The Essential List: Suz Grossman

Suz Grossman has been with Carousel for over a decade, driving its growth as executive producer. She oversees strategy, creative development, production, and post-production for clients like PepsiCo, Ticketmaster, Victoria's Secret, Neutrogena, and more. Her work also spans into other facets of the production world such as docu-series, short films, print, and her own documentary feature, Butterfly Girl, which premiered at SXSW. Suz calls Brooklyn home but spends her free time traveling the world.

Lifestyle 

• Place of birth: Manhattan 
• Hometown: Weston, CT 
• Staycation: East Hampton (spoiled by my best friend’s family’s house) 
• Vacation: For summer - Ideally somewhere with a beach in Europe but also Seattle to see friends. For winter - Mexico City or a turquoise beach somewhere in Mexico. 
• Pet: :( no 
• Place of work: Chelsea / Flatiron 
• Place of workout: Peloton in my bedroom 
• Good Habit: Cooking healthy meals 
• Bad Habit: Diet Coke 
• Mode of transport: Subway 
• Bonus Travel Essential: Cough drops! I always have a cough and people really give you dirty looks for coughing. 

Culture

• Artist: My mother. My mom is an amazing artist and my apartment is filled with her work. 
• Musician: LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, Jungle, Kaytranada, Metric, Harry Styles, Fleetwood Mac, Beyonce, Tame Impala, The Knocks, T. Swift, Khruangbin, Grateful Dead 
• Commercials / music video director: Nabil 
• Film director: Jean-Luc Godard, Richard Linklater, Nora Ephron, Ava DuVernay, Greta Gerwig 
• Author: Haruki Murakami, Jonathan Safran-Foer, Dave Eggers, Judy Blume, Roxanne Gay 
• Photographer: Wolfgang Tillmans, Diane Arbus 
• Film: 'A League of Their Own', 'Bye Bye Birdie', 'Contempt', 'Boyhood', 'Ladybird', 'Clueless' 
• Series: 'Six Feet Under', 'Sex and The City', 'Grey’s Anatomy' (don’t judge… it’s comfort), 'Shrill', 'Schitt’s Creek', 'White Lotus' 
• Invention: Plan B (which should be free and available to everyone)
• Commercial: Our new spots for Ticketmaster, 'Music Finds You'. We had so much fun making these so they hold a special place in my heart.

• Music Video: The new Charli XCX videos are so good. But also TLC’s Waterfalls video impacted me deeply. 
• Video Game: I don’t partake but I do like to play a game on my phone called 'Two Dots' on the subway. 
• Board Game: Taboo! (but only with people you know really well so it can be full of inside jokes) 
• Book: 'Everything Matters!' by Ron Currie Jr. 
• Graphic Novel: I also don’t do that but maybe I should? 
• Podcast: 'This American Life', 'How Long Gone', 'The Daily' 
• Newspaper (off or online): NYT 
• Magazine: 'Cook’s Illustrated' 
• Obsession: Allison Bornstein’s 'Three Style Words'... I won’t stop talking about it. 
• Bonus Culture Essential: Anything for the home designed by HAY. 

Food and Drink 

• Breakfast: Quad espresso with oat milk 
• Restaurant: Frankie’s 457, Roman’s, Gage & Tollner, Cervo’s 
• Cheap bite: Sesame noodles from Mr. Wonton 
• Working lunch: Turkey sandwich from the deli or a chicken shawarma salad from Naya 
• Dish: Wedge Salad 
• Snack: Veggies dipped in cottage cheese 
• Guilty Pleasure: Fries and Diet Coke 
• Bar: Brooklyn Social 
• Booze: Dirty Martini / Negroni / Etna Rosso or Bianco 
• Not Booze: Diet Coke / Pellegrino with lemon
• Bonus Food: Turkey club from a diner is always a good thing 
• Bonus Beverage: Poppi in the Cherry Limeade flavour over ice is a weekday treat I enjoy 

Kit 

• Phone: iPhone 
• Computer: MacBook Pro 
• Headphones: Airpods 
• Camera: Phone but I love a disposable camera for parties 
• Pen / pencil: Thin sharpie is my fave 
• Where you document an idea: Notes app in my phone or back of an envelope in my apartment that then goes into the notes app 
• Casual Clothing: Everyone says that I always look dressed up even when I’m trying to be casual. So I don’t know but I do love an alo sweatsuit.
• Smart Clothing: Black slip dress with a button down shirt open. Platform shoes, lots of jewellery, and always a red nail. 
• Footwear: Platform Birks for summer / Platform boots for winter
• Accessory: A chunky earring, a tiny crossbody bag for my essentials and classic red nails 
• Collection: Shoes… I had to buy a whole piece of furniture to store them
• Home comfort: Cooking a pot of Rancho Gordo beans 
• App: Google Maps.. I have lots of lists I’ve created of places I like or places I want to go. Also addicted to NYT games (yes, I still do Wordle everyday).
• Website: NYT cooking and Alison Roman’s substack 
• Blog: 'WTF Just Happened Today?' 
• Work program: Google docs (bor-ring…but it’s giving organised)
• Digital work tool: Filemaker Pro (yay producing!) 
• Analogue work tool: Regular phone calls. Does that count? 
• Morning grooming / makeup essential: Avene toner and moisturiser / Black mascara / Laneige lip mask 
• Bonus Kit Essential: Laptop stand for flattering zoom angles and a separate keyboard/mouse to try for good posture