We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nicole Blessing. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nicole below.

Nicole, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

I do a great deal of voice work from home. I’ve narrated 120 audio books, voiced a YouTube Channel, E-Learning Solutions, commercials, and apps. During the pandemic, the FAA Next Gen program decided to put a flight path, illegally and without warning, over our house. It made it next to impossible to work. It went from little to no airplane noise, to a plane every few minutes. I starting filing noise complaints, close to 300 a day, and not much happened. At the time I was narrating a series of sci-fi/paranormal romance books by Viola Grace. I was absolutely panicked that I wouldn’t be able to finish. At one point I was narrating in a blanket fort. None of this was sustainable. I needed a more permanent solution. After doing a lot of research and looking at different solutions, I ended up purchasing a sound booth which was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only did it increase productivity, but lowered my stress levels. I have a purple sound booth in homage to Prince.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I grew up in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, Minneapolis, MN. After college, I worked as a programmer at an insurance company in St. Paul. Not the most fulfilling job, but I gained important skills that have definitely would help with future endeavors. I started taking classes from veteran actor Lev Mailer in Minneapolis. Lev actually appeared in an episode of the original Star Trek. He had his own trading card. Lev stressed the importance of acting as a vocation and not just a hobby. I also took classes at The Guthrie, and studied voice with Brett Schrier while still in Minneapolis. He helped me expand my vocal range, and the training later came in helpful for all manner of voice work.

I started doing commercial work and, ultimately, voiced over 250 commercials. I branched out to industrials, corporate e-learning solutions, audio books, a YouTube series, and various apps. I subsequently have a lot of random yet oddly specific pharmaceutical knowledge. This then led to various indie films and theatre productions. Uptown Minneapolis denizens will recognize me as Ophelia in the long-running production of “Kung Fu Hamlet” at the Bryant Lake Bowl. It was insanely popular, but physically demanding. I went on to work for five years as a regular on-air model for fashion, jewelry, watches and beauty products at ShopHQ, based in Eden Prairie, MN. Anything can happen when you work on live television. Anything. Once, while I was modeling carry-on luggage, the guest host said “momma loves a strap on”, and I had to keep twirling that bag and smiling.

My experience has led to a very strong work ethic. I strive to deliver provide my clients the best possible solutions. When I work with authors, I encourage them to follow along until we have the right character voices. For any film, television, or voice project, I show up prepared, on time, and ready to work. I enjoy building long term, productive relationships with clients.

Currently, I’m very proud of the stand-up show I’m currently producing in LA called Los Uff Das. It’s every second Friday at Oeno Vino in Atwater Village. I’m very excited to share my brand of observational humor. I also host a mic at Flappers in Burbank on Monday nights at 9pm.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

Many in our society view creatives as not having “real” jobs. That what we do isn’t real work. They only see the finished product and not all of the time and effort that went into learning the craft itself. As a creative, I’m constantly re-investing in my business and honing my skills. A great deal of effort goes into finding and sustaining a steady flow of work. Non-creatives need to stop viewing what we do as a hobby and see it for what it truly is, a vocation.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

There are a great many issues surrounding NFTs which make them extremely problematic. NFTs could be considered great for digital artists to create, fully own, and profit from their work. However, these images can be easily duplicated and propagated without the original creator’s consent. The creators aren’t receiving royalties for their work. NFTs aren’t an asset class. The value can be inflated and volatile.

Storage for NFTs is built on blockchain technology, same as bitcoin, which is responsible for high carbon dioxide emissions. The total global electricity usage for crypto-assets is between 120 and 240 billion kilowatt-hours per year, a range that exceeds the total annual electricity usage of many individual countries, such as Argentina or Australia. This is equivalent to 0.4% to 0.9% of annual global electricity usage, and is comparable to the annual electricity usage of all conventional data centers in the world. Digiconomist’s Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index estimated that one bitcoin transaction takes 1,449 kWh to complete. That’s the equivalent of 50 days of power for the average US Household. The national average residential electricity rate is $0.23 per kWh. You can do the math; it’s incredibly expensive.

There are also ethical questions to consider. Selling photographs of war, famine, natural disasters, etc. isn’t new, but still questionable. NFTs have added a new level of hyper capitalism that commodifies people’s suffering. Once an NFT is minted, the image is reduced to merely its financial potential, and removes any significant social impact or cultural engagement. An NFT is a financial instrument the moment it comes into existence.

NFTs only have the value that we give them. People who go down the NFT rabbit hole can be a bit culty. There was the incident where Ape NFTs were stolen. People were able to purchase the Ape NFTs below market value and then resell for a large profit. So many people were irate and losing millions, but in reality NFTs are only worth what we’ve decided they are worth. They aren’t backed by banks, the gold standard, or anything tangible. It’s a bubble that will inevitably burst.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nicoleblessing.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thenicoleblessing/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.blessing.actor/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicoleblessing/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/nicoleblessing
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfHYLA7XmuSUYQ8mRuHnpdA
• Other: TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@thenicoleblessing