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.
Ashley Ellis
My journey into photography started after we had our first baby. At the time, money was tight, and professional photos weren’t really something we had much extra to spend on—but I desperately wanted to capture all of those little moments and have beautiful photos of my baby to look back on. So, I decided to buy a camera of my own. Read more>>
Kimberly Judd
My Candle Making Journey Made with love in North Carolina. My journey with candle making began in 2013 out of pure frustration with what I was finding on store shelves. I was tired of buying expensive candles that tunneled, lost their scent after a couple of burns, or contained mystery ingredients and paraffin wax that I didn’t want in my home. Read more>>
Linette Knight
It’s wonderful to be back with Voyage! I’m Linette Knight, a crochet mixed-media artist boasting 19 years of experience in crochet and 17 years in the fashion industry. These passions guided me to a four-year tenure as an instructor and exhibition artist-in-residence at Durham’s Golden Belt Campus. Read more>>
Rich Levine
I was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised outside the city. My father was a pro photographer for a while and he got me into photography at a young age. I would go out and shoot landscape photos. I experimented with long exposures. I was like anyone else, just enjoying the camera. I never thought it would be a career. Read more>>
Leoke Asefa
Art and expression have always been at the heart of who I am, but photography was never where I thought my story would begin. In high school and into my early twenties, I was actually more of a poet and, believe it or not, a rapper. Looking back, I think I was pretty good too. Lol. Read more>>
Julie Jones
My story is one of resilience, determination, faith, and learning that where we begin does not have to determine where we ultimately go. I grew up facing circumstances that could easily have limited my expectations for the future. Family instability, financial hardship, and navigating life with a physical disability required me to become independent and resourceful at an early age. Read more>>
Luke Ikerd
Saturdaze is a three piece band that plays a fusion of funk, blues and psychedelic rock. The band had humble beginnings years ago in Boone, NC. Since fall 2024, the band has increased their influence in the music scene as well as an online presence through consistency and commitment to play many live shows, in Boone, as well as all across the state. Read more>>
Tony Lockhart
One undergrad year in 2013, I guess I got a little impatient and really wanted to prove to myself I am in the right field. So I ditched my small town in South Carolina and took a trip to Pasadena, California, on a Sunday with these fancy yet expensive business cards; I maxed out my credit card and a physical portfolio book. Read more>>
Adrienne Arrington-Kenion
Queen Esther Teas started from a genuine love for tea and a desire to create something that would bring people together while supporting their wellness. What began as a small idea has grown into a thriving local tea business serving our community in Wilmington and beyond. Read more>>
Anna Garner
I have loved all things fashion and design from a very young age, so when it was time to choose a college, I based my selections on schools with strong interior design programs. Read more>>
Maanvik Uppal
I was born in India and moved to the U.S. when I was five. We arrived with very little, and my parents worked day and night to provide for us. My love for STEM started early when my mom bought me a Lego set. My drive for medicine is deeply personal. My grandpa was my role model. Read more>>
Harvest Ganong
I remember learning about “trash artists” and eco-artists while I was in college, and I was always fascinated by the idea of taking something that had been discarded and giving it an entirely new purpose. Years later, when I became a mom, that idea came back to me in a very different way. Read more>>
Christina Newman Grice
My name is Christina Newman Grice. The Owner of Turquoise Tea Spa & Beauty Bar, I’m the Founder and Senior Executive Director of The Alesia Thomas Foundation Inc. I initially began this dream with my mom Alesia Thomas, by providing Holistic Health through Turquoise Tea by providing services to help people feel their very best through Massage Therapy, Skin Care, Nail Care, hair care. Read more>>
Tulsi Thakor
My story has really been about allowing myself to pursue every part of who I am, rather than feeling like I have to fit into one box. Modeling has been a huge part of that journey. Read more>>
Christin Coats
I have always loved taking pictures. As a child, I had the opportunity to travel across the United States with a choir during the summers, and I loved documenting our adventures. At the time, though, I definitely wasn’t a great photographer. I had plenty of pictures with fingers in the frame and people’s heads accidentally cut off! Read more>>
Christi Falls
Falls Family Farms started with a garden. I wanted my kids to grow food and be in touch with where their food came from, so we had a garden and a chicken coop they would help me tend. Read more>>
Kim Setteducati-Mann
Yoga really found me—I wasn’t looking for it at all. At the time, I was working in Human Resources, a career I had somewhat accidentally stumbled into, and I was responsible for organizing our corporate wellness program. That included a weekly lunchtime yoga class, which I had absolutely no interest in trying. But I was a good employee, so I showed up. Read more>>
Natalie Strzok Erin Lewis-Gibson
Essentially, the company was something that we often dreamed of when we were friends in undergrad, but it finally came to fruition in November of 2020. We have four founders: Erin, Gretchen, Glenn, and Natalie. We all invested a great deal of time, money, and sanity to achieve our goal of opening a group practice. Read more>>
Kadedra Jacobs
I’ve been my father’s caregiver since he was diagnosed with dementia about 8 years ago. As his memory loss progressed, he became a picky eater — and vegetables and fruits definitely weren’t on his list. He was also on blood pressure medication, so my goal became clear: eliminate as many meds as I could, at least the ones within my control. Read more>>
Luis Alejandro Arroyo Villegas
I started my professional career when I was 15, although I think the path began much earlier than that. Growing up, movies, music, art, and storytelling were never simply forms of entertainment to me. They were an essential part of how I understood the world. Read more>>
Hadley McDaniel
Back in 2019 when I was like 21 I started making shirts for my buddies in my unit and everyone really liked them so I kept doing it. After awhile I was like I should just do this for real. Read more>>
Jessica Abreu
My story actually starts with my own health. I was diagnosed with celiac disease 18 years ago, and while it’s not new to me, it’s still something I navigate every single day and it’s a constant journey that requires me to stay on top of the right supplementation and really understand what my body needs to thrive. Read more>>
Kyng Hayes
In 2021 I started carving out my place in R&B and Soul with a sound rooted in emotion, authenticity, and undeniable artistry. My journey from an aspiring artist to a charting, award-winning performer is a testament to persistence, self-belief, and the willingness to turn personal experiences into music that connects with people. Read more>>
Jack Daulton
I’m a photographer. I was always sketching and drawing as a kid. I went to graphic design school for two semesters before college. That artistic passion of using line, shape and form still influences my photographic vision today. Inspired by nature, I started exploring landscapes in the 1990, especially in western NC. In 2005 I started traveling… really traveling… China, southeast Asia, Europe, Africa. Read more>>
Sue Anger
I grew up in Beaufort, NC, surrounded by two things I love – history and the ocean. Beaufort is one of the oldest towns in NC ,and you can feel the history everywhere. I often recorded oral histories with local people. In high school, I was recognized for my writing. Read more>>
Abdah Khalifa
My story really begins with a love of teaching that took root early when I was growing up in Toronto. Since we were such a small community, I spent my summers as a teenager teaching at the Islamic Summer School. Read more>>
Devyn Byrd
I always wanted to be a performer. I remember being a young kid and riding in the back seat during family road trips, hip hop and metal playing in my earbuds at max volume. I would belt the words at the top of my lungs, completely unaware that everyone else in the car could hear me. Read more>>
Briana Howington
I started making wigs and doing my own hair in 2018. Once people started seeing what I was doing with my own hair, they would ask me to do theirs or make them a wig. That’s really how everything started and how my passion for hair began to grow into something more. Read more>>
Tasha Gaskins
I’m a social worker by training, with a Master’s in Social Work and a Master’s in Public Administration. Early on, I realized clinical work wasn’t the path for me. I was far more drawn to what happens behind the scenes: how organizations function, where they break down, and what it takes to make them run well. Read more>>
Lana Sheikha
I am a self-taught mixed-media artist who currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was born in West Asia and came to the United States as a child, where I bounced around all over the South. I joke that I grew up in a “sample platter of the South”, calling many states home, including Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Arkansas, and North Carolina. Read more>>
Rachel Weinstein-Bacal
I’ve been in the vintage industry for longer than I’d like to admit, but when my husband and I first moved to Durham, I started selling some of my collection on my front patio on Washington st. during the farmers market, creating sidewalk chalk fliers to draw in attention. Read more>>
LeCheryl Radden
My journey began in 2020 when I was looking for a hobby. My husband, David, and my father, Herbert, built me a beautiful 6′ x 33′ raised garden bed. My husband, children, neighbors, and I filled it with chemical-free soil and fertilizer. One day, I went to a local nursery to pick up some flowers and came across an amazing herb on the clearance table. Read more>>
Nicole Burgess
I am a creative entrepreneur with books, films, documentaries, plays, and a podcast that I am currently heralding. I started writing stories on my grandmothers typewriter when I was eight years old. I wrote short stories and mini plays that my cousin and I would act out, dressed in my grandmothers clothes. Read more>>
Tama Hochbaum
I am an artist; I have been since I was 19. It has been the armature of my life. I grew up in New York, in a religious Jewish household. I discovered myself as an artist in college. I had gone to Brandeis University thinking I would be a Near Eastern and Judaic Studies major, but changed that, one semester in. Read more>>
Lisa Lanier
I grew up in rural Guilford County, North Carolina. I was the oldest grandchild of a successful agribusiness entrepreneur which is a fancy way of saying a successful farmer. I was constantly by my grandfather’s side with my hands in the dirt, often covered in manure or tobacco gum. I often joke that I went to law school to get out of the field. Read more>>
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>>
