17 Nashvillians You Need to Follow on Instagram Right Now
When I first started my blog, my intention was to feature people and places that deserved the spotlight. I feel like I have done a pretty good job of that so far, but we have so many amazing people and places in this town, the opportunities are really endless. I have decided to put together a list for you guys of 17 Nashvillians you need to follow on Instagram right now. These are a group of people who are some, not all, of my very favorite accounts to follow of people right here in our city. I have reached out to them and gotten to learn a little more about each one, than I would have just known from glancing through their social media feeds. Have any of you ever been curious to see who the people are behind the @NashvilleTn and @TheNashvilleGuide pages? I know I have. I encourage you to follow each of them (not literally, of course) I feel as if I have to say that these days. (insert winky emoji here)
JAKE MATTHEWS
@jakesvisuals
Jake is a Nashvillian who recently graduated college in May and is currently living in Nairobi, Kenya working as a photojournalist for a non-profit that works with street kids. After Kenya, he will have another month of adventures to a few countries and back in Nashville by December. He has been doing photography for about 4 years now and it wasn't until this past year that he really felt he found his niche. He had really gotten into capturing the urban side of Nashville, which he feels isn't common for photographers in the area. That eventually that led Jake into shooting portraits with his own "urban-ish" type of style. Once he started doing that, everything just kind of clicked and he ran with it. His goal is to keep doing photography for a living in Nashville once he gets back and to continue traveling every once in a while whenever he get the chance. He absolutely loves being a photographer in Nashville with it being a city full of creatives.
Jake's page is one of my absolute favorite Instagrams to follow. He captures the incredible beauty our city has to offer, along with amazing photos of people. I absolutely love his style and his eye for photography. I originally saw his work on the new "Nashville Billboard" which led me straight to the follow button!
BROOKE WEBB
@kbstyled
Brooke is a wife, a mom of two children, and the Editor and Creator of a very successful style blog, KBStyled. She has lived in Nashville for 4 years and resides in Franklin, TN with her family. She loves finding a great piece at a bargain price and styling it in a way that looks like a million bucks. Brooke also enjoys experimenting with new beauty products and eating cupcakes :) Be sure to follow her Instagram page to keep up with all the latest trends and follow her blog to find out where to get each adorable outfit she puts together.
CASSIE KELLEY
@womanista @cassiemkelly
Cassie, started WOMANISTA when she was on the road touring with her husband (his name is Charles Kelley and he’s in this little country band you may have heard of, Lady Antebellum). OK little was an exaggeration. She was logging a lot of hours hanging in a backstage dressing room and wanted a way to connect with other women and share the things in life that we all love (like fashion, makeup tips, romantic date night spots, and great friendships!) As the site grew, she realized that Womanista could offer so much more than simply her singular perspective – women from all over the world could connect there and share their own thoughts, ideas, fashion finds, beauty tricks, and messages of empowerment. Womanista is now a place where people can all come together and explore what it is that makes us all unique, beautiful, strong, and special. Womanista is also home to an incredible group of bloggers and contributors who share Cassie's passion and vision for the site.
I encourage you to follow both of Cassie's Instagram pages and checkout her Womanista site. It is amazing!
MARY SENG
@happilygrey
Mary started "Happily Grey" simply as a hobby. She says she knew nothing regarding blogging, but the idea intrigued her as she found herself investing countless hours mulling through other fashion blogs. The idea of having a creative outlet fueled by a passion seemed exciting, appealing, and challenging. Happily Grey has given her….joy, visibility, wonder, vulnerability, creativity, and eagerness.
Mary's style is unplanned, and is generally a reflection of her mood. She is unsure she actually has a concrete approach to her blog other than just following her intuition day to day. She thinks style encompasses more than just the clothes you see. The way one walks, talks, stands, and most importantly, the confidence all create style. She says she is no fashion expert and she's learning and evolving more everyday as Happily Grey grows in its own way. Creating unique,original content in an untainted light has never felt more essential.
I am going to have to disagree with Mary that she is no fashion expert! If you have never seen her Instagram page, I think you will agree. She is the epitome of style and grace. @JohnHillin and @KelseyCherry capture a lot of Mary's photos who you also should be following. Seriously beautiful photography!
ASHLEY HOUSTON
@nashvillewifestyles
Ashley is originally from East Tennessee where she studied journalism and advertising at ETSU. She's always been in love with writing, and she's been writing stories since she was a child. One of her bucket list goals is to publish a book. Ashley decided to turn her love for writing, fashion, and beauty into a lifestyle blog, "Nashville Wifestyles". She also recently started a YouTube channel where she give weekly reviews and makeup tutorials.
Outside of blogging, Ashley is a mother to a 4 year old little girl with another girl on the way. Her husband, Matt, just started a start up company called "Beachy" within the year so he's traveling often leaving her to run the household. As you can tell, she keeps herself very busy.
DEVIN WILLIAMS
@photographybyDW
Devin Williams is a pro when it comes to capturing photos of our beautiful city. I don't think I have ever seen one of his Nashville photos that I didn't absolutely love. I see the Nashville skyline nearly every day of my life, but for some reason, every time I see the peak of the AT&T building, better known to most as the "Batman building", I still get excited. It symbolizes something to me. It symbolizes home. I think when you see the photos on his Instagram page, you will agree Devin's photography symbolizes home, as well.
For more info on Devin, I also featured him on my "Local Artist Spotlight" section.
ABBY DEMMER
@thenashvilleguide
Abby Demmer grew up in Waupaca, Wisconsin – a true Midwestern at heart. Shortly after college she made the big move to Nashville, Tennessee for a job in corporate America working as a graphic designer. With not knowing a single person in Nashville you would think the transition would be hard in a new city but it was surprisingly easy because of how nice and welcoming everyone was in Nashville. She quickly was proud to call Nashville home.
With Nashville becoming one of the top cities to visit, Abby constantly had out-of-town friends asking for her top Nashville recommendations when they were visiting. She found that they didn’t want the typical over-advertised places flooded with tourists – they wanted to hang where the locals did. After repeating her list over-and-over to visiting friends she decided to create a simple and easy resource via Instagram and that’s where the The Nashville Guide (@TheNashvilleGuide) was born. Early on as she searched for photos of local restaurants and businesses to feature, she was blown away by all the amazingly talented small local businesses Nashville had to offer. From local artisans and makers to little ‘Ma and Pa’ restaurants to small businesses owners. She wanted to help shine some light on all their hard work and amazing talents…and most importantly bring them business.
Abby and I are a lot alike in the reasoning behind creating our pages, but hers is extraordinary. The Nashville Guide has some exciting news being announced in the next couple weeks so be sure to follow her on Instagram so you don't miss it!! I am SO excited for her!!
CORTNEY EDMONDSON
@edmon_co @Thursday_Thrive
Raised in Mt. Juliet, TN, this Nashville Native, Cortney, has a huge heart for helping others. In April 2015, Cortney launched #365DaysofCortney on Instagram, a #positivevibesonly campaign. For 365 days, she posted only positive and inspirational posts in order to be a steady light of positivity for everyone who follows her. In the fall of 2015, she left her career as a CPA at a major accounting firm to pursue her dream of public speaking. Cortney is passionate about story telling because sharing her story has liberated her from her past of shame and inspired thousands of others to do the same.
On April 30, 2016, she launched edmonco.co, her blog and public speaking business. On the same day, her birthday, she launched Thursday Thrive, a platform for other people to share their stories of overcoming adversity. ThursdayThrive.com is a web video series that features a new person's story bi-weekly on Thursdays. Each individual's story and topic is different but identifies the blessings, lessons and transformations that only adversity can provide. Her mission is to share stories of hope and to connect communities of people who are facing similar life challenges.
If you have a story you would like to share with Courtney please email her at : Cortney@edmonco.co
ALEXIS TEICHMILLER
@alexisteichmiller
Alexis Teichmiller is passionate about creativity, inspiring others, and digital marketing. She has a lifestyle blog (alexisteichmiller.com) and is also the co-founder of Creative Souls (www.creativesoulstribe.com), a community for female creatives with a mission of encouraging and equipping women to go after their dreams. Alexis is launching a podcast called The Laptop Lifestyle on August 9th, which is a podcast for the virtual entrepreneur to find inspiration and community. She spends her days helping bloggers grow their email lists at ConvertKit (convertkit.com). Traveling, bargain shopping, and eating delicious Nashville food keeps Alexis energized and ready to face each goal that lies before her!
HELENE SULA
@heleneinbetween
Helene is a 28 year old BLOG BOSS, married to her high school sweetheart. Together, they have two dog children — Hugo, a Doberman, and Millie, an English Springer Spaniel. Music and travel are two of her biggest passions. She says she simply can't sit still. If you’ve read her blog, you know she loves a nice glass of wine, musicals, a little celebrity gossip and reality TV. She believes dancing is quite possibly the greatest thing you can do for yourself . She is originally from Dallas but currently living in Nashville, but not for long! She just recently announced she is about to move overseas! So technically she will only be a Nashvillian until the end of July, but I still think you should follow her page. It's beautiful.
If any of you are thinking of starting a blog, I recommend you reaching out to her. She has turned blogging into her full time job and now offers courses. They teach you how you too can do the same, easily, without the stress or hassle she went through. I clearly should have found her page sooner, because I will be the first to tell you, blogging is HARD WORK!
LAURA LEA GOLDBERG
@lauraleabalanced
Laura is a Certified Holistic Chef, recipe developer and writer and currently in contract with Spring House Press, writing a cookbook which should come out next Spring. She teaches cooking classes out of her home as her primary business, and has a bimonthly cooking segment on Nashville's Channel 4. Her goal is to offer healthier versions of Southern classics and introduce new ideas about food, so that we can have our caramel cake and eat it too. On her website, you will find affordable, comforting, often make-ahead meals that are packed with nutrients and flavor. Her hope is that my recipes will impact every aspect of your health, from weight goals to managing allergies to improving your relationships. Better yet if they inspire you to get out there and start creating some delicious, satisfying real-food dishes of your own!
Laura's family goes back in Nashville for generations, and her ancestors founded several institutions that still exist today. "This city is in my blood, and I knew I needed to start with this community in sharing my food." says Laura.
Her Instagram page is filled with the most beautiful food and is guaranteed to make you hungry and want to put a little more time into the presentation of your own food.
CHAD VANCE
@nashvilletn @franklintn
Chad Vance was born and raised in Nashville Tennessee and is the face behind what I find to be one of the best "Nashville" Instagram pages . He started the NashvilleTN Instagram account about 4 years ago because he is so proud to be a Nashville native :) The Instagram account is used to promote our beautiful city as well as our local community. Chad believes Nashville is unlike any other city in America. Due to our cities uniqueness, he was inspired to create the website (www.Shop615.com) in order to help support local artisans and makers. Shop615.com is Nashville's own 'Etsy' like website that now supports more than 110 local shops. Nashville's close niche community is one of the many reasons he is PROUD to call Nashville his home!
PHILLIP FRYMAN
@southernfatty
Professionally, Phillip is a Research Biologist working in cancer research at a local University. Personally, he enjoys piano/music, photography, traveling, ice hockey (GO PREDS!), coffee.. coffee.. coffee. He can vividly remember growing up wanting to be a Chef when he was ‘older'. Having then thought that would certainly be an eternity away, he would have tons of time to plan it out perfectly. Phillip would create a restaurant. He spent countless hours creating blueprints, menus, franchisee agreements (seriously). His featured item began as the World’s Most Amazing Hotdog. A hotdog with shattered Lay’s potato chips on top. As his palate changed, and his business sense slightly improved, that idea warped into some interesting crêpe-based confections that he was certain would change people’s lives instantly. He was learning French in school so naturally, he felt it was the perfect plan. He would open a lovely restaurant that served the most amazing crêpes and hot dogs with potato chips ON them instead of beside like some sort of boring page-turner for the featured pianist. That’ll do it!…
The reality of this plan slowly started to emerge. Phillip made a plan B of Medicine/Science and ended up sticking with that. In the end, though, he has always held onto the love of food and how it brings people together. The sincereness that a chef puts into preparing a meal or confection, those whom join together to share it, the moments of failure and success. It all ends up being worth it in the end. Seeing those around you as happy as a Peep on Easter, laughing and enjoying the company that the food and the Chef (that’s you!) have facilitated. There just isn’t anything better!, says Phillip.
Philip is a chef and food photographer. He recently started a food photography business and his work and or recipes has been featured everywhere your heart can imagine. Seriously, you should check out the long list here . I am very envious of his cooking skills, but secondly the lovely ways in which he captures the beauty of the food. Can you guys tell I REALLY love food? Wait until you guys see his Instagram page and his website features many amazing recipes.
BETSY APPLETON
@goldwilldigger
Betsy is a 20 some year old navigating the waters of adulthood with champagne taste on a beer budget. She began Shopping at thrift stores before she could walk. As a child, she headed straight to book section grabbed a “chapter” book (Babysitter’s Club or Goosebumps), hid between the racks of clothes, and read for hours. As Betsy got older and tall enough to reach the racks, she started digging…for hours. Living in a small town without a mall, she didn’t have access to the “cool” brands like Gap, American Eagle, and Abercrombie & Fitch. When she found a shirt from one of these mall stores (at a fraction of the retail cost), she was THRILLED. Fast forward a few years (or fifteen), recently rediscovered her love for thrift stores, specifically Goodwill, in large part thanks to her Mom. She kept finding designer brands at her local Goodwill store, and it inspired Betsy to start digging for herself. Fashion blogs have always been her vice, but often found her bank account didn’t agree with her fashion blog taste . She decided to start Goldwill Digger to show others all of the treasures found at your local Goodwill and how to incorporate these pieces into your everyday wardrobe. One of Betsy's favorite quotes is “style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn.” – Orson Wells
1767 DESIGNS
@1767designs
Ok, so this is one person, but it is one AMAZING group. There is no way I could leave them off my list. When you see their page and what they can do, you will see why. 1767 is a group of creatives based in Nashville, TN, made up of Patrick Hayes, Trenton Wheeler, Robby Day, Jenny Hayes, and John Watson. They are passionate about designing and creating quality handmade goods rich with history for modern homes. While their roots lie in reclaiming wood from Nashville’s urban decay, their sights are firmly set on a hopeful future.
With Southwestern-inspired patterns and art deco influence throughout, 1767 aims to bring their favorite parts of American design to classic tables, sturdy wall art and custom accents that fit seamlessly into the home. All of the wood that they use for these pieces is sourced from homes that were recently torn down in the Nashville area. Their pieces not only help to save centuries-old wood from an undeserved and wasted fate, they each come with their own stories to tell.
KATIE WHELLEY
@rarebirdrevival
Katie is a Baltimore transplant living in Nashville, TN; pretending to be a rock star on and off stage. When she's not managing a dozen or so hectic construction sites in the city, or singing in her band at Tootsies, you’ll find her on a quest to help people find their inner renegade! She is a young professional and health and fitness advocate. Katie also says she's a DIYer with a 75 percent success rate, she's an adventurous cook and an even more adventurous drinker. She takes care of her one-eyed rescue dog (aptly named Leroy Jethro Gibbs), sees her friends regularly, and drinks wine perhaps more regularly than she sees her friends.
From her "about me" you can tell this girl has quite the personality, but what you will be able to tell when you look at her Instagram page, she has a lot of heart. She will motivate and encourage you for sure.
KALAHN HARMON
@facesbykalahn
Kalahn has over 10 years of experience in Makeup Artistry. When she obtained her Aesthetics license and began her career as an Aesthetician, she quickly became an Eyebrow Arching Expert. Her passion for skin care and makeup makes her job an enjoyable experience each day. She believes that investing in our skin is an investment that lasts a lifetime. From all types of Facials, Chemical Peels, Microdermabrasion, Laser Treatments to Waxing services, she takes pride in each treatment she performs. If you are looking for any of these services, I also encourage you to go see her.
On her Instagram page you will find many skincare tips, product recommendations and encouraging, empowering quotes. She truly makes me want to have better skin! For more info on Kalahn I also featured her on my "Local Artist Spotlight" section.
AMBER FORD
@nativeinnashville
Oh hey, that's me! Technically I am not one of the seventeen people I mentioned in the title, but I think you should give me a chance. I am Amber Ford, and like Abby from the Nashville Guide, started blogging for the same reasons. I wanted to shine light on all things amazing about Nashville. I was born and raised here, and I don't think I could ever call anywhere else home. NO matter what, this is the place that my soul loves. As you all know, I don't blog about just one thing, I blog about whatever my mood is feeling like, which is the beauty of it. I tried out fashion blogging for about two weeks, and I honestly don't know how people do it, so major props to them! You all have no idea how much work each of these people I spoke of above put in, just to share things with you all. I spend countless hours, outside of my full-time job, and packaging up my shirts, trying to maintain a relationship, and spending time with my family on this. I actually set my alarm for two hours earlier than I had to wake up this morning just to finish this one. I reached 50K views on my page as of yesterday, and I truly appreciate each and every one of you for reading my blog! If just one person takes something from it, my work here is done. Thank you all for your support of Native in Nashville so far! I love you guys!
