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.
Christine Blystone
Velvetback was born on a warm day along a dirt trail among the trees. Read more>>
CAROLINE GREEN
My journey really started in my childhood. I grew up in a family of artists—painters, woodworkers, and poets—where weekend trips to galleries were our version of a typical family outing. My mother was my first teacher; she taught me everything from blowing watercolors with a straw to the complex chemistry of mixing encaustic wax. Read more>>
David Schilling
I have had a lifelong love of music, so when I retired from my first career I decided to build a second career around something I love…music. I began working with an internationally respected independent radio station in Seattle, learning how broadcast works, how DJs create and produce shows, how to produce live music events and how to relate to artists. Read more>>
Sasha Goldstein
Art and design have always been at the heart of who I am. Growing up with a mother who was a graphic designer before the computer era, I was constantly surrounded by art supplies and encouraged to explore my creativity. When I was seven or eight, my parents even let me choose how to paint my bedroom. Read more>>
Kelsey Adams
I have always been interested in photography. Even when I was little I had a camera in my hand. I also had a knack for telling stories with my words. So, when it came to creating imagery I always tried to combine the two. When I graduated high school I went to the University of Oregon to learn about Journalism. Read more>>
Krista Landis
I’m Krista—a travel planner, content creator, and travel blogger—and a native Oregonian, born and raised in the Willamette Valley. Growing up surrounded by forests, mountains, coastline, and waterfalls deeply shaped my sense of curiosity and connection to place. I’ve explored nearly every corner of Oregon, and even today, its raw beauty continues to inspire me. Read more>>
Cheryl Lisowski
I started my career as a metalsmith, making jewelry by hand. Creating with my hands has always been at the core of who I am, and jewelry was my first true love. But like many artists, I quickly learned that passion doesn’t always equal predictable income. To support my work, I took a job in fine dining—and that unexpected detour ended up changing everything. Read more>>
Jontell Green
I started creating as a way to process life. Growing up in Southern California, I was surrounded by different environments, perspectives, and pressures, and writing became a place where I could slow things down and make sense of what I was seeing and feeling. Music wasn’t just entertainment for me, it was therapy, reflection, and eventually discipline. Read more>>
Ahmad Fielder
With music, it all started when I was a sophomore in high school. I’ve always loved music and studied many genres, but never truly created for myself. And one spring day, I mustered up the courage to make my first beat using the Fruity Loops software, and I never looked back. Read more>>
Chelsea Baker
My name is Chelsea Baker, I’m from Sacramento California, and my business is called Enlightened Art Studios. I am an artist, and a musician. I paint and play bass guitar. I started playing bass guitar when I was in high school, started an all-chick rock band with my besties from school. Read more>>
Kikki Boinski
I was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, 2021 in Kansas City, Missouri. In July, 2022 I moved to Portland, Oregon. I post about my adventures on TikTok and YouTube. I remember answering my phone at work in October, 2021. What was going on in that moment in my life? I was two months into my twins senior year of high school in Missouri. Read more>>
Jessica Strom
I started my bookstore in my garage! It was my way to build something positive that brought me joy while I was postpartum working graveyard at my full-time job. I would post my hours on my Instagram page and the book lovers showed up! Read more>>
Kimberly Robinson
My journey is rooted in entrepreneurship, service, and resilience. I began my career building businesses in the beauty and wellness industry, eventually opening my own medical spa, where my focus goes beyond aesthetics to restoring confidence, empowerment, and self-worth. For me, beauty is not just about appearance—it’s about helping people feel strong, seen, and capable. Read more>>
Sarah Thomas
I started Miss Congeniality llc in 2019, just before the pandemic, during a time when I was rediscovering my own voice. I had spent many years focused on raising my three kids and helping run my (now ex) husband’s veterinary practice, and I was ready to do something that was creatively mine. I’ve always loved smart, slightly inappropriate humor. Read more>>
Claudia Paganin
In 2007, I settled in Austin, Texas to raise my family and build a life rooted in creativity, resilience, and good food. Brazilian cheese bread was always part of our story—more than a recipe, it was a tradition. Read more>>
Whitney Freya
My entire career has been devoted to amplifying what I call the creative frequency, the life force energy that moves through all of us and wants to be expressed through color, intuition, creativity, and conscious choice. Read more>>
Lyle Laver
Call me a world traveler, I seem to have lived in more parts of the world than most – I guess. Read more>>
Brian Driscoll & Monique Hayward
We met completely by accident and also not by accident at all. In late March 2019, Monique was in Arizona celebrating her birthday. She spent a few days at her favorite vacation spot, Miraval Resort & Spa in Tucson, and then decided to add a couple of extra days in Phoenix. Read more>>
Christopher Worth
I started singing pretty late in life – sophomore year in college in my first theater show, West Side Story. From there the songwriting bug took hold and my life took a left turn for the past 20 years. After a couple post-college bands and touring the four corners of the US, I settled in to street performing to hone my craft and survive. Read more>>
Cathy Zwicker and Torie Nguyen
Crafty Wonderland began in April of 2006 as a small monthly craft fair with 40 vendors in the basement of the Doug Fir Lounge. We first met as members of Portland Super Crafty, a women’s craft collective. Read more>>
Syd Christopher
I’ve been drawn to creative and visual arts for as long as I can remember, but my love for nails and nail art really took shape in middle school. I was constantly doing my nails to match my outfits or whatever colors and themes my artistic mood called for at the time. Read more>>
Javier Puga-Phillips
I’m Javier Puga-Phillips, a real estate broker with Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty in Portland, Oregon. I’m originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, and I work in both English and Spanish. Real estate became the right path for me because it’s people-first work. It’s not just contracts and numbers — it’s helping someone make a major life move with a clear plan, strong guidance, and calm leadership. Read more>>
Andi Costello
My path into commercial real estate wasn’t exactly a straight line. After graduate school, for the first 15 years of my career, I worked in local government in Pennsylvania, Arizona, and California. I really loved public service and the idea of helping shape communities from the inside, whether I was working in Parks and Recreation, Wastewater, Solid Waste, or in the City Manager’s office. Read more>>
Belinda Davis
My connection to animals has been a constant throughout my life. As a child, I was always drawn to them, and when I was seven years old and learned where meat came from, I stopped eating it on the spot. I didn’t have the language for ethics or systems at that age — I just knew it didn’t feel right. Read more>>
Emily Iverson
I am the third generation of family members on our farm. My grandparents purchased the property in 1950, and we are slowly transitioning from the 2nd to 3rd generation of Iverson’s now. I was born and raised on the family farm. Helping label tulip pots and selling lemonade at a very early age. Read more>>
