Elyse Sara
Executive Producer / Founder

Elyse began her career managing productions for ABC, History & Food Network. While she spent her days in the production office, her nights were spent in restaurant kitchens, which she leveraged for her baking business. Her customers included Fairway Market and top-rated NYC restaurants owned by the Director, Bob Giraldi. It was during her time working with Bob that Elyse discovered tabletop and decided to merge her interests in food + production. From there, she founded Canteen and has produced spots for a range of brands and top ad agencies. In her off-time, you can find her exploring the mountains and teaching herself how to grill.

Erik Dettle
Partner / Director

Erik is a multi-disciplinary filmmaker and Director of Photography. He began his career lensing and directing international documentaries which aired on TV networks and screens at NYC's Carnegie Hall. By 2014 his detail oriented cinematography lead him to the world of advertising. Since then he has earned awards for cinematography on projects with Stella Artois and Mountain Dew. He has designed proprietary camera equipment for specialty use and strategized studio tech and talent for advertising agencies and production companies. He became partner at Canteen in 2021 where he continues to enjoy the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship.

Neil Russo
Creative Director

Neil Russo is a multidisciplinary designer and conceptual creative director from Brooklyn, NY with over 20 years of experience telling stories across an array of media. Working on the agency and client side, he has launched brands on social media channels, built content ecosystems, produced live events, developed digital editorial properties and video series for brands such as Walmart, IBM, The Glenlivet, 23andMe, Sotheby's, Naro and more. In his free time, he loves to hike, drink old whisky, eat delicious food, and be with his awesome wife (but not all 4 at the same time).
neilrusso.com

Tess Martin
Creative Director

Tess is a Creative Director specializing in campaign concept work, photo art direction, design direction and branding, within the beauty space. Tess began her career in the New York agency world, evolving into art direction of beauty-specific editorial work such as Sephora Catalog and Avon, and later, leading creative teams for various beauty brands. She collaborates with clients to grow a product’s identity from early development stages (packaging and concepting) to its launch, in-store (displays) and online (social media and beyond), most recently working for Revlon brands and ELF Cosmetics. Tess' passion for beauty expands beyond her profession - she is a lover and consumer of all things skin, color and nail.
tessmartin.site