Meet Ramsey Musk | Graphic Designer & Beverage Director

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

Hi Ramsey, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
I think that people, in general, don’t understand the demands of creative work and how much time and thought goes into everything that we do. As a graphic designer, it is a little more clear cut, but when it comes to cocktail creation and creative/intellectual property in that setting it is much more muddied. So much time and thought goes into my beverage programming, so while you might see a pretty drink that tastes good, you don’t see all the time it goes into preparing the specialty ingredients, or even into ideating it. Today I think creativity is often seen as a commodity, but people have a hard time recognizing and being able to quantify and qualify what creatives do.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
So, I am a trained visual and graphic artist. I illustrate, I am a graphic designer, photographer, content creator and DJ and on top of all of that I am also create beverage programs and bartend (I don’t really fancy the term mixologist). I think that just my wide breadth of creative fluency sets me apart. I draw inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. I design menus for the bars I work at, I capture my own images, I really do it all and because of that I have a strong point of view and a lot of myself comes across in the bars that I run and the art that I create. It has taken a bit of time to find that voice and be able to express my authentic self through these avenues, so no it wasn’t easy at first, but now it’s second nature. Not doing what you think everyone wants is tough but ultimately when you do thing for yourself that you are passionate about, that is when the real magic happens.

I think the most important thing I want the world to know is that I, myself, am unabashedly me, an all around creative, queer man. Once I stopped caring about presenting myself and my brand a certain way, that is when things really started to fall into place. Fitting into a mold or a box that you think you need to be in never really works. People will gravitate towards you for who you are, and if your work is good and has a point of view, then success will inevitably follow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh boy, I mean where to start. If I want to show my friends a good time in LA I have to bring them to Open Market, Maison Mathu, Cindy’s Diner and Maury’s Bagles for breakfasts. For lunch vibes, Yangbang Society, Jitlada, Wax Paper, Pine and Crane and probably All Time. For dinner my favorite places are Causita, Dan Sung Sa, Bar Moruno, Found Oyster, De La Nonna, Republique, Musso and Franks and Jones (for late night bites). We would have to hit Normandie Club, 4100 bar, Cha Cha Lounge, and the Prince for drinks. As far as other things to do, I love going to the Craft Contemporary Museum, Barnsdall Art park, Echo park Lake, a drive up to Malibu along the PCH accompanied by a stop at Broad Street Oyster. I also love bringing people to the Long Beach Flea also. An eclectic mix, with a hike up to Griffith thrown in somewhere.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many! I think some of the best mentors that I have had in the hospitality sphere have been close friends; Karen Grill, Clare Ward, Nathan Hazard, Gretel Diaz, Erin Hayes, to name a few. Our industry and bartending in general can be very insular and every man/woman for themselves, but I have been fortunate enough to have really amazing people to lean on, work with, take inspiration from and ask advice from along my journey and visa versa. It has been so amazing watching them all succeed in different avenues of our industry and we all celebrate our successes. It is a beautiful community that I have been able to be a part of and build upon.

Website: ramseyramseyramsey.com

Instagram: @dadsdrinks