The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Kelsi Roth
Life has been a blending of blessings and struggle! I’ve always been anxious and depressed — I was 8 years old writing poetry about suicide. The last few years of self-discovery and having labels to finally explain what society deemed ‘wrong’ with me blew my life wide open! Read more>>
Kristi Ventress
FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MARRIAGE, THEN COMES REAL ESTATE AND A BABY IN A BABY CARRIAGE… At the age of 20 years old I found the love of Real Estate and the love of my first born child. Read more>>
Ian McKinley Bowey
I still remember the first haircut I got that really changed the way I saw myself. I was probably thirteen or fourteen at the time, still shy, still unsure of who I was. That haircut was more than just an obligation, it showed me who I could be and gave me the confidence I needed to fully show up in the world. Read more>>
Kim Boaz
Back to Basics started in 2007 when Kim, our founder decided to take her knack for management, operations, corporate training, and bookkeeping skills and turn it into a bookkeeping firm…“making perfect cents”. With over 20+ years of experience, she’s built a reputation for keeping books squeaky clean while keeping clients feeling supported and understood. Read more>>
Peace Seedlings
Peace Seedlings started in 2009 as an opportunity to continue the legacy of Peace Seeds 3 decades of bio-diversity preservation and plant breeding for the public domain( open source). Read more>>
Tom Cook
Born and raised in Portland Oregon, my creative roots wrapped around the PNW artistic traditions and lead me to painting, printmaking, and eventually photography and videography. I went to University of Washington to study art and have been a painter for the last 45 years. Read more>>
Ronald Carbo
Ronald Carbo was born and raised in Ecuador before moving to the United States in the early 2000s in search of greater opportunities. He entered the moving industry in 2008, working for local companies and learning every aspect of the business from the ground up. Read more>>
Casey Keith
My photography journey began 18 years ago with a simple desire to capture the people I loved most—my own children, family, and friends. What started as a hobby quickly became a passion I couldn’t ignore. I began photographing clients out of my home, even transforming my kitchen into a small studio with lights and backdrops. Read more>>
Medford Food Co-op
Medford Food Co-op (MFC) is a community-owned grocery store and café located in the heart of Southern Oregon. As a cooperative, the business is owned and managed by local people who patronize the business, and our profit remains here in the Rogue Valley with our owners. Read more>>
Sarah LaPrade
As a lifelong reader, I began selling children’s books in 2017 with the goal of getting more books into the hands of children. In 2019, I expanded that mission by offering storytimes throughout the Portland metro area, creating opportunities for children and their caregivers to connect through stories, songs, and shared experiences. Like so many others, my plans shifted in 2020. Read more>>
Kate Ahl
I started my company, Simple PIn Media, in 2014. It was a wild idea based solely on the need for financial stability for my family due to the linger effects of the pandemic. In late 2013, I had been working with a local blogger who focused on coupon and deal savings. Read more>>
Sean Rooney
Hi, I’m Sean, your local website guy! I own and operate Green Duck Technologies where I make affordable websites for small businesses, and help them set up and manage various services that revolve around websites including but not limited to email, IT support, and search engine optimization. Read more>>
Cindy Guizar
I was born in San Francisco and raised in the Mission District, the historic barrio of this major metropolitan city. My parents met while serving in the Army, back when the Presidio still operated as a military base. The Mission was, and remains, a vibrant, close-knit community rich in culture, resilience, and family ties. Read more>>
Michelle Ashley
My journey began with a passion for baking and a dream of creating something meaningful for my family and community. What started as baking cakes in my apartment and working out of rented commercial kitchens gradually grew into Michelle Ashley Custom Cakes. Read more>>
Robert Johnson
I started my journey in trades by working alongside my older brothers, both seasoned contractors, which helped shape a strong work ethic from the beginning. Coming from a family deeply rooted in the trades—my father was a union electrician and my uncle a home builder—I was immersed in masonry and construction projects throughout my school years. Read more>>
Katie Weir
Katie Weir is the owner and creative force behind Dollop Creative, a design, marketing, and fine art studio she founded while studying design at The Art Institute of Portland. Originally launched as ‘Dollop Art’ to reflect her work across multiple mediums, the business has evolved alongside a career spanning graphic design, marketing, website development, social media strategy, and fine art. Read more>>
Lucia Loveland and Britney Nelson
ReVillage was founded in 2020 by a group of moms, in the midst of the pandemic, because they saw and experienced firsthand what it is to be isolated and unsupported in the heroic task of raising children. Read more>>
Ben Reed
I grew up in a small town, left early, skipped the traditional path, and somehow ended up building a 20-year creative production business in Portland. Photography was the thread that pulled everything together. Read more>>
Brittany D
My story has never followed a straight line, and honestly, I wouldn’t want it to. I served in the United States Navy for over 11 years, where I learned leadership, resilience, and how to keep moving forward through challenges. Outside of the military, I spent years working with individuals with disabilities, including my younger brother, who has Angelman Syndrome. Read more>>
Will Hallett
When I was 12 years old, I was having some low back pain and was ultimately diagnosed with an orthopedic condition called spondylolisthesis. Surgery was recommended, but then I contracted a staph infection. Another surgery was needed to treat that, followed by 2 more to attempt to correct complications from the infection. Read more>>
Tara Kleinberg
I have been passionate about photography for as long as I can remember, but only as a hobby. I enjoyed nature and landscape photography, and it is still my first love in photography. I started taking game photos of my boy’s baseball games and quickly became the person to do them all throughout their travel sports days. Read more>>
Chris Freytag
Knowing next to nothing about wine, my first experience engaging with it in a meaningful way was accepting an invitation from close friends a couple decades ago, to enjoy an overnight stay and wine tasting through the small wineries in Umpqua Valley’s Roseburg area. I found many of the wines to be delicious and the people behind them fascinating. Read more>>
Tessa Spurk
My journey into fitness didn’t start from a place of self-love—it started with an eating disorder and the belief that I needed to change my body to be worthy. After years of dieting, food rules, and chasing perfection, recovery taught me something powerful: true health has very little to do with the number on the scale. Read more>>
Jess Garcia
Like many good things, Oak Creek Family Farm and our micro bakery started small. My husband and I are raising six kids, and a few years ago we found ourselves craving a slower, more intentional life. Read more>>
Zach Weeks
One Stop Electric was established late 2025 by long time friends Zach Weeks & Nick Janowski. One Stop Electric is essentially a love child between two buddies formed through years of struggle, endurance, grit, pain, failures, success’s and an overarching desire for peace, happiness, and meaning. Read more>>
LeeAnne Maxwell
I began working in accounting in the early 1990s, driven by a simple but powerful goal: to support my growing family. What started as a practical decision soon grew into a true calling. Determined to build a long-term career in the field, I returned to school to pursue my accounting degree while working full-time and raising my family. Read more>>
Rubi Gonzalez
Ever since I was young my father taught my brother and I the basic skills of painting and after I graduated high school I went into the workforce. Initially I started working for local construction company but in the winter of 2023 I opened my own painting company. Read more>>
Erica Thompson
I’ve always had an interest in the natural world – especially plants and animals – but I didn’t initially think that farming would be my career path. Read more>>
Janelle Adams
My journey began in 2018 after the birth of my second child. When he was just five months old, I returned to work and enrolled him in childcare. It quickly became clear that he wasn’t thriving in that environment. Read more>>
Kelly Nicodemus-Miller
Our web site covers quite a bite of what you ask. www.theartfullgardenandcompany.com We are a women owned and operated business that carries local Artist and other local companies like “The Candy Basket” chocolates” Krelly Designs” highly known for her jewelry and fine are gifts for over 25 years. There are also close to 50 local Artist and makers that make our store unique and memorable! Read more>>
Laura Wolf
My story starts in Seattle in 2008, where I kicked off my career, including seven years in marketing operations at a global ad agency. Read more>>
Lisa Case
New Owners to Collector Market David and Lisa took over the store on Jan 1, 2026 Lisa has been a vendor at Collectors Market since 2020 and has loved the store from the beginning. Lisa Retired from social work, David retired from providence Hospice. We have truly enjoyed cleaning and updating the store.., and love getting to know all the vendors. Read more>>
David L. Chalmers
I started Bridgetown Trucking the way a lot of small companies do: new to the business, learning just in time, and saying “yes” to whatever it took to keep things moving. In the early days, I was a co-owner, truck driver, dispatcher, accountant, and warehouse manager all at once. Growth came in stages—more trucks, more people, more hours on the road. Read more>>
