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.
Terran Eaton
I lost my job. They told me that a customer complained and I was asked to resign. I am an actor and had been working to fund my dreams, as I had just gotten accepted into the American Academy of Dramatic arts. I hunted for a job to fund my acting career and keep relevant. I didn’t find much success. But things changed. Read more>>
Joey Spencer
My story starts with ‘ Once Upon A Time ‘ And Ends With ‘ He Lives Happily Ever After ‘. My story is one that is not much different than anyone who has lived to be my age of 67. Read more>>
Kateryna Baranova
I began my career in permanent makeup about 10 years ago, and over the years I have worked with thousands of clients, continuously refining both my technique and my understanding of natural beauty. My professional journey has taken me through different countries and very different stages of life. Read more>>
Sam Archer
I think I’ve spent most of my life becoming someone I couldn’t fully see yet. Looking back, there’s been this consistent theme of stepping outside of what was familiar, discovering another part of myself, and realizing that who I was in one season didn’t have to define who I could become in the next. Read more>>
Lora Jones
Growing up, I always knew I wanted to own my own business. I dreamed of being my own boss and creating a life that gave me both financial freedom and the freedom to make my own schedule. I wanted to build something that was mine—something that would eventually allow me to work toward a place where I didn’t have to work every single day. Read more>>
Anita Michelle J-Earle
I am writing to share the story of the G.E.A.R. (Generations Empowered and Restored) Empire based in Garner, NC, which encompasses both our nonprofit organization and insurance agency. I founded the nonprofit, G.E.A.R. Inc., on January 8, 2009, inspired by my personal experience as a custodial parent raising my daughter, Torea, while her father was incarcerated. Read more>>
Janae Reynolds
Hairstyling was a love affair that began for me as a child. One day, my daycare provider, Miss Morgan, lined all the children up and asked what we wanted to be when we were older. There were many ballerinas, doctors, teachers, and princesses. Read more>>
Lormarev Jones
I have been working in the performing arts in some capacity since I was 8. I majored in Theatre at Meredith College in Raleigh (with a dance minor) and I have working in the Theatre or Theatre adjacent for my entire adult life. Read more>>
Valere Merriweather
I’ve always been drawn to the health and fitness industry. Growing up in Southern California was pivotal for me since I got a first hand view of how living a healthy lifestyle impacts longterm health. I attended Howard University and worked as Radiation Therapist traveling around the country treating cancer patients. Read more>>
Kelli Benton
We started Seaglass Monthly Market 12 years ago. It has evolved into an amazing artisan community. Seaglass is a once a month, meet the maker, indoor, artisan market. It features over 50 local artists, artisans and curators. We have recently added a new layer to the market, for the vendors and small business owners. Read more>>
Kathy King
I have loved crafting since I was little, making Barbie clothes and furniture, drawing, coloring. But I also had ian interest in numbers, math and shapes. All of these interests collided when I discovered beading. I create things with needle and thread, while getting to play with color and structure. Read more>>
Alpaca Chicken Cruz Sheehan
When 22-year-old Nora Palma stepped off the plane from El Salvador into Washington, D.C. in 1974, she held a single ambition: to forge her own path as an entrepreneur. She threw herself into learning English, worked relentlessly, and carved out a steady career at Navy Federal Credit Union. But her true calling was waiting further south. Read more>>
Valerie Remhoff
I have been a holistic practitioner for over 20 years. My journey began with a desire to better understand the techniques and modalities that were having such a profound impact on the health and well-being of my own family. What started as a personal pursuit quickly became a passion, and I fell in love with energy work and the holistic approach to healing. Read more>>
Deanna Decker
I like to say that my photography journey began the day I became a mother. While I had learned the technical side of using a camera in college, the thought of portrait photography as a career never crossed my mind until I had my own little muse to constantly document. Read more>>
Genia Woods
My mother has always said I came into this world talking. As soon as I could hold a microphone, I was singing, writing songs, and finding ways to connect with people through communication. As I grew older, that passion evolved into creating my own video podcast and vlog before joining WDRB Media, where I started by paying for my own segment. Read more>>
Shannon Gilmore
No, the road has been Bumpy and curvy and windy and uphill. Most of the way, but it’s been very much worth it. Bringing energy healing to a small town in a very religious area has definitely been difficult.Trying to explain that reiki is not a religion and just an energetic practice has proven to be difficult. Read more>>
Anita Lynch
From Fear to Faith: How Trusting God Changed Everything By Anita Lynch When people see my life today, they often see the accomplishments before they hear the story. They see the CEO, the author, the speaker, the counselor, and the entrepreneur leading a seven-figure organization that serves individuals rebuilding their lives after incarceration. Read more>>
Pastor Robert E. Leak III
My story began long before I ever held a title. At just five years old, my late grandfather, Robert Leak Sr., introduced me to the importance of serving people and loving my community. On the southeast side of Winston-Salem, he would take me door to door, to neighborhood meetings, and into conversations with residents. Read more>>
Michelle Howell
My journey has been one of faith, perseverance, and purpose. I became a single mother while I was still in high school. I had my first child at the age of 15 and my second at 18. Although I later attended college, life required me to put my children first before completing my degree. Raising two children on my own wasn’t easy. Read more>>
Izzy Claude
What most of my online community doesn’t know about me is that I’m a Project Manager by day. Outside of my 9-to-5, I’m a certified Pilates instructor, wellness content creator, and the founder of BalancedAF Wellness, LLC. My wellness journey started because I was beginning to feel like a robot. LOL. No, seriously. Read more>>
Sarah Billups
My home bakery started when my oldest son turned one! Think the height of a pandemic but you really want decorated sugar cookies for your son’s first birthday. Cue determined mom with a mission! Months before I practiced and practiced and just never stopped! Read more>>
Diedre Collins
I’ve always been someone with a wide range of interests, and my life and career have reflected that. As someone with ADHD and autism, if something captures my interest, I put my heart and soul into it. Over the years I’ve worked in customer service, education, sales, administration, and management, while also earning degrees in Culinary Arts, Theatre, and Business. Read more>>
Sidnee Troutman
Sidnee’s Batch Co. started with my love for creating things that make people smile. I’ve always been creative, but I truly found my passion when I discovered cookie decorating. What started as a hobby quickly turned into a business I couldn’t wait to grow. Read more>>
Jeannette Brossart
When my sons were toddlers, I was feeling a bit lost in early motherhood and was seeking some creative inspiration and an activity for just me. During one visit to storytime at the Public Library, there was a contemporary mosaic art book on display. Read more>>
Phillip Brickle
A former heroine addict for 20 yrs. Thoughts of taking my life and had an encounter with God that changed my life. After the encounter, started providing meals for the homeless. Started Lost Sheep Outreach Ministry and the ministry is now 30yrs old Read more>>
Jarrah Passanisi
I fell in love with tea in 2019 through a youtube video detailing why loose tea is typically of higher quality then bagged tea. Up until that point I had never really thought about it. I had always worked in food and drink service and wanted to choose a line of work that involved face to face interaction with people. Read more>>
Aaron Brown
TVMFAM is something I created to survive, express myself, and find a sense of belonging. Gradually, it became a movement, then a brand, and now a growing creative business. I am Aaron Brown, professionally known as TVM Killa. I am a rapper, singer, DJ, producer, and the founder and creative director of TVMFAM LLC. Read more>>
Daniella Melillo
My journey into photography started when I was just 7 years old. What began as a childhood hobby quickly became something I couldn’t imagine my life without. For the past 20 years, I’ve always had a camera in my hands, capturing family, friends, everyday moments, and eventually special milestones. Read more>>
Ashley Massengill
Right out of hair school I decided to go to booth rent not commission like they tell you to. I had a drive everything they told me in hair school I challenged. Just my nature I guess. I built my client base in 2 years and was happy. Read more>>
Charlotte Louis
I am the founder and CEO of SenterME, a North Carolina healthcare technology company building Structural Health Intelligence™ for health systems. Before SenterME, I spent nearly 20 years working across sales, corporate training, financial services, and entrepreneurship. Read more>>
Beth Davis
I grew up in a very rural part of the Appalachian Mountains in Virginia, surrounded by farms, animals, woods, dirt roads, and a whole lot of space for imagination. My family was very blue-collar, and creativity was not necessarily something anyone around me thought of as a career path. But even as a kid, I was constantly creating my own little worlds. Read more>>
Jodi & Jordan Lee
Jordan: When I quit my job in Texas, everyone thought I was insane. A month before, Jodi and I were barely friends, and now I was so in love with her I was moving 1,300 miles to be with her. It sounds crazy looking back. It was crazy. Read more>>
Jacob Cooper
At a young age, experiencing a near-death experience completely reshaped my understanding of consciousness, healing, and human purpose. That transformative event set me on a lifelong path dedicated to bridging spiritual insight with grounded emotional well-being. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, psychotherapist, and regression therapist, my hypnosis practice specializes in past life regression and life-between-lives soul regressions. Read more>>
Brett Phillips
My name is Brett Phillips. I am a lifelong musician who’s been playing music professionally since I was 15 years old. Currently I am active as a solo performer, but I also play guitar in a band called the Separate, which I have been apart of since 2009. Read more>>
Melinda Harkley
As a photographer, I’ve been a hobbyist since I was a pre-teen; taking pictures of family, friends, special occasions, vacations, school activities and church events. My love for pictures started when I was a child. When we visited my grandparents, they would get their photo albums out to share with us the memories or introduce the people in the pictures. Read more>>
Colleen Schmitt
People always ask how I got into pet care, and honestly, it all started long before I ever owned a dog. I was born and raised in Connecticut with two older sisters, and growing up, our lives revolved around sports. Between practices, games, and traveling for competitions, there never seemed to be enough time for a dog. Read more>>
Kendall Lawrence
My whole life, I dreamed of opening a shop. I imagined it again and again — searching for the perfect name, the perfect idea, the perfect place. I told myself I’d begin once everything felt certain, once it all lined up just right. But one day, out of the clear blue sky, something shifted. I realized maybe perfection was never the point. Read more>>
Daniel Dowdy
I grew up in the historical Hayti District of Durham North Carolina with my 4 sisters and my younger brother. I’ve always found comfort in various genres of music from classical to metal but never envisioned that comfort would inspire me to start making music on my own. Read more>>
Garrett Osburn
Osburn Acres really started with one jar of Pepper Jelly. At the time, I was in the restaurant business and created the jelly one night to accompany a grilled grouper feature. It was simply about making something that would bring the dish to life, but the response was incredible. Read more>>
Robert Price
I was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1954. My family moved to New Jersey in 1965. There I became involved with a very fundamentalist Baptist congregation. My interest in the Bible began there, though by the time I was in college, I was starting to moderate my beliefs in light of my extensive reading. Read more>>
Taylor Bowman
I’ve spent my entire life in the Raleigh-Durham area, so in a lot of ways, my story is intertwined with the story of this community. I grew up here when Raleigh still had more of that small-city, close-knit feel, and I’ve had the unique opportunity to watch it grow into the incredibly vibrant and fast-growing community it is today. Read more>>
Grace Bex
My story with Gracefully Fit really started in 2017, although I had no idea at the time that I was building a business. I had just become a mom for the first time and was navigating a really difficult season of postpartum depression, health struggles, and trying to figure out who I was again. Fitness became my outlet. Read more>>
Lorena Malm
I am self taught with a passion for many kinds of art. At nine years old, I discovered my love for art in the form of a paint by number oil set, gifted from my parents. Read more>>
Dr. Shinika McKiever
Looking back, I can see that my career has been shaped by a series of unexpected opportunities. I grew up in Liberty, North Carolina, a small rural town where I learned the value of community, believing in yourself, and helping others. My family instilled the importance of giving back, living with purpose, and using your talents to serve others. They also encouraged creativity. Read more>>
