The Art Of

Megan Martinez is an independent graphic designer based out of Austin, Texas. She specializes in branding, puns & most importantly smiling faces for small businesses. People know her best for living colorfully and her hand-drawn aesthetic. You can find her at a local market selling art prints and lapel pins for fun on the weekends!

"I always start by figuring out which Spotify playlist/podcast I'm going to listen to and that gets me going. A lot of the times, I even light a candle or two. Depending on what I'm working on, I jump straight into Illustrator. I know what you're thinking! I didn't say anything about sketching. I'm not a big sketcher and I never have been. I love Illustrator because I always start with one idea, and end up with something totally different. You can manipulate designs more efficiently this way! Other times, I watercolor and scan in my artwork to touch up and add any last details in Illustrator."

She is inspired by vibrant colors, natural finds & happy dogs! She is an empath and all of those things make her feel deeply, which she then translates in her work.

Most days you can find me in my studio, an old furniture warehouse turned artist lofts in the Hydraulics District of Buffalo, NY. As fall creeps in I like to spend evenings in the studio as well... the windows open, cool breeze coming through the window, and the most perfect view of the city skyline out the window. My favorite little candle-lit nook is perfect for catching up on emails and working on client drawings.

I am inspired by all things Buffalo and anything with a rich history, soul, and a story. I am particularly drawn to old handprinted signs and advertisements. My design style is very modern and minimal. I firmly believe, "it seems that perfection is attained not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing more to remove." (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)

 I try to give each of my clients something unique to them, to their values, to their brand. Everyone has that one thing that makes them stand out, that makes their clients say "it just has to be you and no one else." Watching our clients grow, evolve, and truly come into their own is the most fulfilling part of the design process and something I will never grow tired of.

As I near the 5 year mark in my business, I'm taking time to stop, breathe, light a candle, and as always, be grateful for this humbling life that I have built for myself. Just like the first spring rain washes away the dirt of winter, the first autumn breeze rings in a season of change. Self reflection, growth, creative freedom. I'm excited for what this new season will bring to The Buffalo Collective and for our clients!

Hello! I’m Tori, and I have the privilege of documenting both the biggest and most mundane moments as a photographer at my brand tori co. in central PA as well as wherever the wind blows me. I’m also a human who has a deep love of chocolate for breakfast and quoting the show New Girl way more than your average Joe.

Now don’t get me wrong, nothing gets me pumped more than a styled space, perfect golden hour lighting, or traveling to places I used to only dream about with my camera, but I’ve found what truly inspires me is a genuine relationship with my clients, the brands I create for, and the creatives I work alongside capturing genuine moments.

When I cull through my images, the ones I’m drawn to keep almost feel like you’re there experiencing the moment—the ones where you could almost jump right into the image. My hope in all that I do is to create imagery that makes the viewer feel something, whether it’s an emotional connection or a photograph that truly captures the person and lets them see themselves as beautiful. That’s what I live for. In my opinion, photos only increase in value over time. They’re a brilliant gift when our minds forget, a small capture that sparks a memory, allowing us to relive that moment over and over again.

Candles are a huge part of my process and incorporate so much into what I do. Whether it’s editing by candle light late at night, most likely singing at the top of my lungs to Ben Rector, creating a cozy vibe with friends out on my back deck, trying to not get eaten alive with my sweet blood, or trying some crazy smoke effects out during a shoot, candles find a way to intrigue my eye and create a vibe I love.

 

Hello! My name is Andy Zalar and I am a baker out of Western New York. A normal day for me involves clouds of flour and dough covered hands as I mix, fold, and proof the daily bread selection. Bread is the blank canvas that I fill with ingredients

in need of a second life.

I use bread as a recycling bin for food that is still edible but left in the void of not having a home.  Leftover herbs, spices, fruit peels, vegetable skins, cheese rinds and even coffee find a second home mixed among the crumb structure of my bread. The results are fun flavor combinations which include Preserved Lemon Peel and Jalapeno, Sea Salt and Cheese Broth Sourdough, Black Bean and Red Beet Pulp, “SeaWheat” (seaweed and wheat), and Charred Pepper Skin Wheat, and some failures that include Pickle Juice Wheat and Celery Juice Sourdough. Reworking these ingredients expands their versatility and gives them added value.

 

 

The concept of the Herban Garden candle mirrors my bread philosophy. Reusing the candle holder as a potted plant gives new value to an otherwise disposable item.  Once planted and grown, the herbs can then be used in an infinite amount of ways. The abundance of herbs that were cultivated from the Herban Garden candle were used in a gremolata for a lamb roast and then reworked in to a citrus and herb sourdough bread (shown).  I started with a candle and ended with bread and barely consumed any wax along the way.