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.

Karla Evelyn

I started practicing yoga with free Youtube videos to help with joint pain and mild injuries. I got more serious when I discovered the emotional and mental benefits, but didn’t get certified until I lost my corporate job during the pandemic. Owning my own yoga business was my only career plan so I had to make it work! I have been 500 hours Yoga Teacher Training Certified and owned Karla Evelyn Yoga operating out of Detroit since June of 2024. I stream select online group classes live from Balance & Flow Yoga Studio, but mainly operate out of my home studio – my living room. Read more>>

Gabriela Santiago-Romero

We grew up poor, and I had to start working at 15 to buy a car to get to school. I received a full-ride scholarship to Mercy High School in Farmington Hills. Due to a lack of regional transit, I had to work after school and on the weekends to pay for gas, food, and books. I’ve used my struggles as learning opportunities to understand better how systems work to serve or harm us. Read more>>

Mary Gocha

I’ve always had a passion for jewelry, it started with making friendship bracelets as a kid, carefully tying each knot. In 8th grade, I created beaded jewelry for Enterprise Day, which sparked a deeper interest in designing and making pieces. In 2017, I began working with Petoskey stones, using epoxy to create unique jewelry inspired by Northern Michigan. A few years later, while living in Ann Arbor, I took my first silversmithing class in January 2020, and that experience opened up a whole new world for me. Since then, I’ve continued to grow and refine my skills, now I sell online, participate in local art shows, and host ring making workshops to share the joy of creating jewelry with others. Read more>>

Emily Cummings

My photography journey began when I was about 14 years old, and from the moment I picked up a camera, I knew I had found something that felt like home. What started as a quiet passion quickly became a constant in my life, a way to see the world differently and preserve the fleeting beauty of it. Over the years, I never let go of that spark. Through trial and error, self-teaching, and countless hours of practice, I’ve grown not just as a photographer, but as a storyteller. Every step of the way, photography has been more than a career path, it’s been my way of connecting with people, honoring their stories, and capturing the moments that matter most. It’s that love and dedication that brought me here today. Read more>>

Hiba Krayem

From there, more opportunities came through word of mouth, each one reinforcing my worth and pushing me to grow. Inspired by other freelance designers and motivated by my own success, I decided to officially start my own company, which has now been running successfully for over a year. None of it would have been possible without the incredible people I met along the way, who trusted me and allowed me to leave my mark through design. Read more>>

Amy Bond

That seed eventually grew into my podcast, This Was Supposed to Be Easy. My co-host, Cheryl and I created it as a space to have honest, real, and often humorous conversations about life. It’s about thinking big thoughts, sharing them out loud, and inviting others to reflect on their own. In many ways, the podcast feels like a natural extension of my lifelong curiosity; it’s about creating connection through ideas and conversation. Read more>>

Jiho Choi

At that time, the genre didn’t exist, and I was the first to develop it. Since then, many clients and artists have been inspired by the detailed nature of my work. Today, I am proud to have mentored and trained a large number of artists worldwide, and many of the Micro Realism tattooists in Korea are my students. Read more>>

Brooke Lyons

Today, my book Forever, No Matter What is available on Amazon, and knowing that it has the potential to touch families beyond my own is incredibly rewarding. What started as something deeply personal for my children has turned into something I hope will bring comfort, hope, and connection to others on their own unique journeys. Read more>>

Tanner Dane

We played in bands until I was about 20 years old together when college took us all in separate directions and our longtime band we grew up in disbanded for good. At the end of my senior year of college I began to make a new group with some other longtime friends and that eventually worked its way into my Chicago-based band called, Hollyy. We’ve been at it for 6 years now! Read more>>

Brett Grill

I have been enormously fortunate to have very consistent work throughout the years. I started making commissioned sculptures when I was a professor at the University of Missouri. Having the teaching work allowed me the freedom to make mistakes throughout the early years as a sculptor. My livelihood wasn’t completely dependent on securing work and getting things perfect. At that point I was typically focusing on one, or sometimes two, projects a year. It left me plenty of time and space to be patient, fail often, and get better. Read more>>

Nicki Sale

If I had to choose something in the 3D world, I was still going to follow my soul path and help heal others. The closer I got to achieving that illusionary goal, the more I felt disconnected from my passion and sight of my future… and from my inner joy. After working in customer service for over a decade, I was ready for a change. Life was too mundane for my creative passions. My yearning to see the world, learn about different cultures, and grow as a soul, while creating from my heart, became too intense to ignore. Read more>>

Kylia Dantzler-Morgan

My passion has been rooted in community care, as an activist, organizer and advocate. I attended a Birthing Justice documentary showing in 2023, where I was introduced to doula care. I was intrigued because it focused on the health disparities that Black birthing people and their families face during one of the most vulnerable journeys that is childbirth. When training was offered, I completed a 12-week training and shortly after, I took a leap of faith and started my full-spectrum doula business, You Are Seen Doula Services. I’ve taken additional offerings to deepen my understanding and expertise to support my clients, including completion of a Community Health Worker program. Read more>>

Cathryn Smits

I spent my college years on the west side of the state, working for and designing under some of the top florists in the region. I began my venture into weddings and events. My work has been featured in Frederik Meijer Garden’s “Mums and More” celebration, I’ve been a featured designer at the Urban Institute for Contemporary Art’s “Oddball” and began spending a lot more time learning everything I could about Wedding design. Read more>>

Aliz Mendoza

Some time later, I visited the Flint Farmers’ Market, and I was captivated by the atmosphere. It was love at first sight: my heart lit up, and I knew that was the perfect place to bring my idea to life. I met with Sean, director of Flint Food Works, and in the summer of 2022 we started selling outside in the pavilion. We were only three people: my mother-in-law, creator of the family recipes; my husband, who managed the cash register; and me, doing a little bit of everything. At first we sold only pork and Cuban sandwiches, but when we introduced Venezuelan arepas, that’s when the real boom began. Read more>>

Robin Chodak

I offer individual coaching to anyone who has experienced a loss and is grieving or just feeling “stuck” in life. Grief encompasses much more than just death; it can arise from various experiences such as losing a job, experiencing a decline in health, going through a divorce, changing careers, or relocating. My goal is to help people get “unstuck” and learn how to move forward with their lives. Read more>>

Cinthia Vasquez

At first this was just a hobby with me and my daughter . Then one day we decided for Mother’s Day to create centerpieces for the church for the mothers to take and from there we started getting orders . Read more>>

John Love

After several visits to look at properties, I realized it wasn’t the place for me. My son and I then moved to Boulder, Colorado, and I began searching for properties near there. When I finally found one–in the mountains–I decided I needed something to compare it to before I made an offer. Since I grew up in Michigan and had an understanding of the land and prices there, I did a quick search to see what I could get for the same amount of money I was about to spend. My jaw hit the floor when the search results came back. It was in Michigan that I could actually afford to carry out the vision in my head. Read more>>

David Vader

He too had been through similar experiences. He became my personal Yoda when it came to acting. Training hard in the next year, I began to hone my natural acting abilities with proper technique and add skills to my resume,along with racking up roles and even producing,directing, and writing my own film. Read more>>

Kendra Patterson

You can shop one in Mason and one in Jackson. Our lumber selection is a variety of reclaimed and salvaged wood. All live edge and dimensional lumber is kiln dried and ready for projects. Our reclaimed barn wood section has a wide variety of siding, 2 & 1x & the best selling barn beams. We host several themed events throughout the year to highlight our vendors work and provide a fresh look and shopping experience to our customers since it’s always changing and evolving. Check out our Facebook event page for updates and to see the event calendar. Read more>>

Rohna Battle-Woodger

My journey is layered, intentional, and still unfolding. I’ve always been a creative at heart, naturally drawn to storytelling, style, and the deeper meaning behind human connection. Growing up in Detroit, I was surrounded by culture, resilience, and authenticity, all of which shaped how I move and create today. Read more>>

Technanagy

Tech Check and Tech for Seniors found each other by a matter of chance and chose to join forces in order to create Technanagy. Both of our groups came to realize that our underlying purpose for starting each organization was strikingly similar. We all had grandparents of our own who we helped with technology problems and questions, but we also understood that not every senior has that privilege of someone who they can easily reach out to for help. Therefore, Technanagy started with the vision of helping ALL seniors find the joy in technology. Read more>>

Colin & Evan Monroe

Overall, it has been an overwhelmingly positive experience. We seem to have found our place in the community almost immediately, with business outpacing our expectations from the start, with continued growth over our last 3 years. Our biggest struggles have been scaling up operations and managing growth, and continually trying to find work/life balance. Read more>>

Lauren D’Angelo

Over the past 10 years, I’ve watched the local food truck community grow to more than 150 trucks, and I’ve been honored to play a role in that growth through my work with the Grand Rapids Food Truck Association and events like the Roll’N Out Food Truck Festival. It hasn’t always been easy, but the challenges have pushed me to grow, and I’m proud to be celebrating Patty Matters’ 10-year anniversary this fall Read more>>

Josh Dunigan

Every workshop or performance led to more opportunities. When people see that drumming is a great tool for community development, individual physical goals, social emotional learning, and cognitive development, they want it for their schools, afterschool programs, day programs, and residential facilities. Read more>>

Derek Moh

It’s never a smooth road, if you are going to find your own way. I have to be honest though—it wasn’t that hard to be my own boss for the first year. The economy was going well, people were excited to hear that I could be hired directly, and there was a wide variety of projects that were always waiting for me! Then we all know what happened in November 2024, and it was like a flowing faucet of projects and budgets and excitement were completely cut off. The following year has been much more of a famine, and there is a constant struggle to find contracts between jobs. I’m hopeful that this won’t always be the case—but if it is, it will just be another storm I’ve learned how to weather! Read more>>

Jenna Inns

My favorite part of this job? Getting you those metrics you never thought possible, driving real results, and living in the future. My secret is that I genuinely love people, and just like salt, I aim to add immense value to both our team and our clients. I’m transparent, I’m enhancing, and I’m adaptable – always ready to meet you where you are and help take you where you want to go. You could say I’m worth my SALT, and then some! While others follow trends, we’re here to buck them and create better ones. Read more>>

Julie Amy

Twenty years later, I’m proud and humbled to say that more than half of our team has been with us for over a decade. The relationships built here—between staff, parents, and children—are truly indescribable. What started as a dream has become a legacy of love, trust, and transformation for families across our community. Read more>>

Adam Grant

That persistence and authenticity eventually led me to A Brighter Way, where I’ve spent the past three years as Executive Director building something different – a peer-led reentry program with a 97% success rate. We don’t treat people like problems to be fixed. We treat them like human beings with dreams and potential. Read more>>

Sandy Moseley-Burton

From there, I decided to take a leap of faith. I established my boutique as a space where women could find not only clothing, but also inspiration—styles that spoke to who they are and who they aspire to be. Designing my own collections was the natural next step. It allowed me to merge my boutique with my artistry, offering unique pieces that reflect my brand’s mission of style, versatility, and empowerment. Read more>>

Ismael Jaber

Right before I was set to take on an unpaid advertising internship, I decided to take a leap of faith and start something of my own. That’s how Get Loaded was born. We specialize in Loaded Fresh Cut Fries, Cheezy Mac and Cheese, and our famous Cheezy Crunch Nachos. Based in the Okemos/Lansing area, we love serving our local community, but we also enjoy hitting the road for big festivals and events across Michigan. Read more>>

Jessica

It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. We opened our doors right in the start of Covid, which was a huge challenge for a brand-new small business. There was so much uncertainty — from constantly changing guidelines to figuring out how to keep both our customers and staff safe while still creating a welcoming atmosphere. Read more>>

Clare Waterstradt

Farm life was the furthest thing I ever thought I would be involved in. I grew up in Northville, attended Catholic school K-12 and finished my Masters in 2015. During this time I was with my boyfriend who would become my husband in 2016, Dan Waterstradt. Two beautiful children later, we decided to build our dream home in 2020. Little did we think that this dream would take 26 months to build. Eventually in June 2023, our house was ready and we moved in, excited for the next chapter. Then six weeks later, my husband tragically and unexpectedly passed away.  Read more>>

Kandace Chapple

I have over 3500 women in the Facebook group, which reaches women all over Michigan – another unexpected perk is that women are living vicariously through the posts in the group, LOL! I always write up a funny rehash after the events, so even if you miss the event, you hear about the biffs, wipeouts and mishaps, haha!! Our motto is “pics first, rescue second.” I think that helps everyone know they are coming into a warm self-deprecating group and we are down to earth!!! Read more>>

Downtown Northville

I reached out as the new Downtown Development Authority director in Northville. We have a thriving historic downtown with a great spread of small businesses. We are currently redeveloping a former harness racing track into a “new town” development adjacent to our historic downtown, and tackling the challenge of meshing this $350 million public/private development, with a daylighted river and greenspaces, into said historic downtown. Read more>>

Kemani Goodwin

As her assistant/co-director in my final 5 years with the troupe, we created art on stage that made people think, feel, laugh, and not just change, but save lives! CloseUp cannot be explained, only experienced, and 9 years of that experience showed me I truly had a story to tell. Since then, (while still working as an engineer) I continued my creative pursuits doing stage plays, directing, working in film, podcasting, writing, improv, poetry, and just about anything else creative I could dip my hands in. Read more>>

Brandi Vorce

There have been plenty of challenges along the way. We’ve had to switch manufacturers a few times, deal with changes in tariffs, and go through the whole process of becoming a federally registered trademark. And all of that was happening while we were still creating new designs and trying to grow the business. It hasn’t been easy, but every challenge has taught us something and pushed us to get better. Read more>>

Ruthie Payno-Simmons

I started receiving invitations to speak at K–12 public schools. At the time, I was working full-time in K–12 education, first as a teacher in Lansing Public Schools, then as a principal at Marble Elementary School in East Lansing, and later as Executive Director of Curriculum and Staff Development. The speaking requests were something I handled outside of my regular hours. For a while, I continued doing them all at no cost. Still, the requests kept coming, expanding from schools to state and national conferences, where I was also asked to provide professional development. Read more>>

Dustin Cole

I’ve been doing stand-up for 19 years now! The year was 2006. I had an apartment in Davison and one night I happened to stumble upon Dane Cook’s latest special on HBO – Vicious Circle. I was entranced. I saw how much fun he was having on stage, the charisma he had, and how he just commanded the room or, in this case, an entire arena and I thought “THAT’s what I want to do. I’m gonna be a comedian.” So I had decided what my path was going to be, however I had no idea how to go about it! I was new to all of it, obviously.  Read more>>

Tiana Bunnell-Mumford

But before CMHCS, there was Creative Minds Work Publications, born out of my love for writing. I started CMWP to publish journals, guides, and resources that made healthcare and everyday life skills easier to understand and apply. That foundation of writing and publishing is what opened the door for CMHCS it gave me the tools to teach, create, and share in ways that reach far beyond the classroom. Read more>>

Alexis Bearinger

On a bit of a leap of faith, I put together a portfolio of my work and showed it to my high school art teacher. She saw potential and advocated for me, and I was accepted into the AP/IB art program based on that portfolio alone. That moment was huge for me—it was like having someone outside of myself confirm that this path was real and worth pursuing. It gave me the confidence to imagine a future as an artist, and to start seriously planning for art school after graduation. Read more>>

Ryan Grenier

I’ve always been into coffee. I learned to roast at home using a popcorn popper while living in San Francisco. It turned into a *thing* when we sold everything in California and moved to Whitefish, Montana. We purchased a 10-room, high-end bed and breakfast just outside Glacier National Park called **Good Medicine Lodge**. Read more>>

Citrine & Craig

The road has been steady! We started Smokey Citrine in 2018 and found a small studio in Canton at Village Arts Factory in 2021 that we kept for four years. That space taught us so much about ourselves, our practice, our brand and our business. It’s always hard work to build something from the ground up but we love making jewelry and working with gemstones. We actually just found ourselves a new space to create in that is better aligned for our current state of practice. Read more>>

Taline Shiklanian

We started small, right in Downtown Howell, with a focus on creating meaningful pieces and lasting relationships. Today, we’ve grown into a place where people come not just to buy jewelry, but to celebrate life’s most important moments. For me, it’s been a journey of resilience, faith, and passion—and I think that’s what makes Taline’s Fine Jewelry so special.” Read more>>

Gretchen Nichols

I’ve Loved Miniatures for as long as I can remember. I started creating Miniatures approximately age 7. Christmas 1977 when I was 10 years old my father bought me my first 12 scale doll house. It was raw solid wood unfinished and unfurnished. He would buy me things here and there for my birthday or Christmas. And he would consistently buy me how to magazines from Little professor bookstore in Dearborn. Most of the books were way over my head where the creators were using all type of sophisticated machinery to make miniatures. Read more>>

Jakari Earl

I was born and raised on the south side of chicago to a single father. I’ve always been creative with a lively personality, and felt a deep need to help and heal those around me. My creative journey began early on with sketching and painting as early as five years old, which turned into entering art and music competitions in my middle and high school years. At sixteen, I began making backyard indie films. I worked my way into the industries I wanted to work in with persistence, research, and dedication. I went from fast food and retail jobs to canvassing on behalf of some of the world’s largest human rights organizations, supporting individuals with mental health conditions and substance use disorders, Read more>>

Sally Urbaniak

In every Medicinal Healing Creation, every Beeswax Blend Candle, and in every step of the process, including how we package our products, our hearts our engaged. It is in this way “Beloved Friendship”, as well as integrity is seen in the community. Every item is hand made from its creation to the pouring, to the packaging. Read more>>

Shawna Norris

After successfully planning my own baby shower, I knew this was what I wanted to do. A few months after my daughter was born, I enrolled in an event planning class. But at the time, there were a lot of naysayers questioning whether wedding and event planners even made money. I’ll never forget people asking, “Do you still want to do your little event planning business?” Discouraged, I stopped and didn’t finish the class. Read more>>

Rebecca Morrow

I suppose the story of how I became the owner of Tammy’s Tastings started when I was working behind the bar at an upscale Italian restaurant. We mainly served wine but had a well stocked bar filled with curiosities like the bottle of blackberry liqueur I noticed was collecting dust on the shelf. This bottle was the first one to get my cocktail researching gears in motion. The next week I had a Bramble feature I was offering to guests while excitedly explaining everything I learned about the cocktail’s history and it’s ingredients. Unbeknownst to me this time in cocktail history is now considered the modern cocktail renaissance, and I had boots on the ground. Read more>>