Leigh Patterson
Editorial + Creative Director/ Founder of LUCCA Studio/ Creator Moon Lists
Where were you raised? Has the landscape of that place influenced your work in any way?
I was raised in the Texas Hill Country, between San Antonio and Austin. As an adult I have moved around a lot but the specific spaciousness of Texas remains deeply comforting to me. I never feel more safe or relaxed than when I’m surrounded by that combination of expanse, nature, and silence.
How do you re-charge your creative battery?
Typically - travel, and especially solo travel. I love exploring a new city on my own. Since that hasn’t been much of an option over the last year, I have been working to see familiar things with new eyes. Also: Walks! Reading! And trying to take my own advice by maintaining a deliberate note-taking/Moon List journaling practice.
What book are you reading?
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Imagine by Jonah Lehrer
Just finished Hidden Valley Road by Robert Kolker
What was the last thing that you fell in love with?
It’s hard to say I’m “in love” with anything without it feeling cheesy or exaggerated… but recent things that I have not been able to get enough of include:
Winter sunsets
Bodha’s CALM smokeless incense
JJs avocados from the Hollywood farmers market
Are.na research wormholes
What do you love most about yourself?
I’m a deep listener and communicator — I think I’m good at seeing both sides.
What do you think is the most important quality in a human?
A willingness to change.
Do you have a spiritual practice?
Not really! I definitely feel dialed into moments that feel powerful or significant on another level (I’m not a monster!) … but I’m more moved when these experiences feel spontanous or surprising.
Who are your role models?
Many different ones as they relate to different areas of my life:
Professionally I’m lucky to be surrounded by a lot of inspiring women who personify what it means to be an impactful, empathetic leader. I really look up to a specific early boss—a creative director for a fashion brand—whose insatiable creativity was truly contagious to witness.
Personally, this is the dorkiest answer but I am really blown away by my mom, a RN who has been on the front line administering vaccines and educating on long-term health during the pandemic. She’s truly a selfless human in every sense who keeps my ego and perspective in check.
If you could change one thing about our world, what would it be? Is there a individual or an organization doing work in this area that you want us to know about?
Yes — Shelley Armistead of Gjelina introduced me to the work of the Lower East Side Girls Club, an organization offering mentorship to girls of all ages throughout NYC, particularly those in underserved neighborhoods and coming from low-income housing projects and communities.
I am very passionate about access to tools and skillsets for developing one’s own personal narrative — the power of telling your own story about who you are outside of the circumstances you were born into, or one that society puts on you. This is the whole point of my Moon Lists project, and I’d love to be able to continue going down that path with its ethos.
All photos courtesy of Leigh Patterson
