Raised in Illinois, where she played drums in many bands in Chicago’s indie-rock scene, she was a seasoned pro at winning over jaded audiences and fickle club bookers by the time she landed in Los Angeles in 2004. When her band broke up shortly after her arrival, her well-honed instinct for improvising kicked in. She started taking her service industry career seriously, and while working on a concept for an all-natural hot dog stand, she reacquainted herself with the preserving skills she was taught by her grandmother. Soon she was making her own mustard and relish — and eventually marmalade, using oranges plucked from trees in her backyard. Reminded of her childhood days of making jams and jellies with her mother and grandmother, she made her first specialty jams, with produce and herbs she discovered at the farmers market. Jam-making became a weekly flavor experiment/obsession that filled her cabinets, so she began selling the jams to her co-workers & friends. Her restaurant boss and numerous musician and foodie friends in L.A.’s eclectic Echo Park/Silver Lake neighborhood fell in love with her creative flavor combinations and avidly encouraged her to pursue her jam-making full-time. The hot dog stand was put on hold as she launched Laura Ann’s Jams.