter, orca sculpture, marble globe, frankincense and myrrh incense, palo santo, and golden flask (for solo wine or mezcal adventures).
I like the simplicity of applying your “tools of influence” and bringing them wherever you go. To me, a huge purpose of travel is to find your relationship with yourself, and with your work. And I feel so fortunate that it is a part of my career. Ultimately, I love that (upon a return back) it makes home feel like home, too.
What three songs are on your travel playlist?
Daydreaming, by Thom Yorke. The Poet Acts, by Philip Glass. And Human Behaviour by Bjork.
What do you always bring with you in your carry-on?
A bible, Tea Tree oil, Tea Tree toothpicks, and noise-canceling ear plugs.
Have you or would you travel alone?
Yes! We’re designed to understand our origin in the movement of pilgrimage. It’s in our science to be alone, because silence also creates expansive reflection. So when you travel alone, the individual spirit is at a space to find a deeper self.
What’s your favorite room service experience ever?
It’s hard to choose one. When they have a really nice pot of tea and fresh flowers, the hotel’s usually a winner.
Who is your dream “co-pilot” or travel partner?
My mom. I would love to see us both in the air, journeying somewhere new.
Anxiety and burn out are big topics these days. How do you combat them, and how do you use travel to do so?
Meditation is key for me. Without aligning yourself at the beginning of the day, you can reduce clarity and increase anxiety. Through reflection, I acknowledge stress, anxiety, or any other emotion that comes to the surface. Really finding “flow” is the core of it all. Without a good flow, the disarray can really complicate my day of travel, or even the entire trip. So meditation is my center, wherever I go.
Do you have any tips or tricks for beating the dreaded jet lag?
I get out in the sun! The sunlight adjusts our body clock. Beautiful, eh?
Travel can be about the little luxuries, like a really amazing meal. Where was the best one you’ve had?
Garlic grilled octopus and aji roasted potatoes at Nomade in Tulum. THE BEST octopus I have ever had.
What is your favorite travel book?
Sufi poems and Arcana Volume 5: Magic, Mysticism, and Music.
What’s your go-to outfit for getting through security quickly, and still looking good?
My soft blue General Admission pants, a light colored T-shirt, beige Birkenstocks, and my custom beige Gucci Stetson hat.
If you could quit your job and follow the Mamma Mia dream (ie open a small hotel in another country or on a remote island), where would you do it?
Iceland, South Africa, South of France, Mexico, or South Korea.
Alone or with someone else?
Someone else.
Is in-flight wifi a good idea?
No!
Early check-in or late check-out?
Late check-out.
Fantasy mini bar/fridge item?
Organic Asian tea selections: Oolong, Hojicha, or Barley Tea. Also mezcal either from Madre Mezcal, Yola Mezcal, or Lost Explorer. And definitely kimchee.
