Nails of New York: Bre Chiero
This week's Nails of New York highlights Bre Chiero, food stylist and blogger of Hungry Hipsters, which first began as a visual outlet for her and her fiancé to taste their way through various cities. She recently took the plunge and left her corporate fashion job to fully focus on the launch of this incredibly creative site. A bold leap that has certainly proven to be the right one: Bre's thoughtful story planning and impeccable execution is extremely evident in her online presence, as well as in person via her creative enthusiasm, approachability, and charming style.
Plus, we've been crushing on her gorgeous nails for a long time and adore her classic fashion style paradoxically paired with feminine nail designs and kitschy Lisa Frank accessories. No surprise here: Bre has a deeply-rooted love of nail art (she spent childhood weekends painting daisies on her nails with flattened toothpicks), which makes her passion for cheeky nail designs make total sense. Read more to learn about her fearless decision to launch Hungry Hipsters, the way she chooses her rainbow designs, and what a day looks like for her.
Why do you paint your nails?
Nail polish is my form of self-expression. I don't wear a ton of jewelry and feel my best in a pair of ripped jeans. So having that extra flair on my hands has always been my thing!
Do you have a go-to nail color palette?
I'm either feeling neutral or crazy–there's never an in-between vibe. Neutral shades for me always tend to be black, white, or a classy beige. My crazy shades generally hint towards a unicorn in some fashion. And I'm really into colored glitter or foils like Cult Status and Hi, Light!
When did getting manicures become important to you?
When I stepped into my mid 20s getting regular manicures was always a part of my weekly routine. And getting engaged made the whole process more important to me–everyone looks at your hands.
How do your nails influence your projects?
I'm guilty for always matching my nails back to what I'm shooting for Hungry Hipsters. If our plan is to stop by an ice cream shop after dinner, I'll order the same shade in ice cream as my nails, regardless of the flavor.
Tell us about the transition from a more corporate role to being a full-time blogger?
It was pretty tough. I was essentially doing two jobs for about a year before I felt like I could be financially stable as a full-time blogger. I worked my corporate job during the day and would run home to shoot Instagram content (recipes, stills, or on location) before the sun would set. The weekends were entirely devoted to freelance projects that I would take on at a low rate just to help build my portfolio and build credibility a a blogger. It's actually only been about a month since I left the corporate world, and I can already say though it was one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make. I'm so thankful I took the leap.
What has been both the most challenging and most rewarding part of your job?
Growing Hungry Hipsters as a brand. It's pretty challenging to not let the Instagram world persuade the decisions you make as a digital influencer. Our focus has always been on the brand verses the "like" count, and we avoided that very popular #FoodPorn scene pretty quickly. Though our engagement would be high for posting pizza and burgers, we just don't eat like that! And on the flip side, to be positively recognized for simply sharing my life with my fiancé and highlighting our creative projects is something I still can't get over.
Have you been on any cool blogger trips?
I was able to travel to Mexico City last month on behalf of the World's 50 Best Restaurants team to attend events, experience the culture, and meet other influencers from different countries. It made me realize that I really need to get out of New York and start seeing (and tasting!) the world.
What does a day-in-the-life look like for you?
Every day is different. I'm either running between restaurants to get content, battling with the sun to shoot the perfect outfit in my apartment or at a coffee shop for a meeting with a potential client. The consistency is in the morning and evenings–I wake up answering emails and fall asleep editing photos.