Buffalo Boss Babe: Lindsay Robson
Todays Buffalo Boss Babe is Lindsay Robson. Lindsay is a lifestyle blogger at Nickel City Pretty, Founder of the Buffalo Blogging Network, and 1/2 of Black Box Studio Buffalo. I first met lindsay through this blog. When I first started this there was a hige out pouring of encouragement and love from so many woman in buffalo and Lindsay was at the top of the list. She welcomed me with kindness, excitment and words of encouragment. She invited me to blogging events and is so supportive to our whole community! Her blog and vibes are amazing and she has her hand on the pulse of this queen city. Her love for Buffalo and our community is awesome! We chatted with Lindsay about how she got started !
Photo by Seek Axiom
What made you start or brought you to where you are today? Tell us your story and what makes you a Buffalo Boss Babe?
I started my blog in February 2013. I was in a bit of a funk. I didn't love my job, I didn't have any hobbies, and I had a general "blech" feeling that I couldn't shake. I finally became sick and tired of being sick and tired and started to think about how I could dig myself out of the metaphorical hole that I was in. At that time, I was reading a lot of blogs, and had always loved writing (I had a Livejournal for years!) so I started doing a little bit of research to see if there were any local bloggers. To my surprise, I only found a handful of WNY blogs, so I thought, what the hell, I'm going to start my own! Buffalo had started to really come into its resurgence when I started blogging, and I thought that people needed to know just how amazing this area was and that we were more than just a city full of snow and chicken wings. Nickel City Pretty started predominantly as a personal style blog with a little bit of local pieces here and there, but as the years went on, I really enjoyed writing the Buffalo posts more than I did the style posts. Fast forward to today and my blog has evolved into a website that showcases everything Buffalo, with a few style posts still scattered in from time to time. Two of my babies are my Nickel City Gritty series and my Buffalo Public Art page. With Nickel City Gritty, I interview local young people who are doing really cool, innovative and groundbreaking things. They aren't your usual interviews, though. I ask bizarre and off the wall questions so it really showcases their personalities. I've gotten an amazing response from these interviews and I have so much fun with it! With my Buffalo Public Art page, I travel around the city and surrounding areas, take photos of murals and public art pieces, and list their locations and the artist (if I know that info) on my blog. This way, if someone is looking for a specific art piece, they can go straight to my blog and find the location so they can go check it out for themselves. I have a running list of murals that I still have to photograph, which is wonderful since so many pieces have been popping up recently, especially with help from the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Over the years, I started noticing that there were a lot more local bloggers coming out of the woodwork. I wanted to connect with them, but wasn't sure how to go about doing it. I was a member of the Northeast Bloggers Network, but it was hard to connect with all of the members of that network since it consisted of the entire Northeast region and it was nearly impossible for people to get together with one another. So in June 2016 I made the decision to add another project to my list and started the Buffalo Blogging Network. I created a website, Instagram, and Twitter. I started scrolling through Instagram to find all of the local bloggers that I could so I could create a directory. On the BBN's website, I have all of the local bloggers and vloggers listed with their URL's and social media pages. This way, it's incredibly easy for anyone to look up their favorite blogger and follow them on all of their various social channels. Currently, we are at over 80 members and adding new ones all of the time! I organize monthly meetings for the group as well. We have hosted meetings at such amazing locations like The Martin House, Buffalo Arts Studio, and Canalside and been to areas outside of the city proper like Niagara Falls and Lockport. I love finding different places to hold our meetings each month, because this gives our bloggers the chance to visit businesses they might not have been before and at the same time, it gives those businesses the chance to interact with Buffalo's social media enthusiasts. One of the best things about the Buffalo Blogging Network is that it we finally have a sense of community. Before this, we were all just floating around in our own bubbles, hardly interacting with one another. Now, so many collaborations and friendships have formed, and it gives me squishy feelings knowing that we are a part of this giant family and we can all rely on one another to answer any questions that we may have or bounce ideas off each other.
In June of 2017 I started looking for a studio space where I could work out of to organize all of the crazy ideas in my brain and become more productive. My friends have an art studio in a building on Exchange Street, and I e-mailed the landlord to see if anything was available. Lucky enough there was the perfect size space opening on July 1st. After checking it out and deciding it was perfect, I threw it out into Facebook land that I was looking for someone to share the studio with me. A local photographer, Heather Sargent, contacted me and said that she would be interested. We were Facebook friends and had never met before, but we both took a chance and agreed that we were all in. The first time we officially met in person was to sign the lease forms. As fate would have it, Heather and I have become two peas in a pod. We formed Black Box Studio in July 2017 and are filled with good vibes, love, creativity, and a ton of girl power!
Photo by Seek Axiom
Who are your favorite people to follow?
Locally, I love following those who are really creative and/or staples in the community: @risecollaborative, @_buffalorising, @tingleychuck, @oxfordpennant, @visitbuffaloniagara, @albrightknox, @seekaxiom, @buffalomadeco, @bkindcity
What are your favorite things to do in the area (Buffalo and greater WNY)?
I'm a big social butterfly, so I love doing anything that gets me out and about with my people! Trying new yummy restaurants, going to art openings or special events, getting cozy with a chai latte at one of our incredible coffee shops, doing a little bit (or a lot) of boutique shopping, and strolling around Canalside or the Outer Harbor.
Photo by Seek Axiom
Tell me about your favorite collaborations or a dream collaboration?
Oh my gosh. I've worked with so many incredible people, especially this year. Doing what I do, I've made so many friends in so many different walks of life. One of my favorite ongoing collaborations is with the talented Ryan Kell (aka Seek Axiom). We connected at the beginning of 2017 and I'm now honored to call him a dear friend. Whenever we shoot together, it's magic! Also, those who I have interviewed for my Nickel City Gritty series are some of my favorite people in the world- Sean Wrafter of Wrafterbuilt, Joseph Stocker and Jon Eisenberg of Bureau, Michele Ogden of Whimsy Confections, Caralyn Mirand, etc. Lastly, all of the bloggers in the Buffalo Blogging Network! Meeting these folks has been such a blessing. It's wonderful to know people who share the same passion as you and are willing and happy to lend a helping hand, give a word of advice, or just have a lot of fun!
PS. She tops the list of many of our features "dream collaboration" list - Lets make it happen boss babes!
If you could have coffee with anyone in the world who would it be?
Lady Gaga. I've been a Little Monster since the beginning, and she's so inspirational to me. Her music and her artistry and her passion is just so compelling and I hope that someday I get the chance to meet her.
Photo by Seek Axiom
What are your hopes, dreams, goals? Big or Small?
My goal is to keep Nickel City Pretty rolling! I plan to keep evolving and changing and creating great content and staying inspired. My hope is that I will keep generating connections and friendships through the Buffalo Blogging Network. My dream is to take Nickel City Pretty to the next level and make this my full-time job instead of just my side hustle.
Photo by Seek Axiom
Photo by Seek Axiom
Feel Good Five :)
Color: Black
Food: Tacos, more specifically the Crispy Fish & Dirty South tacos from lloyd
Super Power: Finding the best lighting to take a selfie
Animal: Buffalo
Season of the year: Summer!
Be sure to follow Lindsay on social media @nickelcitypretty and check out her awesome blog https://www.nickelcitypretty.com/. Im thankful this gem is leading all of the buffalo bloggers and highlighting cool people doing cool things for our city. I cant wait to see whats in store for lindsay and Nickel City Pretty in the future!
Until next time babes!
Buffalo Boss Babes is a woman run blog series featuring woman in and around the city of Buffalo N.Y.
If you know someone doing amazing things for our community, past and present, young and old..... send us a message at buffalobossbabes@gmail.com
Be kind to everyone you meet.
Here's to strong woman! May we know them. May we be them
