I Get by with A Little Help from My Friends. 

For my Artist Spotlight series, I want to check in with people who have qualities that I admire and want to emulate. Megann Samperisi, everyone.  

Megann and my story begins as colleagues at the NoMad in New York, where she and I were on the special events team. I was initially impressed with her operational acumen. During her first Masquerade Ball (NoMad’s annual Halloween bash), I was also surprised to find out that she was a talented artist and set designer. Megann elevated the buildouts for the party and later transformed some of the hotel’s unused spaces (a fire escape behind the bar, a guest restroom) into transportive moments of wonder and delight.  

Megann is constantly pushing herself to be the best version of Megann, not a second-rate version of anyone else. In 2020, Megann branched out on her own to start her own production company, Hi Sweet NYC. We talked about what make her tick, from what junk food she eats to how many hours of sleep she gets a night. Here are those goodies (edited for length and clarity). 

What have you been up to? 

I’m enjoying a little bit more balance in my life right now between creative projects and personal time. The Yurt Village project [in partnership with Resy and American Express] was fun and I’m happy to be a part of it. I helped with shipping logistics, project management for buildout and construction, electric, all that stuff, and supported restaurants with questions about how to do certain things from a buildout perspective. It was very, very different per location but it was great to be helpful and see a project like that happen right now. 

 

 

What is a book that you use as a resource, whether for creative inspiration or for practical use?  

I like books that have references to the human condition. Anything Alan Watts gets my creative juices flowing. It’s not a directly practical application of “how to,” it’s more of a construct of how to live your life better or plan your life better. I know that’s a little bit more “woo woo,” but those things help me to center myself and then be able to figure out what my next steps are. 

There’s also another great book, “The Art of Choosing” by Sheena Iyengar. It’s about the design of choices and how consequences arise and the science behind that. The book “168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think” by Laura Vanderkam, I’ve read a few times.  

What song do you listen to when creating art or working for a client? 

I don’t know if it’s that everyone is grabbing for nostalgia, but I’m a big fan of the throwbacks right now. Any 80s New Wave. Anytime [my husband] Joe and I do a project, whether a buildout that’s extremely difficult or we’re in a tight space where it is easy to get frustrated, we just put on Duran Duran. I don’t know what it is about it for us, but it just calms the nerves.  

What is your go to” junk food? 

Always tortilla chips. Always. Just plain ol’ corn chips. 

What is your favorite celebration drink? 

A Negroni Sbagliato. I love putting champagne with Campari and vermouth. I could sip on that all day. Champagne is number two. Pretty simple, really. I love bubbles. 

What movie have you seen the most, and why? 

If I stayed home sick from school, I would put on Audrey Hepburn’s “My Fair Lady.” It was a two-cassette VHS, so that movie was going to be my entire plan for the day. I had to have watched that movie at least 75 times in my life. 

How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 

I’m pretty solid on eight. Sometimes I sleep more. If there’s one thing you shouldn’t do, is fight what you know your body needs. If you need 10 hours of sleep or 12 hours of sleep one day, you can’t feel guilty for that. You have to do it. 

What would you say to 13-year-old Megann? 

What is that, eighth grade? Eighth grade was the turning point right before high school. I was very attracted to the girls who were allowed to wear eyeliner, who didn’t have a curfew, who were getting attention from the good-looking boys in the grade. I was very drawn to wanting to prove myself among my peers in a way where I felt liked, and I felt popular. Like many thirteen-year-olds.  

To my 13-year-old self: Try not to be so much of a follower. Recognize genuine people. Stay true to your guns and recognize that you’re awesome and special and talented without needing approval from people that ultimately are just trying to flex their ego and fit in, themselves. You don’t owe them anything. Just be yourself. You’ll make a lot better series of decisions moving forward if you learn that. And, you have should have stuck with tennis. 

What’s the best event you’ve ever been to as a guest? 

My parents had a good relationship with Gary Melius, who’s the current leasing owner of Oheka Castle in Huntington, New York. It is the third-largest castle in the country. He used to throw these crazy awesome Fourth of July parties and I used to go growing up. It had everything you could ever want in a big, giant lawn party. It was sick. And awesome weddings, having the best time with close friends, that really tops it. A lot of other awesome events that I’ve been to, I’ve been working them. 

Who is your favorite artist? 

Chico Jefferson, Mary Iverson, Van Minnen. These are all current artists. For stuff that hangs in museums, the Leopold Museum in Vienna has Egon Schiele and Gustov Klimt. I think Egon Schiele is super amazing. He does a lot of body portraits and nudes. Just brutal, postmodern expressionism. There’s a lot of emotion and power behind his stuff. 

What advice would you give to people just starting out in a creative space? 

Don’t overthink it. Just try it out. If you have an idea, follow through with it. Get as far as you can down the line with it, and if you hate it and it makes you feel gross, you have the choice to just leave it be and move on to something else. But don’t over think it.  

Don’t think that the first go around, you’re going to create something that’s going to blow minds or make you feel amazing. Just do as much as you can to practice. The action of creating, that’s the hardest thing. 

Focus on not being a consumer but being a creator for a little while. It’s almost like method acting. In all the things you do, try not to over-consume. Create. Figure out ways that you can practice that in your everyday life. It’ll allow you to feel a little bit more comfortable and confident with the idea that it’s not about producing this “grand thing.” It’s about being it and embodying it as a person, and then the art and whatever you’re doing creatively will either stick or it won’t stick. But it’s just about the practice of it. The everyday practice of it.  

And don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s like when you say, “Oh, I’m not eating well and I have to change my diet,” so you eat a salad for lunch every single day. You think, “Is this going to work? Am I going to lose weight? Am I going to feel better? Am I going to get better sleep?” In reality you’re just overthinking it. Just make small, conscious decisions every single day and if some days you just don’t have the willpower to do that, then don’t. Don’t overthink it. 

Photo by Jean Hodgens. Artwork by Megann Samperisi