Meet Julia Grimm | Producer & Co-Owner of SLAQR Studios

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julia Grimm and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julia, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
From the time that I had my first job at a mall coffee shop at age 16, I couldn’t help but notice little things that I would put on my own mental list of “what not to do when running a business.” That list only continued to grow at the first production companies I worked at in LA right after college. Some things on the list were logistical, but the vast majority – and in my eyes, the most important parts – were around how (not) to treat people. I just remember thinking, “Why do some people think that success and compassion can’t coexist?” I’d never had an explicit goal to start a company, but even as an inquisitive 24-year-old, I knew that if I ever had the opportunity to, I wanted to prove that you could have a successful business that’s founded on the real, tangible values and actions of empathy, understanding, and simply treating people the way you want to be treated – collaborators, clients, and most importantly, anyone working “under” you.

Don’t get me wrong, in the decade since then, I’ve also had the luxury of working with many companies that have wonderful leaders who approach business by those values. Seeing positive examples of leadership only furthered my desire to foster a safe and creative environment for the people that I work with. Having a creative/business partner who shares that vision made starting a company together feel like a natural evolution of our professional journeys.

Michelle Simunovic is my longtime friend and co-owner/creative director of our production company, SLAQR Studios. Though we’d known each other since college, we didn’t start working together professionally until 2019, when she brought me on to produce FX’s Cake alongside her at SLAQR Inc, an acclaimed creative agency/post-house founded by Monina Verano. When Cake wrapped up after 5 seasons, Michelle and I had an opportunity to think deeply about what we wanted to do next. In part, we approached this by considering what we had liked most from all of our previous work experiences (meeting new creatives and hearing their stories and ideas, managing creative teams by making room for experimentation and flexibility, the autonomy to manage our own time and have control over work-life balance), and the types of work we wanted to prioritize (telling real, human stories, meeting and supporting new and inspiring collaborators, building long-lasting relationships with like-minded partners). The culmination of these thought exercises led us to the only conclusion that felt right: we wanted to start our own full-service creative production company, and we wanted to do it together. Monina was incredibly encouraging of our decision, and we collectively decided to stay connected to the SLAQR brand by keeping the namesake and the ethos. SLAQR Studios is built on a legacy of breaking formulas, provoking emotion, and driving culture.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
At its core, SLAQR Studios is a woman-owned production company and creative agency grown from the belief that good things can and do happen when people come together. We strive to cultivate community, on and off screen, and approach every project with empathy and intention. It might sound simple, but in a society that prioritizes capitalism and profit above all else, we have to be thoughtful and intentional in how we approach our work.

We officially started SLAQR Studios at the beginning of 2023, but we were unknowingly crafting the building blocks for our business long before that by fostering strong relationships with the creatives around us. 2023 was definitely a weird year to start a business. The (extremely justified and important) strikes in the industry, coupled with threats of a recession, slowed down the industry at large, but we were fortunate to work on a variety of projects across music, marketing, and entertainment, and we learned valuable lessons from each one of them. I think one of the biggest challenges is figuring out how to secure the types of projects that bring us the most joy, and more importantly, finding the right partners who align with our values not just in name but in practice.

We used some of the slower seasons of last year as an opportunity to meet new people. We’d look through our existing networks and find inspiring people they’d worked with, we’d scour platforms like FreeTheWork, we’d turn to Instagram to see who was making cool stuff – and then we’d reach out to say hello! From directors to DPs, production designers to community organizers, almost every outreach led to a coffee and a thoughtful conversation. This was really valuable because when a project came in, we had already made a connection with new people we wanted to work with. We want to continue to build our brand by building relationships, first and foremost.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I grew up on the East Coast, and when I first moved to LA right after college, I thought I was coming for the summer. 12 years later… it’s been a long summer! I fell in love with Southern California for a lot of reasons, but one of them was the access to and culture around hiking (there’s not a lot of hills in South Jersey).

If someone was coming to visit me for the first time, I would definitely take them hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains, followed by a sunset in Malibu. I also love a lot of trails in Angeles National Forest and I’m forever grateful to have Griffith Park right in my backyard, too. For friends who are a little more adventurous (and not afraid of encountering some very free-spirited folks), a day trip to Deep Creek hot springs is always top of my list.

A lot has changed in the 12 years that I’ve lived in LA, and I’ve seen many favorite restaurants and bars be pushed out by increasing rent prices and gentrification (i.e. Cha Cha Cha, a long-time staple in Virgil Village that closed in 2016). But there’s always a plethora of exciting places to check out, new and old. Lasita Rotisserie is a delicious little spot in Chinatown, and La Cita bar downtown will always be top of my list for a chill night with a little dancing (yes, the names of both of those places are pronounced the same way). A walk or ride down the LA river bike path near Atwater never disappoints either, especially with a stop for lunch at Spoke Bicycle Cafe.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Michelle and I are both extremely fortunate to come from big extended families that have always believed in us and allowed us the space to explore our passions and dreams. So of course we’re immensely thankful for growing up in environments that prioritized having an open mind and a big heart.

We’re also really thankful to have incredible chosen families – our friends and support networks here in Los Angeles. From friends we’ve known since college and have watched grow in the entertainment industry (Aanchal Khaneja, Head of Film & TV at Amy Aniobi’s SuperSpecial; Colin Scully, Senior Director of Development & Production at Constanin Film; Rill Causey, Creative Producer/Editor/Sound Designer; Megan Lovallo, Director/DP, just to name a few), to independent artists and musicians we’ve supported and collaborated with (Olivia Kaplan, Musician; Andrew Sarlo, Music Producer; Joanie Del Santo, Creative Director & Stylist; Madison Steigerwald, Set Decorator/Miniatures Specialist), and so many more, we’re really grateful to all of the talented and thoughtful people we spend so much of our time with.

Website: https://www.slaqrstudios.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/slaqrstudios/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/slaqr-studios/

Image Credits
Chris David Rill Causey Megan Lovallo