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As the founder and editor of Urbaanite, a newsletter, online platform and printed annual guidebook showcasing an oft-missing diverse view of Nashville, Ashley Currie is giving a voice to creators and business owners who don’t always get their due.
“My goal was always to ensure our community felt seen in Nashville but also that they could see Nashville,” she says. “Feeling seen and being seen has always been the driver because I’ve had conversations—even with other natives—who say I don’t think my city sees me and I don’t want them to feel that way at all.”
Serving as a guide for locals and tourists alike since 2015, Urbaanite gives a unique insight into Currie’s hometown by way of introducing readers to black-owned-and-operated-shops, restaurants, and experiences via stories, interviews, and events. Currie talked to us about the venture’s earliest origins and where she sees the brand going in the not-too-distant future.
Answering a growing call: I actually started Urbaanite with another Ashley. We were always talking about what we wanted to see and all the cool people we were meeting. And so, we were going to start this together, hence the two a’s [in Urbaanite]. She had a wedding blog that turned into her business—she ended up taking an opportunity and moved to Atlanta. So, I officially launched Urbaanite by myself. My background is in marketing, advertising, so I knew I could build a site. I knew I could design and do all of that. So that was one thing. It’s been through so many iterations and I think it’s because I’ve been so close to it because it was something I wanted. But because of that, I was always like, well, what does that look like to you? And because it was a passion project, it’s never been full-time until recently. So, the fact that we were able to build it and grow it organically to really reach all these people each month has been a testament to the content and to what people are seeking, because we definitely initially did not know what it would be. But it’s really turned into this kind of hyper-local—I always say we’re a newsletter first because that’s where we connect with our readers every month.
Establishing and expanding: As the city is growing there’s so much opportunity. The city itself is very diverse, but there’s still some segregated places, so I think it’s about education. There was a narrative that I thought was missing—you know, especially my perspective, who I was connecting with, the entrepreneurs that I was meeting, and all the new things I was experiencing that cousins and friends were like, “I didn’t even know this was here.” Sometimes people maybe feel like, “Oh is this cool? Can I do that?” We can enjoy all of this city. With that comes so much opportunity to bring it all together and have people connecting and experiencing new things. You think about going to D.C. or California, there are so many cultures that are all together and people are experiencing that, and I think Nashville has so much opportunity for that. That’s what we have always put our mission around. I would love to see us touch more people, especially people moving to Nashville and new transplants for them to get a view into Nashville from our perspective and really solidifying our model here similar to a Thrillist or an Edible where we can have an Urbaanite Atlanta or an Urbaanite Louisville for those people that are, again, wanting to have cultural experiences and a new way to experience their cities. That’s our goal by the end of this year.
Navigating a time of social change: I have a background in SEO. Google has always been one of the biggest drivers to our site because when you search for things to do in Nashville or black-owned Nashville, we’re able to pop up on that first page, so that’s a big part of [our reach]. And because of how people can find us, we’ve had a lot of new eyeballs and new readers converted to our newsletter and people interested in what we’re sharing, so that has been a really good thing. We’ve had to cancel a lot of things that we were launching—COVID pushed back some of the experiences we had planned to help grow Urbaanite, but now we’re able to revisit them in 2021 in new ways. We’re partnering with [local promoters] Lovenoise to do virtual experiences and hoping those may turn into hybrid [events] through the end of the year, introducing new ways for people to partner and advertise with Urbaanite. It’s been a learning experience and I’m excited about where it’s going.
Unexpected wins: What has surprised me most about Urbaanite is the amount of readers who use our publication for networking and connection with each other. We have received many emails and follow-ups sharing how [readers] have met lifelong friends, business collaborations, and found new job opportunities through Urbaanite. That is probably one of the coolest praise reports you can get as a local publication and provides confirmation to keep creating and sharing.
Local favorites: The Pepper Pott has amazing Guyanese, Caribbean cuisine in West Nashville; Hunnee B’z local oils and fragrances in Antioch; and Kernels Popcorn in East Nashville is the best popcorn in Nashville, hands down. (urbaanite.com)