To celebrate the launch of our New Sakshi Bags with partnered with the lovely Grace Hendricks, who created this amazing video for us!
We absolutely loved working with Grace on this project and wanted to get to know her better so we asked her a few questions about life.
Tell us a bit about yourself!
I grew up in the Napa Valley, where my father was a winemaker. I moved to New York City at age 17 to study Film & TV at NYU. After graduating, I started to work on set, first in sustainability, and then in the camera department. In 2020, I was all set to move to New Zealand, but COVID-19 changed those plans and instead, so I spent the pandemic back home with family in California. During that time, I started to explore stop motion animation in my mom’s garage and immediately fell in love with it. Eventually, I decided to pursue stop motion animation as a career endeavor and I haven't looked back. I now lives in Los Angeles, where I enjoys animating, writing, learning to surf (very slowly), and spending as much time in the sun as possible!
What are some words that you live by?
I try to live by the words, “Follow your light,” which to me basically means some combination of choose the paths that bring you joy, don’t be afraid of your truth or your potential, and remain kind to yourself and others.
Travel trip changed your life?
The travel experience that changed my life is solo travel. I took my first solo trip when I was 19. I traveled to Ireland for a week to visit the regions where my mom’s side of the family originates. Since, I’ve taken many solo trips and not only have they been some of my favorite experiences, but they have also taught me incredible lessons. I believe when you travel by yourself, you get to know yourself in a truly rare and authentic way. When almost everything around you is unfamiliar and you’re on your own, it gives you the unique opportunity to look at yourself freshly, without expectations, judgments, or pressures, and through that, you have the chance to discover new parts of yourself that you may not have noticed in your day-to-day life, surrounded by familiar faces. Those moments and those lessons have been the greatest gifts I’ve experienced through solo travel. I’ve learnt something new about myself on each trip and more than anything, I’ve learnt that I can trust myself, always, which is invaluable.
What’s your favorite everyday recipe to cook right now?
I love pesto. Recently, I was inspired by a friend to start experimenting with different kinds of pesto and it’s been such a fun experience! So far, I’ve tried making pesto out of avocado, roasted cabbage, and roasted cauliflower, with various combinations of pine nuts, walnuts, and pistachios. I’m not sure if any of them can be considered technical pesto (and I hope I’m not offending anyone by calling them pesto), but they’ve all been fun to make and delicious to eat. I look forward to trying more combinations!
