#i❤️ NOLA

 I recently found out, through a very keen friend, that @Instagram is finally allowing hashtags to include emojis. Since I totally communicate in hashtags...

Ladies & Gentlemen…Nigel Hall

<p>There’s not a whole lot of music out there that makes me happier than funky soul music. New Orleans may be the birthplace of Jazz, but it’s where the combination of funk and soul collide in a big way. Nola exemplifies the sound and I can’t imagine it belonging to any other zip code. </p>

Pell drops “Limbo”

<p>Last summer, Nola's own <a target="_blank" href="http://pellyeah.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Pell</a> released his first full length record, "Floating While Dreaming". I remember the day of when the record hit, invaded my feed, and I immediately began streaming it and got sucked into it's dreamscape.</p>

Marianna Massey

<p>Photographer <a target="_blank" href="http://www.mariannamassey.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Marianna Massey</a> is one of my favorite photographers/creatives in New Orleans. Specializing in lifestyle, fashion, sports and entertainment photography, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.instagram.com/mmimages" rel="noopener noreferrer">Marianna's Instagram feed</a> beams with excitement from locations all over the world.</p>

Laura Steffan

<p>I remember the day I stumbled upon freelance photographer <a target="_blank" href="http://www.laurasteffan.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Laura Steffan's</a> images on Instagram. I was led there in an email from VSCO, the makers of my favorite editing app VSCOCam, and from the jump I was blown away.</p>

Revelator Coffee

<p>It's been a long time home-coming for the Nola bred coffee outpost <a target="_blank" href="http://www.revelatorcoffee.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Revelator Coffee</a>. A few months ago, Revelator Nola opened in a super cosy spot on Tchoupitoulas in the heart of the Warehouse District, to a ton of well deserved fanfare. Each neighborhood around the city has it's own distinct coffee shop and it was time for the Warehouse District to get its own.</p>

Playing catch up, a Katrina Story.

<p>On June 15th, 2005, I registered the domain name iHeartnola.com. To be perfectly honest, up until several years ago, I had always remembered it being registered days after August 29th, 2005, and certainly remained firm on it’s original inception. It was surreal to look back and research it’s beginning and realize in a very David Fincher way that I had almost being lying to myself all those years.</p>

Gwendolyn Knapp

<p>I haven't known the creative spirit in New Orleans to be any more vibrant than at this moment in time. There are so many folks around town doing the damn thing and hustling out there, and the community is growing and shaping the city. That brings us to our latest feature writer/editor <a target="_blank" href="http://www.gwendolynknapp.com" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gwendolyn Knapp</a>. </p>

Monica Hernandez

<p>For the past 4 years, Monica Hernandez has reported on nearly 1,000 New Orleans days and nights as part of the award winning news team at WWL Channel 3. In those 4 years, she's experienced and shared with us the tremendous highs and tumultuous lows of life in New Orleans. Originally from Sand Diego, Monica spent 3 years in Jackson before making her way down to New Orleans in 2010. I've always been a fan of her's, and I was thrilled to be able to get to know her.</p>

Richard Sexton – Creole World

<p>For several decades, famed photographer <a target="_blank" href="http://www.richardsextonstudio.com/home.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">Richard Sexton</a> has documented through his lens, the world over. Even though he was born in Atlanta, which we won't hold against him, Richard Sexton calls New Orleans home and has become his base of operation for quite some time.</p>

Hannah Mcswain

<p>We've been fans of photographer Hannah Mcswain for quite some time now. Instagram has become sort of a compass in seeking out inspired talent, especially in the photography field. We certainly appreciate great photography. Being that Nola is considered the smallest big town in America, it's not a surprise we came across Hannah's work on Instagram.</p>

NolaBeings.com

<p>It's been officially 4 years since Brandon began his web project <a target="_blank" href="http://www.humansofnewyork.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Humans of New York</a>. Now in 2014, Humans of New York has over 7 million fans on Facebook + another 1.3 million followers via Twitter & Instagram combined. In terms of content, it's a truly unique idea to combine a portrait of a person on the street and tie a real story that relates to that image. I began following Humans about a year or so ago and became completely enamored.</p>

Pops Park

<p>Each and every person who has spent any time in New Orleans, especially the French Quarter, has seen the unbelievably elegant Armstrong archway on N. Rampart Street. Louisiana based band Mute Math's 2009 Armistace cover art was famously composed in front of Armstrong Park.</p>

IHN X VSCO

<p>We've been fans of <a target="_blank" href="http://vsco.co/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Visual Supply Co.'s VSCO Films</a> for quite some time now. We're just as big, if not bigger fans of their insanely popular iPhone and Android aptly titled app VSCO CAM. The later app has reached 3.0 status and is faster and better than ever.</p>