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.
Carrie Reinagel
I owned and operated a holistic spa and wellness company in Los Angeles for 21 years. After selling it in 2021, I thought I would ‘just get a job’ and be a contribution to someone else’s business. Little did I know that the job market and ageism would be so hard to manage. Read more>>
Carmen Kosicek
Visionary Psychiatry began very simply — with just my husband, Mike, and me, with a shared vision, and a belief that mental health care could be delivered differently. What started as the two of us building the practice from the ground up has grown into an organization serving patients and families throughout the entire state of Oregon. Read more>>
Jason Kremer
Well, I’ll give you the quick breakdown of my life in a nutshell. Much of what I’m opening up about is not something I open up about often. I am working (slowly) on an e-book to get my information out there so this is great practice. Read more>>
Kana Smith
When my husband & I got married, we knew we wanted to get out of the Boise area soon (when we were growing up in Idaho there weren’t a million people in the STATE—now there are nearly that many in the Boise valley!), so we bought a fifth wheel RV instead of a house. Read more>>
Michele Fordice
I decided to throw a surprise party for a dear friend and thought I would try this ‘new thing’ called a grazing table. It was a hit by our guests and I ended up sharing some pictures on my personal social media account. Read more>>
Danielle Ackerman
I remember being in junior high and selling lollipops to classmates so I could pay for my band trips. I’d buy a box from Costco for around $7, sell them one by one until I had made about $25, then turn around and buy another box. My mom worked two jobs to support our family. Read more>>
Zachary Hillegas
Nearly five years ago, after years of working for other people, I hit a turning point. I had the skills, the truck, and my own set of tools, but I was tired of having no control over my time or how projects were managed. So, I took out a small startup loan to cover the official necessities—licensing, bonding, and insurance—and went out on my own. Read more>>
Sara Love
Even though you pray nobody sees you when you faceplant (both literally and figuratively) sometimes the people you need are there to lend a helping hand. And you may not even know that person, yet, but they are going to change your life. Read more>>
Bart Abraham
I was always making, breaking building or creating something as a kid. I was never board beacuse my mother alwsys had paper, canvas, wood or just a box of stuff to work with. My mother was a painter and took me to art fairs, galleries and many other creative events. In 50 years i have created over 5000 works of art. Read more>>
Nichol Spangler
We are a family – owned and operated kennel dedicated to producing exceptional XL American Bullies with a strong emphasis on health, temperament, and structure. Above all, our goal is to raise dogs that become outstanding lifelong family companions. Read more>>
William Joseph
As a lifelong artist and musician, in 2018 at 24 I began pursuing tattooing in Austin Texas. After a several year apprenticeship I began tattooing full time. I spent most of the last 5 years traveling the continental United States tattooing in various cities and living on the road. Read more>>
Robin Brown-Wood
Spent a large part of my life in food and beverage industry–front of the house and back of the house. Took those experiences and started my catering company, 17 years going now. Read more>>
Kevin Mooney
Bred from scrappy stock, this little bastard popped into the world on March 1st, 1985, in Sacramento, California. Joe and Barb Mooney were the proud parents, and to my brother’s surprise, I turned out both adorable and a bit of a terror. Five years later, my little sister Kelsey arrived. My childhood? Read more>>
Sarah Whitney
Stylechilde was founded in 2013 after years of working in the fashion and retail industry for brands including Kenneth Cole, Nike Golf, Converse, and Will Leather Goods. Those experiences taught me the power of branding, storytelling, and customer experience, but they also showed me that my greatest fulfillment came from helping businesses discover who they were and communicate that with confidence. Read more>>
Janelle Lescure
I’ll try to keep this as concise as I can 🙂 I graduated college, and in an attempt to figure out what I wanted to do, I started working the front desk at SoulCycle. They were booming in 2016 and I was part of the opening team for their Walnut Creek studio. I quickly fell in love. Read more>>
Rod Stanley
I began my career in the fitness industry in 2002 after completing my service in the United States Marine Corps. What started as a passion for strength training and fitness quickly evolved into a much deeper calling: helping people improve their health, move better, and ultimately live better. Read more>>
Seth Kezar
I’ve dedicated my life to service, education, and helping others. Over the past 25 years, I’ve worked in county, state, and federal law enforcement, including the last 16 years in federal law-enforcement. Throughout my career I’ve served as a Training Officer, Baton Instructor, and Crisis Negotiation Team Assistant Team Leader, and I’ve found the greatest fulfillment in mentoring others. Read more>>
Peter Kramer
My journey into martial arts began long before I ever stepped onto a training mat. As a child, I grew up on the island of Tahiti, where I experienced domestic violence in my home and was bullied at school. Those experiences left me feeling vulnerable and taught me firsthand how fear can shape a person’s life. Read more>>
Todd Gessele
Todd Gessele founded Totallyinspiredmedia.com in 2013 and its clients sent him on assignment to over 45 countries to produce documentaries, to raise visibility, to produce live events, and start TV stations in Africa. Read more>>
Rick Baggett
Such a long story…. I had a successful High School and mediocre college career. Retired right before the 1976 Olympic Trials. Finished school and became a teacher. Went from an Industrial Arts teacher to a pole vault/Track coach at the junior high I was teaching at. Then all of a sudden I had about 15 local High School kids all jumping at the Junior High. Read more>>
Tamara Newman
After many years working in apparel design, product management and development I transitioned into interiors and tabletop development. I found I had a passion for designing spaces and decided to start consulting. After about 6 months a friend of mine was selling her staging business and I jumped on the opportunity. I have been staging non stop since acquiring the business. Read more>>
Jeff Wisdom
I began my career in the sign industry in 1987 as an apprentice/assistant at LA Signs and Graphics, under the tutelage of John Studden. I lived in Venice, California, at the time and was in search of a new job opportunity. Read more>>
Lora Froescher
For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved making things. I’m the second youngest of five children, and I had a lot of freedom to play, explore, and use my imagination growing up. On long car rides, I would carve faces into apples and sew or knit clothes to make a doll. Read more>>
Sara Weimers
My cross stitch journey started when I was 8. My mom was a prolific cross stitcher and she passed down her knowledge to me. I remember my first piece was a small piece that said “Home Sweet Home” and I made it for my great grandma who was moving into a nursing home. I fell in love with cross stitch instantly. Read more>>
Liz Pancoast, MS, CCC-SLP
In this moment, I am living the dream within my pediatric speech therapy practice! If you would have asked me at the beginning of my career if I would ever run a private practice, I would have said ‘no way!’ It’s been a journey, and I’m so happy that I have taken the paths and risks that have landed me here. Read more>>
Ruby Le
When I was a little girl, I’ll probably never think one day I will do people’s lashes and brows for a living. About 4 years ago I went through a quarter life crisis, my marriage was falling apart, my job at a prestigious bank didn’t fit me anymore, I didn’t know who I was. Read more>>
Norah Christensen
After moving to Portland in 2017 and starting college, I worked as a barista part-time for a few years. Siamak, the owner of 2BWell, was a regular at the coffee shop. One day, he mentioned needing a new front-desk administrative assistant at his clinic, and that the position was mine if I wanted it. Read more>>
Holly Derville-Teer
I grew up in Oregon and fell in love with dance after my first jazz class when I was ten years old. How I feel about dance has never wavered since that first jazz class. It brings me more joy than I can express. Read more>>
Isabella Hentze
For as long as I can remember, I have been passionate about skincare. As a child, I would always be in the refrigerator making face masks out of whatever ingredients I could find. Once I got older, I would give my friends facials, do their hair, and I knew I had a calling. Read more>>
Milady Lopez
My connection to homes started long before I ever thought of it as a career. I grew up in Marin County, California, a place known for its rolling hills and stunning homes tucked into the landscape above the San Francisco bay. As a child and teenager, I spent a lot of time in those neighborhoods, often going with my mom while she worked. Read more>>
Jessica Silebi Jobe
My story with wedding planning really began in 2020, when I became a “pandemic bride”. I planned my own wedding not once, not twice, but three different times through a pandemic, which sounds mildly unhinged when I say it out loud, but somehow, in the middle of all that uncertainty, rescheduling and constant pivoting, I discovered that I genuinely loved the planning. Read more>>
Jenn Joslin
My name is Jenn and I became an artist in a bit of a roundabout way. I started drawing as a kid and dreamed of being a Disney animator. Throughout high school I was heavily involved in the art department then went to college for animation. Read more>>
Heather Goss
I would say it started with a sassy 5 year old girl, an easy bake oven, a grandma that was determined to teach me how to bake/cook before she passed, and a mom that always encouraged my creativity. All that lead to treat making as a teen, ice cream cakes in my late teens, to custom cake orders in my 20’s. Read more>>
Lanna Jones
I’ve been an esthetician since 2007, and when I first started, I think I viewed skincare much more traditionally. Over the years, my relationship with skin and beauty has really changed. I became less interested in chasing perfection and more interested in understanding the person attached to the skin as each individual is unique. Read more>>
Luke Cady
My career has taken me down a number of different paths, but each one has helped shape who I am today. I served in the military, worked in electronics, security, and restaurant management, and along the way, studied broadcasting and marketing. Along the way, I discovered a passion for working with people and creating experiences that leave a lasting impression. Read more>>
Kelsey Jonas
Kelsey Jonas, PT, DPT, CCRT started her physical therapy (PT) career wanting to treat athletes and help rehab them back to their sport. However in her first year out of PT school, working for a large corporate company, Kelsey quickly realized that she could not treat people for the entirety of her career. She was already burnt out in just her first year of practice! Read more>>
Carlos Colop de Leon
My name is Carlos Colop, and I am originally from Guatemala. My passion for cameras and storytelling began when I was very young. When I was eight years old, my father moved to the United States. The following year, he sent our family a Sony video camera so we could record our lives and send the videos to him. Read more>>
Laura Burlus
I fell in love with weddings when I was 9 years old. My oldest sister got married and I was the flower girl. I thought it was the most beautiful exciting magical day. I have loved weddings ever since. My husband loved photography and is naturally talented at it. My nephew was getting married and he asked if he would take the photos. Read more>>
Rich Martin
My journey started in the food industry, it just didn’t support a small family, so I needed to do something bigger. After leaving Southern Oregon to join the U.S. Navy, I became a respiratory therapist and eventually worked in adult, pediatric, and neonatal critical care. Read more>>
Kaela Welles
We opened Super Smash Burger about two and a half years ago, starting as a food truck outside of Legend Cider in Talent, Oregon. It all began when our business partner, Shane Skinner, wanted to go into business with my husband, Randal Welles. Read more>>
Alexander Blake | Barbara Blake
Thank you, and I’m grateful to be here. I co-own the boutique web development business Cba Sites with my son Alex Blake. We leverage industry-leading frameworks like Astro to deliver custom, high-speed websites providing a human-centric experience designed purely to spotlight business strengths and drive conversion growth. But we didn’t start out there. Our story begins over 15 years ago. Read more>>
Holly Flowers
Lavender Vale Farms has really been a labor of love. My family moved to our property in 2018 with the dream of creating something beautiful that we could share with others. What started as a small lavender planting has gradually grown into a destination where people can slow down, reconnect with nature, and make lasting memories. Read more>>
Heidi Bannon
I was interested in writing and photography when I was in high school, but I fell away from it when I moved from Montana to Virginia when I graduated. I joined the Air Force, and as kismet happens, my career field was Combat Photography and Photojournalism. Time and technology fast forward with some well timed luck and here we are. Read more>>
