Michigan’s Most Inspiring Stories

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.

Elisa Hurt

Calm, soothing experiences are required in life and the Rachel Virgina Collection specializes in that. Candles are our main product, but also carry CBD candles, room sprays, carpet fresheners, car freshers and more. Rachel Virgina Collection is primarily known for candles. What sets the business apart from others is that the products are all hand crafted. What I’m most proud of is how fam much the business has grown, What I want the readers to know is that our products are also available on Amazon, Instagram, and on Rachelvirginiacollection.com. Read more>>

Richard Crawford

My family were (and still are) humble, humble people. My father, a humble man, had inherited his father’s haggis farm and his gnarled, calloused hands (and face) told a story of toil and countless early mornings preparing the haggis for market. He didn’t speak a single word to me until my 18th birthday when he sat me down on a stack of haggis pelts, put his gnarled, calloused, humble hand on my shoulder and declared, “Son, one day all this will be yours.” Read more>>

Theresa Brooks

It has not been a smooth road to get to this point. I have a lot more to do but I’m farther that when I started. Having space in my moms kitchen, barley understanding how to apply acrylic to now only using forms to enhance clients nails. Read more>>

Laura Bonnell

I was always looking for my path. When I became a news reporter in Detroit in both radio and television, I thought, “this is great, but is this it?” I excelled in news reporting. Then our daughters were born and diagnosed with CF and I know my purpose. My passion, radio, was to give me a voice to raise awareness about cystic fibrosis. I left broadcasting in 2019 and started working full time on The Bonnell Foundation: Living with cystic fibrosis. Read more>>

Debbie And Donna Lim

Within 23 months, my mother gave birth to 4 babies… Our brother Tony was the first born, my mother welcomed Donna and me, Identical Mirror-Image Twins. Donna arrived five minutes before me, (a subtle distinction in our uniquely bonded relationship). Our birth order was significant in Chinese culture, where having a firstborn son, like Tony, was considered auspicious. I often wondered if this cultural significance would have brought prosperity ot even happiness to our family. Read more>>

Kim Sorrelle

Since he was still in school, I started a business to support us. At 18 years old, I was the proud owner of an old abandoned furniture manufacturing plant. I built walls and leased space. That building led to another and another, and before long, I was leasing over 10,000,000 square feet of space. Meanwhile, I started a golf course, a fine dining restaurant, event facilities with catering, a grocery store on St Croix, and more. Several years in, my husband decided to give up on his career in electronics and join me. Read more>>

Carol Huls

Word spread quickly through word of mouth and social media. People came to DC to be 3d scanned and purchase a DittoForm. Allison hired me in July 2015 to help a few hours a week with her sewing studio to allow her time to interact with the new clients. Within a few months, the volume of DittoForm clients was so much that Allison and Mary hired Sarah Hull (similar name, but different!) and me to assist with scanning and production. In July 2016, Threads Magazine posted an article about DittoForm and business increased exponentially. In a short amount of time I was working directly with clients in all areas of the business – except the accounting parts. Read more>>

Misty Renee

After working in the industry and opening the head spa, I started to notice something deeper: so many women were silently suffering with hair loss, scalp issues, and the emotional weight that comes with it. It wasn’t always something they felt comfortable talking about—and that really stayed with me. Read more>>

Julianna Loera-Wiggins

Fast forward to my PhD program at the University of Michigan, where I have really taken on a large task of theorizing joy, humor, and comedy in the U.S. Chicanx and Latinx experience. Personally, I have always wanted to try stand-up comedy, and it wasn’t until I saw a Latina stand-up comedian perform that I thought, “I could do this. And maybe write my dissertation about it!” Now, I am a scholar of critical ethnic studies, performance studies, and cultural studies who is documenting the Latina stand-up comedy scene in Chicago! Read more>>

Allyssa Silverthorn

As a business owner, this is a recipe for disaster. You MUST handle things head on no matter how hard it is because things will never resolve on their own, and it will 100% happen again. Having difficult conversations is something I am still working on, but I will say it gets just a little easier every time. Read more>>

Cece Alaniz

Music was always very important to me from a young age. As far back as I can remember, I was singing along to all my favorite songs on the radio with my mom and siblings. Music had become such an integral part of my childhood. We would always dance in the kitchen, or my sister and I used to karaoke together, or play rockband! Even through tough times, my mom would take me and my siblings on drives and we would all just listen to music together and sing until everything calmed down.  Read more>>

Michael Cieslak

Dragon’s Roost Press was started when I first decided to put together an anthology of short horror fiction. It was my first attempt at editing a book length project, so I was kind of dipping my toe in to check the water. I decided that one way to enhance the experience for myself was to pledge to donate half of the proceeds of the sales of the book to the Last Day Dog Rescue Organization, a rescue group that takes animals from high kill shelters and fosters them until they can be adopted out. We have continued this process through today. Read more>>

David Hayes

I don’t believe any roads are smooth! I do think that the ‘rejection-based’ entertainment industry did uniquely prepare me for obstacles in higher education and the social sciences. In entertainment, the bottom of a project you put years of your life into can drop out at any moment. That constant threat of failure has allowed me to put education and advocacy work in a perspective that helps to overcome setbacks. This is no more prescient than cold case work, which is nothing more than a series of setbacks that requires a relentless pursuit. The outcomes and stakes are far greater than a book or movie, of course, but approach is the same. Read more>>

Joshua Hakim

Just start. You don’t need fancy equipment, you don’t need every plugin in the world, you don’t need the most expensive mic or any of that. You just need to create and not focus on the outcome. Don’t compare yourself to others either, it’s cool to have inspirations but if it’s at the point where you feel like paying attention to others is hindering you, just focus on you. Stay true to your vision no matter what anyone else says and learn the difference between constructive criticism and plain hating. Always be learning new info as well, the game is always changing and staying updated on what happening even if you aren’t actively participating can be helpful. Read more>>

Susie McColgan

After graduating from the University of Michigan with a BFA I worked throughout Michigan as an art director producing award winning illustrations and designs. Throughout the commercial work, my painting and portraiture was always my greatest joy and passion which I then dedicated my energies and career to the arts, my Art in Healing work and my fine art painting. Unfortunately in 2019 I had a near-death accident with multiple injuries and surgeries, after a year of recovery I was able to walk and paint again. During this traumatic experience a new appreciation for life emerged, I am so grateful. My painting has become my highest passion, painting as much as I can, painting from my heart and sharing it with the world! Read more>>

Madhurima Ganguly

I should not say it was smooth road but It was not that tough. What I mean by that is when I see my contemporaries or other artists around me I feel I am incredibly lucky. My struggles are not that tough as theirs. But as an artist it is always hard to sustain. Creating work or art and showing in galleries is hard always. Read more>>

Alicea Davis

Personal growth is what began my journey. I needed to grow from not knowing who I was in God, as He created me to know and love myself and even those around me with the same love. This is God’s will that we all be loved on the inside and outside. I was lacking half of this journey, so I had to express it through poetry and art. As I healed, I sold my work to others to help them and so I opened an online store to take care of my wellbeing. I wanted to recite my poetry for free but that didn’t work out. I needed to pay bills and keep my time available for perfecting my gift and mental health days were a priority as I was digging deep in my soul to put it on canvas and write my books. Read more>>

Yanqing Pan

My artistic journey is rooted in an exploration of materiality, time, and language. Growing up in Beijing, I was drawn to the city’s constant transformation, which shaped my interest in impermanence. Initially studying illustration at MICA, I later transferred to SAIC to focus on fibers and sculpture, questioning the limitations of language and embracing material as a mode of expression. I am currently study in sculpture department at Cranbrook. Read more>>

Peggy Christie

I joined a local writing group in early 2004, I believe. It only last about 2 years but several of the members and myself started another one, the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers. It’s been going strong since 2007 and I’m still a member. I started concentrating more on my own writing and attending conventions as a vendor around 2017, just to get my name out there a little more, network with other creatives in the world. I really think my experiences with GLAHW helped me to be more confident on my own. Read more>>

Jake Schmiedicke

Looking back, I see now that I was also very visually oriented – I wouldn’t just read the words of the story, but would be imagining the scenes in my head, like a movie. What did the characters look like? What was the environment around them like? I was even imagining – what I would later learn as a filmmaking term – “shots.” The way certain phrases or descriptions were written in a story would conjure up in my imagination a “wide shot”, a “close up,” etc. I remember doing this even in the years before I was in the habit of watching films regularly. I know it’s hard to believe these days with the ubiquity of screens everywhere, but growing up in my family we had only infrequent access to films and television. Read more>>

Na’Ziya Lewis

Trying to balance everything, while making sure that you’re not losing more than you’re making is extremely important. Some of the struggles, however, just learning to remain calm and keep moving forward regardless of what hardship you may end up faced with, Sometimes in business, there are certain things that just may not pan out the way you visioned, and from there alot of people, including my old self, would be ready to throw in the towel or take a pause for so long, that once it’s time to pick back up, it’s a difficult thing to do. So just staying prepared, always being willing to try new things, and keeping a strong mind is something that’s greatly important. Read more>>

TahLeekah Partee-Young

A turning point for me happened during COVID, when everyone was quarantined. I remember having a little more time to think, and I recall having a conversation with God, letting Him know that I’d like to become a private practice therapist. Still, I was comfortable with my current employer of 14 years, so I did not immediately take the next steps and sat on that dream for a little while. Read more>>

Delora Green

Building confidence isn’t just about feeling good; it’s about pushing through the moments when you don’t. I had to unlearn self-doubt, set boundaries, and stop waiting for permission to take up space. The biggest struggle? Realizing that confidence isn’t about never feeling insecure it’s about showing up anyway. Read more>>

Sonna Johns

My story is one of resilience, transformation, and deep self-discovery. Over the years, I have navigated and overcome many obstacles -each one shaping me into the woman I am today. One of my greatest challenges was finding myself in unhealthy relationships that did not serve my highest good. At times, I lost touch with myself, falling into patterns of people-pleasing and over-accommodating -often at the expense of my own happiness and well-being. Read more>>

Staci Rogers

My journey started when I found myself not being able to afford quality photos of my family. I had gotten into photography a little bit, but mostly of nature and buildings. It took me a really long time before building up the courage to start taking photos of people other than my family. Almost 4 years later, here we are! Read more>>

Clayton Savage

The bands allowed me to express myself, but not to the degree that I was looking for. Therefore, I stepped out on my own. When I did this, it seemed like everything started to evolve. It was like a snowball rolling down a hill. It started growing. It went from starting my own band to actually evolving into a band that actually played for advocacy groups. Then it evolved from that to me becoming an advocate myself, and then inadvertently starting our own advocacy group, which is Spiritual Therapy Foundation. Read more>>

Jaclyn Krizanic

I’ve always been interested in the arts. I found myself at an interesting cross road when I had a health scare and that somehow lead me back into my creative path and found love for the fiber arts. I have always dreamt of prusing a creative path but felt unsure. Read more>>

Lauren Michalak

Running a small business from home has definitely presented its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to balancing work with family life. Early on, it was difficult to establish clear boundaries because everything was happening in the same space. There were times when I found myself working late into the evening or on weekends, thinking I needed to always be ‘on’ to keep things running smoothly. But over time, I realized that without boundaries, I risked burning out and missing out on important moments with my family. Read more>>

Cherrard Cohen

Ended up applying to be a PE teacher on the west side of Detroit. Right now I teach, train people, coach, and model. Being from Detroit I have a natural hustler mentality and the people that I have around me, have it to from my friends to my family. Being raised by Cherrard and Patrice they haven’t steal the values in me to make me a better man. Moms added that nurturing side and pops gave me that toughness that any young boy needs growing up out here! For the I plan on modeling more seeing where that goes and also in the near future, opening up a gym and training a young athletes and training people that just wanna have good overall health. Read more>>