Influencers

For as long as I can remember I was what I would call a “natural foodie” and always loved sharing a good meal with people. It was all very random and unplanned for me getting into the social media side of food. I had been in LA for maybe a year and a half when I met a friend who is apart of the “LA lifestyle” as I call it. She saw I posted a lot of food pictures on my instagram and suggested I create an account just for that. To be honest, at the time, I didn’t really even know it was such a thing to do, but here we are 4 years later and it is most definitely a thing.

Haven TeamApr 22, 2022 · 4 min read

I love eating, exploring new restaurants and taking photos of my foods. My husband (my boyfriend at that time) always said that I should start a food page. Our mutual interest is eating.

Haven TeamApr 13, 2022 · 4 min read

I’ve always been passionate about food and the restaurant industry. When I first moved back to New York (I was born and raised in Westchester County) I had just started my job as a psychologist and was slowly building up my caseload. As a result, I had a lot of free time on my hands! I was eager to be back in the city and had a laundry list of restaurants to try, so I started eating out a lot with friends and family and taking pictures of my food. I had always thought it would be fun to start an Instagram account geared towards my meals and it felt like the perfect time to take the next step and do it!

FeedyourheartNYC was launched back in 2018 to document my food adventures during Undergrad with my best friends. The name was chosen because I believe every experience – the food, service, individuals, people you’re with, ambiance –  feeds the heart. My focus is Halal food, meat that is hand-slaughtered and permissible for Muslims to consume. When I post from a Non-Halal establishment, it is usually a pescatarian, vegetarian, or vegan dish. I grew my account by posting consistently, improving my photography, and visiting trendy and new restaurants.

So, my day job is actually completely different from running my food Instagram (I’m an actuary). My sister and I started thehungrygames__ account initially because we both posted a lot of food on our personal profiles. As time went on, I began to run the account entirely on my own as a fun side hobby. At first, I was just taking photos here and there, whenever I thought I had purchased/cooked a photogenic meal. But then, as the food scene in New York City began to flourish, restaurants began reaching out to offer a free meal in exchange for photos and posts. Of course, it’s only continued to expand and, over time, I’ve developed relationships with other Instagrammers, restaurants, and brands that I feel have made me more in touch with the NYC food industry.

We made our Instagram in 2015, and we got started just by being food lovers, always taking pictures of what we were eating. Social media was just the natural way to show people what we were eating.

Haven TeamMar 21, 2022 · 2 min read

I studied interior design at the University of Minnesota and started out as a commercial interior designer. In search of more work/life balance, I eventually moved to the product side of the industry and repped fabric, wallcovering, furniture to the trade in Minneapolis. During this time, I started a DIY and styling blog, Francois et Moi, as a creative outlet. Over time, blogging has led to some fantastic styling opportunities with brands.

Haven Team

I started by posting food pics on my personal Instagram account and followed well-known influencers such as @cyeats and @brunchboys (now known as @jeremyjacobwitz). Seeing how intriguing their photos and posts were, they influenced me to create my own food page. Within the first few months, I got my first invite to an Italian eatery in the Lower East Side and met other food bloggers, big and small as well as the owners. I was overwhelmed by how friendly and courteous everyone was. As a newbie, it can be scary and intimidating to meet new people in a new industry but I felt accepted with open arms.

I started The DIY Playbook in 2013. At the time, I was working as a TV news reporter and producer and I needed a creative outlet from my day job. My apartment wasn’t the nicest looking, and I didn’t have a ton of money to decorate it, so I turned to DIY to get the look for less. I thrifted, painted furniture, and created a cozy home on a budget. I then decided to share my ideas online through a blog. It was just supposed to be a way to share my projects with family and friends, but as my readership grew and grew, it eventually turned into my full-time career.

Haven Team