Every day we have a choice. We can support an up and coming podcaster, try a new family-run restaurant, join a boutique gym started by a local fitness champ or we could keep giving away our money to the handful of giants who already control so much of our commerce. Our daily decisions impact the kind world we live in; if we want a world where small businesses are growing and artists and creatives are thriving then we should support them with our time, money and attention. We’re proud to highlight inspiring creatives and entrepreneurs each week in Hidden Gems series. Check out some of our latest local gem features below.
Michelle Flores
My journey in the beauty industry began over 14 years ago, and what started as a career eventually became something much more personal to me. Over the years, I discovered that what I loved most about being a lash artist wasn’t simply creating beautiful lashes. It was the connection I built with my clients and the confidence they walked out with. Read more>>
HEECHAN KIM
Photography came into my life somewhat unexpectedly. I grew up in different parts of the world, including South Korea and the Philippines, and I think constantly being surrounded by new places, people, and cultures shaped the way I see things long before I ever picked up a camera professionally. When I eventually started photographing people, I tried just about everything—sports, products, corporate work, portraits, events. Read more>>
Aletia Giselle Egipciaco
I’ve been teaching dance for over 25 years, and throughout that time, I began to notice that people often came to dance lessons for reasons that went much deeper than learning the steps. Sometimes they were looking to build confidence or become more comfortable socially. Read more>>
Paul Wolff
Paul Wolff began his audio career as the house sound man at a DC night club, The Bayou, doing sound for such “new” acts as Foreigner, Pat Benatar, Dire Straits, Ramones, etc. This led him into the recording studio end of the industry, and he moved into a DC studio called “No Evil Multimedia”. Read more>>
Adam Barnard
My path to becoming a physical therapist was not exactly linear. Before entering healthcare, I was working in the corporate world and began contemplating a career change. I had always been interested in movement, health, and fitness, but wasn’t sure whether physical therapy was the right direction for me. Read more>>
Xander Taylor
Growing up I was heavily into sports, mainly basketball and football. Where I come from, being great at a sport was the first avenue to take if you wanted to find a “way out” AKA an escape from poverty. But having a saxophonist as a dad, it kept a music element in the background that I didn’t know was developing. Read more>>
Michelle and Jahaciel Mendivil
We ventured into this business opportunity after speaking with Bob’s widow about obtaining services for our pets. She informed us that, due to her husband’s passing, she was selling the business. After carefully researching the operation and evaluating the startup costs, we recognized it as an excellent opportunity—both for us and as a way to continue serving the people of Monterey County. Read more>>
Sean Neesley
My story really started when I sold everything I owned and bought a one-way ticket to New Zealand. I had no idea at the time but that adventure would come full circle and bring me back to my hometown with a completely different perspective of who I was and how I wanted to show up in the world. Read more>>
Veronica Cortez
I started with a text from my younger sister asking if I knew of an officiant. The officiant she had booked was not responding to her calls, and she was 3 weeks away from her wedding day and sounded stressed. Read more>>
IVAN ORTIZ
The Story of Rolling Pin Donuts in Camarillo, 1994–Present There are businesses that belong to a city because their address happens to be there, and then there are businesses that become part of the city’s memory. Rolling Pin Donuts belongs to the second category. Read more>>
CHRISTOPHER ZAFERIS
We moved from Los Angeles California to the Central Coast with our three children and our pups. We had bought Grover Station Grill, then COVID hit. We lost our other businesses sadly, focused all our energy into the grill. Read more>>
Ron Nelson
I was working in commercial art in early nineties graphic design, airbrushing, sign painting, and putting pinstripes on custom motorcycles and cars. A tattooist name Fester asked me to help around his shop and soon I was helping him design tattoos..I moved to New Orleans in 1996 and finished my apprenticeship at Doc Dons around 1999. Read more>>
Gracey Ripa
Right after high school, I began my career as a tattoo artist in Colorado, a path I followed for seven years before transitioning into fine art and murals. At 27, I moved to San Francisco to pursue a new artistic career. Tattooing gave me a strong foundation in composition, storytelling, and creating meaningful work for others. Read more>>
JOSI LUGOSI
JOSI IS A CALIFORNIA BASED ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS GROUNDED IN A LIFELONG DEDICATION TO THE RITUAL OF CREATING BY HAND. ENCOURAGED FROM AN EARLY AGE BY HER FATHER, JOHN MASON, SHE WAS RAISED IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE CREATIVITY WASN’T JUST SUPPORTED, IT WAS EXPECTED. Read more>>
Ben Dorfan
I have wanted to play the piano for as long as I can remember. My early teachers encouraged my interest in composition, and a pivotal moment came before I had even entered high school, when UC Santa Cruz professor Linda Burman-Hall heard one of my pieces and invited me to join her music theory class. Read more>>
Lara Rankin
I have taught English for 22 years in diverse countries around the world, developing a holistic teaching style in which I see every learner for their value and potential. Read more>>
Robin Renteria
My path leading to the creation Full Circle Healing Arts wasn’t exactly linear. Looking back, though, I can see that I had been building it long before I knew what it would become. I’ve spent much of my life drawn to the places where healing, creativity, intuition, energy, and our deeper understanding of ourselves meet. Read more>>
BOB FICARRA
I’ve always wanted to own my own business and was a big collector. In college I majored in business management. After being the youngest assistant manager in store history at the grocery store I worked at, the stars aligned with an opportunity to open my own comic and game store. Read more>>
Kelly Parsons
My name is Kelly and I am a singer songwriter. It has been a constructive outlet all my life. In 2004 I became a licensed Daycare provider. I created the concept of a performing arts Daycare to teach the children the same constructive outlet that I’ve had all my life. Read more>>
John Giammanco
My professional background began in the food and beverage industry, where I spent several years developing client service, relationship management, and business operations skills. During that time, conversations with my father sparked my interest in financial services and inspired me to explore the profession more seriously. Read more>>
Ana Amaral
I was born and raised in Brazil, and I moved to the U.S. in 2018 to attend college and play Division I water polo. I studied Business Entrepreneurship and Marketing at the University of the Pacific. Around the same time, my sister also moved to the U.S. for an exchange program in Santa Barbara, where she attended Santa Barbara High School and played water polo. Read more>>
Sarah Zelman
As a child, Sarah was always a social butterfly. She loved to participate in all sorts of activities whether it was sports, games, art, music, creativity, and social interaction. As an adult sarah missed the sense of play and connection that she had access to as a child. Read more>>
Roy Dunn
Graduated university in Australia in 1982 in microchip design. Flew to London in 1983 and worked in research labs doing chip design for 6 years. Moved into software for the next 12 years. Moved to the US (North Carolina) in 1996. Global management roles. In 2001 started my own company designing and producing high speed photographic flash systems for shooting hummingbirds in flight. Read more>>
Lady Christiana Honnet
Long before the Bridgerton craze, I was completely enchanted by the elegance of tea time—the lacy gloves, dainty pastries, and beautiful china offered the perfect escape from my hectic life as a college student. When it came time to plan a friend’s baby shower, I was determined to recreate that magic on a budget. Read more>>
Kim Bolton
I’m a proud first generation Mexican American. Both of my parents came to the United States from Mexico in their late teens, and I’ve always felt like I got the best parts of both of them. From my dad, I inherited an artistic eye and entrepreneurial spirit, and from my mom, ambition, passion and an strong work ethic. Read more>>
centehua Sage
My love for dance and the natural world began in early childhood. I grew up in Mexico City, I come from a family of musicians, writers and performing artists. i used to spend the days dancing in the garden and I followed that impulse into adulthood. Read more>>
Gabriela Olalde
I started my nail journey back in 2021. After the craziness of COVID beauty schools finally began to open back up again and during the lockdown I was always doing my own nails. On a whim I decided to start taking night classes at Palomar Institute of Cosmetology. Read more>>
Krista Conway
Hello, I am Krista, the founder of Pawsitive Pups Dog Training, located in Chula Vista and San Diego, California. My lifelong passion for animals, specifically dogs, has led me to establish this business in 2023. Starting in my childhood, I have been involved in dog walking and sitting for neighbors and family friends. I’ve always felt such a strong special connection to dogs. Read more>>
Sarah Ralston
Many factors play a role in where I am now as a physical therapist in Del Mar. (1) My appreciation for movement started when I was a little kid. I grew up going to both of my older sisters’ volleyball games and fell in love with the sport. Read more>>
Ashanti Branch
I often say that becoming an educator wasn’t my plan, but I have discovered that it was planned for me. I grew up in Oakland, California, raised by a single mother on welfare. My father died three months before I was born, and as the oldest child, I learned responsibility early. Read more>>
Sergey Ivannikov
My story in the United States began in 1995, when I immigrated from Uzbekistan with an education in engineering, an entrepreneurial mindset, and a determination to build a meaningful future. Like many immigrants, I arrived without an established professional network or a clear roadmap. What I did understand was the power of information, relationships, and community. Read more>>
Kaden Potter
My name is Kaden Potter, I am 23 year old professional dancer and creative artist originally from Kansas City now located in Los Angeles, CA. my dance journey started when I was about 11 years old when I just started moving around in my living room and garage being inspired from youtube videos. Read more>>
Kerye Maull
My story starts back in 2020 when the worldwide pandemic hit along with my transition from exiting my 20’s into my 30’s. I was determined to accomplish a goal that would not only satisfy my personal and professional goals but I would also be able to share my dreams with those who were likeminded in the sense of pursing entrepreneurship. Read more>>
Kelly Sloane
I started my business in 2008 after getting divorced.. I worked in science many years then my son had brain cancer and lost his sight. It kind of pushed me to work for myself. Going through cancer treatments almost losing my son made me change working 7 days a week. I really enjoy fashion and constantly come up with new idea’s. Read more>>
Theez
I started my musical journey playing guitar my freshman year of high school, which lead me to playing in various bands throughout my teenage years. After having trouble finding and keeping bandmates that took making music as serious as I did, I started making music solo, writing lyrics and rapping. Read more>>
Kikue Misite
Nursing is an incredible profession. Working through COVID as a hospital nurse gave me invaluable experience with complex treatments and safety protocols, but I also saw how broken our healthcare system can be – and how much of our health can be influenced before someone ever ends up in the hospital. Read more>>
Nicole Sachiko
Before I could remember, my house never looked or felt the same as the houses of my neighbors, friends, and extended family. I did not learn until I was a teenager that the label for our home was a hoarder house. Everyday I would walk through alleyways of piles of stuff on every surface and every floor of every room. Read more>>
Lilliana De La O
I started my entrepreneurial journey when I was just 16 years old, babysitting to make money and learning early on that I loved the idea of creating my own opportunities. I would save and invest in the things I wanted, and that early independence stayed with me as I grew older. Read more>>
