Spotlight

Shining a light on the incredible friends, collaborators, and fellow creatives who inspire & shape our world with their talent and unique take on it all.


Please say hello.

Hi, I’m Nicky Bandera and I am the founder or Project Paulie! We raise funds and awareness for charitable organizations through the sale of our tomato hats. I am also a community builder, speaker, and mom.

A couple Years back we started a new wing of Project Paulie that specializes in design consulting and fulfillment for large clients like USHG. We help brands create products cohesive with their ethos and quality. Paulie focuses on sustainability and taking care of people throughout the entire process – for both our own branded line and private label.

Please share a few sentences about what's inspiring you and your creative mindset right now – what's on your mind!

Goodness! I think I am constantly inspired by the younger generation- What are they fighting for, talking about, and of course what are they wearing? As we age we loose sight and openness. We loose our fire to break ceilings, create change, and take risks. I love fresh energy and thoughts and usually that is not coming from my generation. It's important to always be thinking about what’s happening outside of us. That has always been the inspiration for Paulie. What is the need and how can I fill that need in a creative way.

Where do you live?

I live in Dorchester, have a shop in the North End, and an office in the Leather District. I love the diversity and energy that each neighborhood brings- Boston is wonderful.

Favorite color?

forever, Red

Favorite Film?

I love old musicals like My Fair Lady- also love Igby Goes Down and Muppets Take Manhattan!


This ain’t just a beautiful ‘hat trick’, Project Paulie is the real deal ♥️💛🧡💚🩵💜, a mission-driven explosion of the heart. Imagined and brought to life by the boundless energy and talent of Nicky Bandera – this home-grown human powerhouse, leader, entrepreneur, and passionate creative, gets it done!

I am a huge fan of NIcky’s work and simply adore her. Since she first popped into my world at a Project Paulie Pop-Up experience during the pandemic we have collaborated, to date, on two Tomato Shop beanies – the first was in 2023 supporting Bams Fest and in 2024 supporting The Shelf, at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. Both remain available online in the Tomato Shop where you can check out the stories behind all of the organizations that Project Paulie supports through their Tomato Hat sales.

Project Paulie’s mantra is WE FEED EACH OTHER. Here I shine a Spotlight on the service and the story of how Nicky Bandera is bringing together art, design, love, breaking bread, and lifting community to realize deep impact at its best.

✻ Thanksgiving
As if 365 days of service and giving isn’t enough, Nicky turns it all up over the holidays. Thanksgiving is an annual moment where the essence of feeding each other turns into active participation and action. This past Thanksgiving (2025), Project Paulie hosted a community “packing day” to assemble and donate 250 full Thanksgiving meals—enough to feed 1,000 people this holiday season supporting survivors served by Casa Myrna, a leading Boston-based domestic and dating violence intervention, awareness, and prevention nonprofit. Additional donations also support Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Boston Rape Crisis Center.

WHO WE FEED: An we’re not just talking about food. Here at Project Paulie, we feed each other in two ways: we help support local organizations with our Little Tomato Shop, and we support local artists through various projects and artist collaborations.

Project Paulie has partnered with almost 30 organizations who focus primarily on helping fight food and housing insecurity in the greater Boston area and beyond.When you buy something from our Little Tomato Shop featuring the iconic Project Paulie Tomato, 20% of sales are donated to charitable organizations all across the globe. That’s how We Feed Each Other.

Here at Project Paulie, we definitely feed off the energy and creativity of artists, which is why our shop also features collaborations with several talented local artists.

Check out PROJECT PAULIE here
Learn more about the organizations each Tomato Hat stand for here:
THE TOMATO SHOP

Follow PROJECT PAULIE On Instagram

Captions clockwise from top to bottom:
> A few snapshots capturing Thanksgiving 2025 with Project Paulie & Casa Myrna
> Denise Korn with Nicky Bandera in 2023 celebrating the click here> Yellow& yellow Tomato Hat supporting Bams Fest.
> A rainbow of the Project Paulie signature tomato hats
> Ready to ship this holiday season.
> The brown tomato hat shown here (right) supports Project Step.