This interview is part of Seatmates, a Window Seat series where tastemakers and creatives share how they move through the world—what they pack, where they stay, and the travel rituals that shape their lives.

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We all owe Megan Graham quite the debt of gratitude. She’s the one who finally fixed one of travel’s most overlooked (and most frustrating) problems: the ugly, wasteful plastic toiletry bottle. But for Megan—a multiracial woman who spent years cobbling together her own beauty routine on the road—it was never just about aesthetics. It was about access. As the founder and CEO of Ries, she’s reimagined how we pack beauty on the go, designing a refillable system that’s equal parts functional and elegant.

Read on for her take on beauty, dignity, and access for travelers who’ve never seen themselves reflected in hotel amenities, how she manages her fear of flying, and how a borrowed guesthouse and a Cannes-winning filmmaker made her birthday unforgettable.

Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m the Founder and CEO of Ries, a travel toiletry brand reimagining how we pack (and think) about personal care on the go. Before launching Ries, I lived many creative lives: I worked as a trend forecaster, led brand strategy at advertising agencies, and spent time on the beauty team at Vogue. Like many founders, I started with a problem I couldn’t ignore and bootstrapped my way toward a solution I believed in.

Travel has always been a throughline in my life. I was born in Detroit, raised between Atlanta and Tallahassee, and have called New York home longer than anywhere else. These days, I live in Brooklyn with my husband and our dog, Coco. And I’m currently pregnant with our first kid, due this August!

My earliest memories of travel weren’t from glamorous vacations, but from quietly stealing the New York Times Travel section out of my dad’s Sunday paper. Even though most of our family trips were road trips up and down the East Coast, I never doubted that the big, wide world was mine to discover.

You’ve made something elegant out of what most travelers overlook: the travel-size bottle. Has any destination helped you see beauty routines—or sustainability—in a new way?

Wow, thank you! That’s such a huge compliment, and truly what I set out to achieve with Ries.

Early in my career, I landed a job as a trend forecaster that had me on a plane at least twice a month, every month, for years. I saw the inside of countless airports, hotels, and taxis. But what really stood out was how disconnected my on-the-go beauty routine felt from the one I’d so carefully built at home.

For me, beauty has always been rooted in haircare and skincare, but the products I relied on (especially for my curly hair) were never going to be found in a hotel bathroom or a last-minute stop at Hudson News. As a multiracial woman, I was used to bringing my own essentials, but the process was frustrating: decanting rich conditioners and creams into flimsy, one-ounce plastic bottles that were unsightly, wasteful, and rarely reused.

Traveling so frequently and seeing how much single-use plastic I was personally throwing away sparked something deeper. I had two nagging desires: to maintain care and dignity for my hair wherever I traveled, and to eliminate the environmental guilt tied to all that disposable packaging.

At its core, Ries is an extension of my own hair journey. I’ve done it all—relaxers, braids, the big chop—and stopped chemically straightening my hair when I was 15. Embracing my natural texture was a fight: for myself, for representation, and for a kind of beauty that wasn’t always seen as standard. It might feel strange now, but 20 years ago an acceptance of textured curls was very much not the case. I refused to let travel, the thing I loved most, be the reason I had to compromise on that progress.

So while Ries may seem like a product story, it’s really about access. About making room for every kind of beauty on the road, and giving travelers the tools to show up fully, sustainably, and unapologetically.

As a founder who’s constantly moving, what rituals anchor you on the road?

The rituals that anchor me on the road are the same ones that keep me grounded at home. I always travel with a book or two and I try to never sleep with my phone in the same room. (Currently reading Bad Behavior by Mary Gaitskill)

But the real non-negotiable? My haircare. No matter where I’m headed, having my full routine with me is what makes me feel most like myself. It’s about care, continuity, and feeling rooted, even in a new place.

My Ries is always packed with the essentials: Hair Story New Wash cleanser, Honest conditioner, Aunt Jackie’s leave-in and a mousse or gel by Bread Beauty for a little extra hold. It’s a small ritual, but it brings a sense of home wherever I go.

If you had full creative control over a property, how would you rethink the arrival and welcome experience for guests?

I love that first moment of stepping into a hotel. There’s such a feeling of possibility and a simultaneous arriving and letting the travel just slough off, isn’t there? For me the best check-in experience does all the thinking for you while also giving you complete freedom.

In my dream hotel, we’d start with a comfortable seated interaction (counters are too cold and formal!) You’re offered a refreshing drink (herbal tea, sparkling water, or something bubbly) while your luggage is quietly whisked to your room. The logistics—room details, amenities, any extras—are confirmed with ease and handed over in a beautifully designed, compact printout. No QR codes in sight.

Maybe a poolside cabana has already been reserved for you. Maybe the staff has anticipated small preferences you never even had to voice. A vegetarian menu waiting on your bedside table or a hiking map of the nearby trails? You feel considered, not processed.

A hotel stay should be like any good restaurant experience. They’ve already done their research the moment you made your reservation and know the small ways to personalize your stay. It’s all in the details.

Seatmates: Megan Graham

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