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.
Kyndal Taylor
My story is about taking an idea and turning it into something real. Taylor Made Productions started with a passion for creativity, but over time it became much more than just a business it became a reflection of my dedication, my growth, and my desire to create opportunities for myself and others. Read more>>
Dominic Mosher
I started my audio production business out of my step-sister’s spare bedroom when I didn’t have a place of my own. Read more>>
Isabel Resch
I didn’t realize I was losing a part of myself until I stopped moving. After years of staying active, I fell out of my 5 a.m. gym routine. #COVID. Michigan’s long winters made it easy to stay in bed instead of bundling up to work out, and without a specific goal to chase, that discipline slowly faded. Read more>>
Riley Fean
I grew up in a small, rural town in Northern Indiana. My journey with photography started when I picked up a camera for the first time as a twelve year old. Photography mostly started as a hobby in 4H—taking photos of flowers, my friends, or anything that I thought looked ‘cool’. Read more>>
Taqsim
Layan: We met while we were both studying music at Wayne State University. At that time, I had composed a piece for a concert and asked Yvonne to be the pianist. A few years later, there was an open call to Third Place [MusicFest], a local festival in Ann Arbor. Read more>>
Elaine Nerowski
I’ve wanted to be a tattoo artist since I was 13, the first time I was the show NY ink and realized “THAT’S A JOB??”I was hooked. I took every art class my high school offered in order to get enough work together to create a portfolio. By senior year, age 17, I started my search for an apprenticeship. Read more>>
Alicia Branch
My best friend and I, Brittany Woodall, came up with the idea of opening our own boutique way back in the summer of 2006. The idea came from our shared love of fashion and creating our own style. We both love to thrift and enjoy finding hidden gems and new designers. Read more>>
Emily Mills
My name is Emily Mills and I’ve been lucky enough to work as a licensed wedding officiant since 2017. I have performed over 300 weddings, each uniquely beautiful and so worthy of celebration! I began small with performing weddings for dear friends, but soon found that my love of love needed more stories. Read more>>
Ariel Wan
The story of Little Break really began with a feeling that almost every modern parent knows all too well: the exhaustion of trying to do it all without a safety net. After experiencing deep burnout in my previous 9-to-5 corporate job, I knew I wanted to build something with a deeper, more tangible purpose. Read more>>
Miranda Vires
My story really begins at the place I thought would end me. Long before this work had a name, I was a kid who sensed there was more to consciousness than what we’d been taught. Read more>>
umang badhwar
My path into this work has been anything but straight and I think that’s actually what makes me truly enjoy it. It started, of all places, in a film theory class in college. We were studying how cinema constructs meaning, and the professor introduced psychoanalytic theory as a lens for understanding it. Something clicked for me that day that never unclicked. Read more>>
Julius Buzzard
I didn’t grow up thinking I’d run a food nonprofit. I grew up thinking about justice. Food turned out to be one of the clearest lenses I found for examining why some communities have everything, and others are left to make do. Read more>>
Jordyn Belli
After living in Chicago for eight years, I found myself wanting a slower pace of life and more opportunities to spend time outdoors. Especially following the loss of my dad in 2022, I began to dedicate more time to traveling and exploring nature in the Midwest. I quickly realized that hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities helped me feel grounded and less anxious. Read more>>
Nikki Closser
Back in 2012, my husband Dan told me he needed to talk. He said I seemed ‘off’ and asked me if I was depressed. And he was right; I was miserable. Feeling this way really scared me because it is not normally in my nature to be so down. My disposition is usually positive and upbeat. Read more>>
CASSIE TACKETT
I always loved photography/visuals & how when they’re done well + with a great story.. there really isn’t a way to measure the impact that can have on people. Until I reached my 30’s I had always felt a bit misunderstood – & photography was a way for me to express my inner world – without words. Read more>>
Ivan Tarver
I have a long story, but I’ll try to keep it as short as possible. I was born and raised on the west side of Detroit, at Plymouth and Evergreen. I’ve always been creative. I started drawing at the age of three, and art quickly became something I loved. Throughout my life, I used art as a vehicle to open doors and express myself. Read more>>
Trisha Shaheen
Woods and Waxes began as a hobby. I took a few woodworking classes to satisfy my curiosity and gradually started creating things on my own, with no intention of turning it into a business. Raising a large family didn’t always give me the luxury of choosing a job I loved; instead, I made career decisions based on what our family needed. Read more>>
Rafael Francisco Salas
Rafael Francisco Salas is a Wisconsin based artist. He combines landscape, the legacy of portraiture, architecture, and country music into artwork evoking a singular, rural poetry. He is represented by Portrait Society Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Salas has also worked as an arts writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Newcity Art Chicago, The Isthmus Magazine and Urban Milwaukee. Read more>>
Ana Isabel Cruz
My journey into the world of baking has always been driven by a deep passion for creating things with my own hands. It actually began back in Cuba, where baking was a beloved hobby of mine for a long time. Everything changed when my son was born; I started baking for him as a way to provide healthier, age-appropriate treats from scratch. Read more>>
Ralph Kridner
My journey into becoming a Private Chef wasn’t a straight path. In fact, if you had asked me 25 years ago where I would end up, I never would have guessed it would be in the culinary world. After graduating from Ferris State University with a degree in Technical Drafting and Tool Design, I spent five years working in that field. Read more>>
andrea koral
I began making art while raising my young children and fully immersed in the rhythms of motherhood—managing the home, driving to playdates, and moving through the beautiful, but consuming, busyness of family life. What was missing during that season was a creative outlet. I would make small things here and there, but it never felt fully integrated into my life. Read more>>
Alisha Taylor
I started this journey back in 2014 as a way to get senior pictures as I was graduating from high school. After months of studying, learning, and playing with my camera I fell in love with the art. I soon after began capturing close friends and family and even did my 1st wedding! Read more>>
Jazzy Rippy Ameena Sheikh
LADIES IN LAW® was founded by the two of us, Attorneys Jazzy Rippy and Ameena Sheikh, after we met while practicing at a large law firm in downtown Detroit. Although we received exceptional legal training there, we quickly realized that our passion was not using the law to solve problems after they occurred—it was helping families avoid those problems altogether. Read more>>
A’Lyse Thomas
I started doing nails after graduating college. I studied Economics, Leadership and Communications within Organizations, as well as African American Studies at the University of Michigan–Dearborn. Although I had a well-rounded academic experience, I was not quite ready to transition into the corporate world. Read more>>
Cynthia Bakkal
My journey into content creation started with a strong creative drive and a desire to work in a hands-on, creative role. That dream became a reality when I attended an esthetics program, where I began documenting my experience and creating beauty content, which continued as I worked in the esthetics field. Read more>>
Ben Sharkey
From early childhood, I had dreams of becoming both a performer and an artist. I was always drawn to music, visual art, storytelling, and the idea of creating a life that felt bigger than the world I grew up in. At 17, I moved out of my mother’s house in Stockbridge and moved to Ann Arbor, where my first boyfriend lived. Read more>>
Brandon Merry
I started Westshore PC as a continuum of a prior business where I did similar work in SE Michigan during COVID. It was bore out of necessity when the company I worked for due to business shutdowns at the time cut revenue to almost nothing, so I had to get inventive. Read more>>
Laurie Bolach
The corporate world was all I knew for many years. Yet, my dream of working creatively with flowers, botanicals and a boutique retail continued to grow until I could no longer wait to make it a reality. I looked for a small building in my area because I wanted to be close to friends and neighbors, and I set up shop with gusto. Read more>>
Kendal Jones-Emig
When I was growing up, I remember my mother taking me shopping, and I usually had the absolute worst attitude about it—unless toys or electronics were involved! As I got older, though, she started taking me to thrift stores and gave me the freedom to browse and discover things on my own. Read more>>
Manna Batini
I was born in Nigeria and my formative years were shaped by my grandparents, my aunt and uncle, and boarding school all while my mother did something remarkable. She traveled outside the country when I was a year old to build a future for me by opening a braiding salon in South Korea. Read more>>
Lecette Mena
I’ve always loved capturing memories through photographs.I was the person taking pictures and documenting special moments because I never wanted those memories to fade. Everything changed when I got engaged and married. For the first time, I was on the other side of the camera being professionally photographed, and I was so excited to receive my gallery. Read more>>
Tiffany Abdelaziz and Kaela Bumbico
We both started out at commission salons for a period of time before deciding to rent suites and go independent. We worked in the same building for years, but quickly outgrew our suites and wanted something bigger, more permanent. A space that suited both our clients needs and our own. Read more>>
Andrea Smith
I’ve been in love with baking, art, and creating in general for as long as I can remember. I went to school for baking and pastry arts right out of highschool and quickly got my degree. From there I worked as the head decorator for another local bakery that unfortunately closed down during Covid and could not reopen. Read more>>
Rina Tonon
Cafe Cortina has recently and proudly celebrated 50 years Was inspired living in Italy with my late husband, who came from the Cortina D’Ampezzo region. The belief of the restaurant was always, ‘Inspired in Italy, but made in Michigan.’ I had grown up in the hospitality world with immigrant Italian parents that started their restaurant. Read more>>
Paige Parcell
My journey into yoga started long before I ever thought about becoming a teacher. It started as a way for me to find safety within myself. Growing up, I spent a lot of time alone and was learning how to navigate a difficult home environment. On top of that, I struggled with severe asthma, which made movement feel scary at times. Read more>>
Valeria Zozaya
I was born and raised in Mexico, where my love for art, architecture, and creativity began at an early age. Creativity was always part of my world. My mother is a painter, my father worked in television production, and I grew up surrounded by visual expression and storytelling. Read more>>
Polly Maccini
My journey to becoming an encaustic artist and founder of Wax On Creations, LLC is rooted in a lifelong love of learning, nature, and creativity. Before starting my art business, I spent many years as a mathematics teacher and later as a professor at the University of Maryland. Read more>>
Morgan Boyd
My story honestly started with not knowing what I wanted to do for college. The thought of a “forever” career sounded scary when I had so many career ideas in mind. I wanted to go to college because I felt that’s what you should do once you graduate high school. I applied and toured colleges. Read more>>
Nicole Townsend -Murff
My cigar journey began about 25 years ago when my father, a retired Army veteran, introduced me to the cigar culture and industry. Cigars were one of his favorite ways to relax and unwind, and through him, I developed an appreciation for the tradition, camaraderie, and craftsmanship that cigars represent. Read more>>
Olivia Kennedy
My journey into wedding planning began with a passion for creating meaningful experiences and celebrating life’s most important moments. What started as helping friends and family coordinate special events quickly turned into a calling. I discovered that I loved not only the creative side of weddings but also the organization, problem-solving, and attention to detail required to bring a couple’s vision to life. Read more>>
KTCHN
My first memories with music are in circles, around fires and in my grandma’s living room. A guitar always came out, a piano was always played and the same songs were always sung. I played a little guitar and trombone growing up but piano, singing and producing really stuck. Read more>>
Marie-Chantal Dalese
Chateau Chantal Winery & Inn was founded by my parents, a former Catholic nun and priest, Bob & Nadine Begin. We moved from Detroit to Traverse City in the 1980’s, bought a 65 acre cherry farm with spectacular views and slopes beneficial to wine grape growing to pursue Bob’s dream of a European style winery/chateau. Read more>>
Khayree Beckem
Khayree Beckem is an influential leader dedicated to developing and empowering the total man—mentally, spiritually, financially, and socially. He has served in leadership and management roles for over 15 years and has been a passionate preacher and teacher of truth for more than 19 years. Read more>>
James Wenzel
In 2008 I set out to make a feature documentary too ignorant to know that I could fail. Read more>>
Haley Buchert
Raising Brave started from a very personal place. After becoming foster parents and later welcoming two boys of our own, we quickly noticed there was a real lack of stylish, fun, and practical options for boys. Read more>>
Molly Freedman
Photography has always been something I loved, but I never imagined it would grow into the business it is today. During the pandemic, I picked up my husband’s camera and started taking photos of my own kids just for fun. What began as a creative outlet quickly turned into a passion. In 2021, I booked my very first session. Read more>>
Beverly Webb
As a child of the sixties, art has always been important in my life. After dabbling with different media in school, my first serious experience with creating art was learning to produce ceramics. In my early twenties I studied pottery making at the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts (now The Center For Creative Studies). Read more>>
John & Thomas McGuin
John and Thomas McGuin’s journey in Gracie Jiu-Jitsu began with a spark of curiosity after watching a fight featuring MMA legend Nick Diaz. Inspired by the effectiveness and technical nature of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, John stepped onto the mats at 19 years old, with Thomas following in his footsteps just one year later. Read more>>
Monae Champion
I always knew I was different, I never fit in anywhere. I just never expected my life leading to a career in entertainment. The first 24 years of my life I lived an ordinary life and worked a traditional job when the time came. Read more>>
