Hidden Gems: Local Businesses & Creatives You Should Know

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.

Azariah Moss

Since the beginning when YouTube first started, I sat in front of my computer for hours watching beauty videos saying I want to do that. I can do that! When I turned 16, I was finally allowed to wear makeup and my mom took me to MAC. I probably still have some webcam videos of me making videos of me doing my makeup lol. Read more>>

ryan camesa

I grew up in Southern California, so it feels remiss to call myself a Southerner, but I call Atlanta home. I always describe it as my formative years. I take pride in the South, hopefully shifting the collective narrative on Southerners. I learned how to drive here. I learned how to survive as myself. Atlanta is where I learned how to write. Read more>>

Alexia Walker

My path to becoming a sex and intimacy coach was far from linear but looking back, it looks like a path that was destined to lead me here. I spent years working in sports, events, and hospitality, a world that’s all about creating experiences and bringing people together. I loved the energy of it and the experiences that it gave me. Read more>>

Ashley Turner

I’m Ashley Turner, the owner of Selah & Co, a custom dessert business based in Canton, GA, specializing in cakesicles and cake pops. My journey started right out of high school when I attended culinary school—it had always been my dream to become a chef. Read more>>

Mallory Walker

After graduating from Cartersville High School, I attended the University of Georgia and graduated in 2018 with a degree in Risk Management and Insurance and a Certificate in Legal Studies. Risk Management is an amazing major to consider, and UGA’s program typically ranks #1 or #2 in the country, so I highly recommend! Read more>>

Verretta Moore

Saylor Grace Psychiatry was started after years of my work in community psychiatry, when I felt called to create a space where care could be more personal, intentional, and aligned with my values. I named the practice after my two grand angels—my granddaughters—who shape so much of who I am. Read more>>

Shondell Thomas

So I will say growing up in Stamford, CT I always knew that I want to be an entrepreneur or I was entrepreneur because I always found a way to make my own money I truly hated asking my parents for money so I would find ways to make it on my own. Read more>>

Jessica Fields

My journey into marketing has always been a blend of creativity and structure. I actually started my degree in Graphic Communications and Engagement Marketing at 16, and from there, I started freelancing and gaining hands-on experience while still in school. After graduating, I stepped into the corporate world where I worked on large-scale campaigns, including projects at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and collaborated with globally recognized brands. Read more>>

Brooke Michelle Carter

I have been a creative soul for as long as I can remember. Art has never been just something I do—it’s how I process the world, express what I feel, and find meaning. After studying photography at the Art Institute of Michigan, I spent years working as a professional photographer, capturing moments and stories through my lens. Read more>>

Savannah Hutson

So I began acting when I was 9 years old. I was classically trained in all things Shakespeare and classical techniques with both acting and singing. I decided to professionally pursue it when I moved to Midtown (Atlanta) at 18. I immediately got signed when I moved out here and am currently represented by four different agents! Read more>>

Felicia Pugh

My entrepreneurial journey began in 2011 with an idea that awakened me from sleep. At the time, all I had was a brand name and purpose. The purpose would have to be something positive, in nature, geared towards women. The type of business would not yet become totally clear until years later. The first business I created was a line of affirmation-driven t-shirts for women. Read more>>

Ashton Stevens

Music found me before I found it. I grew up in Marianna, Florida — small town, dirt roads, not a lot of outlets. But I was always around music. My dad gave me a real drum set when I was four or five. My grandmother had this powerful, almost operatic voice. Read more>>

Carlos Perez

I’ve always been drawn to storytelling through art, especially comics and sequential art. What started as a personal passion gradually grew into something beyond what I could have envisioned. I came to the realization that I wanted to do more than just make art. Read more>>

Lisa Mitchell

Everything Under The Rainbow began with a prayer, $200, and a dream. It was born out of a deep desire to create positive paths for children who learn differently and who need peace on their journey. Read more>>

Jodi Morgan

It started, as many conservation stories do, with something small and personal: my love of plants. Not the abstract idea of landscapes or ecosystems, but the simple joy of watching something grow-of noticing leaf textures, bloom timing, and the quiet transformation of a yard through the seasons. That love deepened when butterflies began to appear. Read more>>

Donna Smith

I grew up with an artist Mom who painted instead of cooking, so I was immersed in that world from the beginning. After completing a degree in visual arts I started out as an arts educator in a high school setting. I taught arts and design at all academic levels for a few ensuing years. Read more>>

Cokolynn Moman

My journey began with a vision one rooted in passion, purpose, and an unwavering belief in what was possible. From early on, I was driven by a desire to create a life that reflected both my ambition and my creativity. While the path wasn’t always clearly defined, my goals, discipline, and determination guided me forward. Read more>>

Bryan Coley

I graduated from NYU film school, worked at Turner Broadcasting for 12 years. Then I quit and started a non-profit theater company (which tells you how wonderful my wife is). From that point, our company began commissioning playwright and then screenwriters to write script for us. Read more>>

Osse Lessage

This is our story. Since my mother brought me to the United States, I’ve witnessed her dedication to the food industry. From humble beginnings, she climbed the ranks, culminating in her role as a respected sous chef at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. The appreciation she received there was palpable, a testament to her culinary prowess. Read more>>

Aulaura Lawrence

I started sharing my life on social media about five years ago, simply as a way to connect and document my everyday moments. As a mom of four, a lot of my content naturally centered around motherhood and lifestyle, just navigating real life, raising kids, and finding joy in the little things. Over time, as I grew and my life evolved, so did my content.  Read more>>

Andrew Goings

My homebuilding story starts out as a kid that loved all things building and design from creating birdhouses with scrap wood to extra curricular art classes at school. My family grew up as Georgia Bulldog fans, but I chose to cheer on their rival, Georgia Tech simply because I knew that is where architects went to school, even at 8-years-old. Read more>>

Amanda Holt

Naturally Georgia has been tasting Georgia’s finest wines since September of 2006. Our mission is to bring the finest wines in Georgia to one location and create a memorable experience to take with you! Here at Naturally Georgia, voted the Best Tasting Room in Georgia, we strive to make your wine tasting experience enjoyable and educational. Read more>>

Sahsheet Yamin

I’ve always experienced the world a little differently. From a young age I was aware that I could influence, predict, and sense energy, patterns, and shifts in people and environments long before I had language for it. Over time, that awareness became something I consciously explored and refined. A major turning point came during my transition out of the Navy. Read more>>

Monica Mosley

Firstly, My name is Monica and I’ve always had a passion for all things beautiful! As a makeup artist of two decades, I think it may have started as a young girl being raised around and by ‘Southern Belles’! Read more>>

Sunanda Vasudevan

I’ve been finding excuses to be creative my whole life – at home, at family gatherings, through music and theater, in school projects that didn’t need as much effort. Architecture school in India was just the first time I put a label on it and called it work. Read more>>

Courtney Ahlstrom Christy

Becoming a material culture appraiser isn’t a career you typically hear about at a job fair. My journey began with a love of making art and visiting museums as a kid, which led to studying art history at university. While completing graduate school, I worked at an auction house and first learned about the possibility of appraising as a livelihood. Read more>>

Angelo 250Machine Mokonenyane

I’m a born Dancer from Bloemfontein
My parents would go to town and leave me at home with Michael Jackson and sisqo playing on the TV and when they came back they would find me dancing infront of the TV Read more>>

Denise Santos

This journey really began with a feeling that something was missing. As I navigated the industry, I kept coming back to the same question, where is our community? I wasn’t seeing spaces where Latinas and Latine storytellers could truly connect, collaborate, and support one another in a meaningful way. Read more>>

THURMAN YOUNG

It’s quite the story, haha. Well let’s see, I guess it all started with that apartment fire in fourth grade…. But seriously, My artistic journey with this city starts almost 12 years ago when I first moved for college. I ended up attending Art Institute of Atlanta back when it was still breathing (shout out all my alums and their forgiven loans). Read more>>

Elizabeth Chamblee Burch

I am a lover of stories who always aspired to be a writer. When I was a child, I stayed up late with classic mysteries—Nancy Drew and anything by Agatha Christie. As an English major at Vanderbilt, I wrote short fiction under Tony Earley’s tutelage and admired Lorrie Moore’s darkly humorous essay collections. Read more>>

Andrea Nicole

I got my start in real estate at just 19 years old on the property management side. That early experience gave me a strong foundation—I was learning leases, working directly with tenants, and even having conversations with investors before most people my age were exposed to that side of the business. Read more>>

Forever the Rebel

Music has always been part of my life. Both of my parents were rappers, and they actually met while performing in a rap group together, so I was raised around music and entertainment from a very young age. I even had a studio in my childhood home, so being creative and expressing myself through sound always felt natural. Read more>>

Parker Bridges

Of course! Well, I started my journey in biochemistry in North Carolina. I wound my way though Psychology to Painting in North Carolina to Animation and Sequential Art at SCAD. I ended up working and writing for Incubator Comics for a while after I left school. Read more>>

LaRose PRIEST-SMILEY

My name is LaRose Priest Smiley, founder of Luxury Wicks Candle Co., wife, mother of three, and an educator with over 17 years of experience serving students and families. My journey into entrepreneurship did not begin in a boardroom—it began in my home, during a season when I needed peace, comfort, and a way to reconnect with myself. Read more>>

James Fuller

I started my career as a professional basketball player, playing in Europe and South America. That experience forced me to adapt quickly—new countries, new systems, and constant competition. After basketball, I moved into private wealth and mergers & acquisitions at JPMorgan. That’s where I learned how money moves, how deals are structured, and how to think in terms of scale instead of individual transactions. Read more>>

Rashida Frith

Creating meaningful spaces for people has always come naturally to me, long before it had a name or a business behind it. I was the one behind the scenes at church events, family gatherings, and friend celebrations. Never official. Just a natural pull toward making things feel intentional and beautiful. My own wedding is what truly shifted everything. I had a clear vision. Read more>>

Margaret Johnson-Hodge

I began my writing journey when I developed a love of reading at an early age. At four, I enjoyed picture books. By six, I was reading The Long Island Press, the local newspaper in my hometown. Though I didn’t understand most of what I read, I loved finding out about people and things. Read more>>

GABRIEL RODRIGUEZ

Like all good stories, mine begins at the very start. I was born at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois, the product of two distinctly American journeys. My father arrived from Durango, Mexico at fourteen, driven by the promise of opportunity and a determination to build a life in the restaurant world. Read more>>

Anissa Charles

Originally, I begin my business during the pandemic. I was living in my hometown of Tampa, Florida and the entire world was social distancing and using facial masks. So many people were complaining about breaking out on their face due to extensive use of facial masks. Read more>>

Bridgetta Sylvain

I entered foster care at just seven months old, and today I lead an agency working to create the stability, safety, and care I once needed. I was born and raised in Tulsa, the fourth of seven children, to a 19 year old single mother who was navigating her own unhealed trauma. Read more>>

Michael Pezent

My story really starts in what I call ‘the other LA’—Lower Alabama. Growing up there, the music of Randy Travis, Merle Haggard, and Don Williams wasn’t just on the radio; it was the soundtrack to my life. I started singing in high school and cut my teeth playing for fraternity houses and local clubs during college. Read more>>

Austin Wood

I grew up with a deep love for sports and teamwork, which initially led me to earn my undergraduate degree in Sport Management. However, in my mid‑twenties, I experienced a meaningful career shift as I felt drawn toward helping people in a more personal and lasting way. That calling led me into education and mental health, where I began working as a high school counselor. Read more>>

Jazara Nelson

Ara’s Bakehaus really started with friendship, grief, and a shared love for baking or maybe just eating sweets (and a little bit of chaos, honestly). Read more>>

Precious Imhansi-Jacob

I started Jacob Moves with a simple mindset—if I was going to do something, I wanted to do it at a high level and actually make an impact in people’s day-to-day lives. Moving is one of the most stressful experiences for most people, and I saw an opportunity to turn that into something smooth, reliable, and even enjoyable. Read more>>

Phung Tran

My personal story begins in Vietnam. I was a very active kid in middle school, did sports 3 days a week, and rode a bike around the city daily. I would say that I exercise 10 to 12 hours a week. All of that changed when I went to high school in America. All of a sudden, I stopped working out. Read more>>

Roshawnda Williams

My journey really started from a place of passion and purpose. I’ve always had a heart for helping people grow, heal, and step into who they’re called to be. Over time, I realized that I didn’t just want to inspire people. I wanted to create platforms that would actually support transformation and growth in real, tangible ways. That’s how “SponsoredByRo” was born. Read more>>

rene Padilla

It started with the sale of my motorcycle. By day, I’m a graphic designer. I spent nearly 20 years working in the medical field across Gwinnett Medical Center, Northside Hospital, Emory, and various private practices in several different roles. But on evenings and weekends for the past 7 years, I was doing something completely different. Read more>>

Fred Smith

I started CableTel LLC in the early 2000s. At that time, my only service offering was installing cabling outlets. Over time, as technology, my expertise, and client needs evolved, I expanded my services to support businesses in how they operate today. My company’s core focus is now the installation of commercial security camera systems, helping businesses improve visibility and protect their operations. Read more>>

Brandon Coleman

My path into photography really took shape while I was living in Ho Chi Minh City, but it started in a pretty unexpected way. I had purchased camera equipment from a photographer there who, by coincidence, also had ties to Atlanta. After seeing some of my early work, he took an interest and eventually became a mentor to me. Read more>>

Melissa Light

I’ve wanted to be a therapist since my first Psychology class in college. In my senior year, I took a research course that involved studying gender stereotypes with children in Ireland. I was working with 3rd graders and I loved it so much that after graduation I got a Masters in Elementary Education and taught elementary students in the U.S. Read more>>