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.

Mercer Murphy

Hi! My name is Mercer Murphy. I’m a multi-skilled performance artist from and based in Atlanta, GA. Some of my skill set includes fire/LED, burlesque, and aerial performance, character acting, production, talent management, teaching, choreography, gogo, and on the rare occasion, Irish step dance! I’ve always loved movement, although I never saw myself as a ‘dancer’ because I was never classically/technically trained. Read more>>

Daphane Handy

I am Daphane Handy. I started in Memphis with a clear eye for how people are perceived and a stubborn belief that presentation is not vanity, it is leverage. Long before I had a team, I was helping people say what they actually did in a way that made buyers pay attention. Read more>>

Marvella Castaneda

My journey into wine really began through hospitality. I spent years working in restaurants, including Michelin-starred environments, and gradually became fascinated by everything behind the bottle; the geography, history, science, culture, and people that make wine what it is. That curiosity eventually led me to pursue formal wine education and the WSET Diploma while continuing to grow professionally as a sommelier and wine director. Read more>>

Moran McCall

Moran The Man I’ve always had a love for music growing up. I Started making beats when I was in the 10th grade. I got into radio and DJ’ing when I was in college and I did my first radio and recording studio internship at the same time. Read more>>

Justin Q. Williams

My story story is one of passion, persistence, and turning creativity into opportunity. Born in Opelika, Alabama, I discovered my love for architecture and interiors at an early age, eventually transforming that passion into Trademark Design Co., my Atlanta-based design firm was founded as a young entrepreneur. Read more>>

Samira Smith, LCSW

Honestly, I got to where I am today through God. I was blessed to know what I wanted to do at the young age of nine. In the fifth grade, I met a classmate who was facing significant challenges both personally and at home. She would run away from home and call my mom and me to come get her. Read more>>

Jasper

All throughout my childhood I’ve been inspired by so many different art forms but one that has always stood out the most is music. I’ve always been tapped into it in some way. I’ve been involved at different points of my life whether it was band, making my own songs, and now djing. Read more>>

jonathan rich

I played rock and roll music as a touring musician in my 20’s and was making a career of it. IN 2007 I tried to ‘flip’ a home in the historic East Lake neighborhood on the east side of Atlanta & it didn’t work. Read more>>

Terence Scott

In 2017, I started creatively through photography. Before MackSumo developed into what it is today, I was focused on capturing images, learning visual composition, developing an eye for presentation, and expressing ideas through photography. That period was important because it introduced me to the process of creating something from my own perspective rather than simply consuming what other people created. Read more>>

Allen Powell

My name is Allen “AP” Powell Jr., and I’m 42 years old. I’m from a small town in Southwest Georgia called Cairo. I completed a four-year contract in the United States Army, with my last duty station being Fort Carson, Colorado. I was also deployed overseas once. While serving in the military, I earned an Associate Degree in General Studies from American Military University. Read more>>

Michael Little

Growing up in the music town of Macon, Georgia, surrounded by the likes of Otis Redding, James Brown, and Ray Charles, Michael grew up listening to the sounds of Donny Hathaway, The O’Jays, and The Temptations. He gravitated toward percussion and singing at an early age and eventually learned to play piano. Read more>>

Elizabeth Carlile

I didn’t set out to build a brand called Motherhood Unstressed, I set out to survive my own motherhood. Somewhere between working full-time and figuring out how to actually regulate my own nervous system, I started talking about it out loud instead of pretending I had it together. That became a podcast. The podcast became a TEDx Talk. Read more>>

Elle Williams

It was more than a calling, It was an antidote.’ My name is Elle Williams. Most of my up bringing resided in Marietta, Ga. From an early age art was introduced to me through public school. I felt an exhilarating feeling like a lighting bolt inside of me when I first start to create. Read more>>

Chef Eleven

I’ve been cooking professionally for over 15 years, and my journey truly started from the ground up. Back in the day, I started by selling plates in clubs, building my clientele one plate at a time. Read more>>

Maria Wells

Born in Cape Verde, Maria Wells immigrated to the United States with her family in 1989 and was raised in the Boston area. Growing up, she developed a strong appreciation for hard work, resilience, and perseverance, values that continue to shape both her personal and professional life today. Maria earned a degree in Communications with a minor in Dance while attending college in Boston. Read more>>

Brithney Buchanan

My journey into public relations began more than a decade ago, and in many ways, Buchanan PR grew out of my natural ability to recognize opportunities, build relationships, and understand how the right story can change the way a person or brand is perceived. Read more>>

Dhimanth Rao

I started my career in motion design and 3D, studying Motion Media Design and Interactive Design at Savannah College of Art and Design, Atlanta in the US. While I was at SCAD, I had the opportunity to intern with Adult Swim, which became a really important starting point for me professionally. Read more>>

Dr Glenn Toby

My story didn’t begin in a boardroom, a stadium, a recording studio, or on a bestseller list. It began in Queens, New York, with adversity, imagination, and an instinct to survive. Long before I became Dr. Glenn Toby, I was Mr. Sweety G, a young Hip-Hop pioneer learning that rhythm was more than music—it was timing, relationships, resilience, and knowing when to make your move. Read more>>

Tryphose Asra

I’ve always been a creative at heart, but my story with photography really began during my senior year of high school, when I joined the yearbook committee. That was where I first fell in love with photography. I started photographing sports, taking portraits, and documenting whatever events were happening around school. I was sold. Read more>>

Ceven Liverman

My Story I think my story really starts with my family. My family is from Belize, and I grew up in a pretty spontaneous environment. I was born in South Carolina and moved around quite a bit between places like New York and Atlanta, so I was exposed to a lot of different people, cultures, and experiences from a really young age. Read more>>

Jalah Simmons

My journey into the beauty industry actually started with hair. I’ve always loved all things beauty, but hair was something I naturally gravitated toward. I started doing hair and enjoyed it, but I never felt that strong pull to continue pursuing it long-term. At the same time, I had always been doing my own lashes, so lashes were never something completely unfamiliar to me. Read more>>

Charlotte Dillard

Hi! My name is Charlotte Dillard, but I also go by Charlie. My stage name is Charlie Hoops, and I specialize in the art of Circus Multihooping! I am an Atlanta native born and raised, and have lived in my neighborhood in SW Atlanta for the last 16 years. Read more>>

Taylor Settles

My company began with $500 and a dream. When I was a freshman in high school, my baby sister was diagnosed with leukemia. I witnessed the toll her illness took on my family. Christmas became smaller and smaller, and my mother lost many friends and much of her support system. One day, I checked the mail and saw a $70,000 bill from Children’s Hospital. Read more>>

Karen R Arroyo

I began my journey in the cleaning industry working for a well-known company for six years. I started as a cleaner and worked my way up to becoming a supervisor. I later managed cleaning operations for 20 multifamily properties, gaining valuable experience in leadership, quality control, costumer services, and team management. In 2021, I decided to take a chance and start 7Bubbles Janitorial Services. Read more>>

Caroline Simpkins

My story begins with ballet. I trained seriously as a ballet student and eventually became a professional ballerina, dancing with The Georgia Ballet in Marietta, GA for seven seasons, and later spent many years teaching ballet to students of all ages and abilities across metro-Atlanta. Read more>>

Mya Turner

My journey began with a genuine love for beauty and helping women feel more confident. While attending Georgia Southern University, I started specializing in brows and built my first beauty brand, Redefined Esthetics. What began as a passion quickly grew into a business as I continued developing my skills, serving clients, and learning the importance of creating an experience—not just providing a service. Read more>>

Summer Tinch

My story really started in college, when I was coming into my own personal style and discovering how much I loved fashion. I was experimenting with trends, cutting and reconstructing my clothes, borrowing pieces from friends, thrifting, and going to just about every event I could find—on and off campus. Read more>>

Ahoo Sarab

I started practicing yoga as a teenager, and it became something I carried with me through every chapter of my life. I lived in different countries, traveled extensively, and wherever I went, my yoga practice came with me. It became a constant as a way to come back to myself no matter where I was. Read more>>

Dr. Rhonda Savain

My journey in nursing started more than 39 years ago when I became a Licensed Practical Nurse, straight out of high school. I later became a Registered Nurse and built a career that has allowed me to work in many areas of nursing, including home care, maternal-child health, and nursing education, to name a few. Education has always been a major part of my story. Read more>>

Mykieya Potter

I grew up in Atlanta. having a creative family, I always Felt something in my soul. We had hard times but i used My art to express myself. As time went by I started To feel more of a powerful pull with the creative side. I continued to pour more and more into my craft because it was a release for me. Read more>>

Jeffrey Wilcox Paclipan

At the center of my practice is a fascination with transformation—taking familiar, discarded, overlooked, or mass-produced materials and giving them another life. I work with puzzles, paper, cardboard, plastic and toys through assemblages, collage and sculpture. My multi-material works challenges the boundaries between fine art and craft, high ad low culture, and self taught academically trained practices. Read more>>

Elidah Maita

My advocacy began at a young age in high school where I was recognized by the National Organization of peer education carrying the promise to be a HOPE ambassador of change for better Health to later joining efforts in movements and organizations across East and Southern Africa and Globally. I am a Human Rights Diplomat with deep roots in activism and revolutionary feminism. Read more>>

Tyra A. Seals

Hi! My name is Tyra A. Seals and I’m the Founder and Principal Editor at Typology LLC, an editorial agency based here in Atlanta. I’m a proud fourth-generation Atlantan from the east side, and believe deeply in the people and things that grow here. I started Typology in 2020 after years of editing and writing materials for others. Read more>>

Dylan Marcel

Once upon a time, there was a boy who heard a song. A song that set free something within the boy’s heart forever. They say there is a song like this for everyone, which corresponds to their unique heartbeat. For the boy, this song flung open the gates to a whole world of songs, where words and sound were one like thunder and lightning. Read more>>

Lee Danja

My journey in music started when I was just 12 years old. My older brother was a rapper, and he and his friends would come over to the house to write, rap, and work on their music. I was always around them, and at the time, my role was basically being the dancer and supporting what they were doing. Read more>>

Jennifer Adams

Many years ago I was Miss Teen Georgia. I learned at an early age how to do Hair and Makeup. My skills were sharpened and my passion grew! Read more>>

Shiretta Dunn

I started doing locs about nine years ago. At the time, I was a stay-at-home mom of four, and honestly, I was tired of my hair looking distressed. Braids weren’t lasting long enough to keep up with the hectic lifestyle of raising four children, so I wanted something that looked as natural as possible but would also last longer. Read more>>

Cathy Kaemmerlen

I started in modern dance, reaching and performing in various places. I moved to doing dance residencies in the schools and when my children came i switched to acting out children’s literature. When we moved To Atlanta, I was called the dancing bookteller. Read more>>

Diana Revenkov

Art, design and floral creation have always been a part of my life. My family grew and designed with flowers in Ukraine, and being surrounded by that cultivated my own passion for creative expression. Through floral creation and design, I love to capture emotion, communicate stories, reflect on ideas, and connect with people. Read more>>

Desola Lovell

My story has honestly been a combination of entrepreneurship, creativity, and figuring out how all the different sides of me fit together. I’m originally from Toronto, and entrepreneurship was something I was exposed to very early because of my mom. Growing up, she owned a hair business and sold some of the best hair in Toronto, so the beauty industry was always around me. Read more>>

Jana May

My name is Jana and I started the band Evey May about a year ago. I had honestly been waiting for the opportunity to start a band for awhile. I was in a short-lived band in high school and have written songs almost my whole life, so I became well aware early on how important it was for me as an outlet. Read more>>

Nicole Llamoza

I’ve been artistic for as long as I can remember. Creativity has always found its way into whatever I was doing, whether it was painting, drawing, freelancing as a makeup artist, or simply finding ways to make things myself. I moved to the U.S from the Philippines when I was 10 years old, and growing up, I didn’t have much. Read more>>

Dani Cummings

I’ve always been a little hard to put into one box. I’m an educator, creative, Army officer, entrepreneur, and lifelong learner—and for a long time, I thought those things needed to exist separately. Over time, I realized the intersection is actually the point. I studied psychology at Mercer University, where I also commissioned into the Army, and later earned two master’s degrees in education. Read more>>

Darian Nwankwo, Ph.D.

I’m an Atlanta native, and my story really starts at Morehouse College. I studied computer science there and graduated at the top of my department, but the more important thing Morehouse gave me was the conviction that I could take my curiosity anywhere. And I tested that. Read more>>

Kai Marsh

I’ve always been someone who loves solving problems through creativity, technology, and meaningful experiences. Growing up, I was constantly thinking of new ideas, but over time I realized that the projects I was most passionate about all had one thing in common, they brought people together and made everyday experiences more intentional. Read more>>

Weston McCain

Photography was not something I ever studied or grew up around. But looking back, it seemed that a camera was never too far away. I never thought of myself as a photographer throughout high school and college in Tennessee, but a camera always followed me places whether it was a small point-and-shoot, GoPro, or a borrowed SLR. Read more>>

Hazel

Chophouse was never really supposed to become what it is today. If I remember correctly, the original plan was just to put on a one-off show to celebrate the opening of a tattoo shop I was working at. I reached out to a bunch of bands and friends, and eventually a few of us got together and made it work. Read more>>

Camara Morris

I’ve always been a creative person, and my journey really started in Atlanta when I was eight years old. I began training with Moving in the Spirit, where I studied African dance and Horton technique, and from there I became involved in Atlanta’s performing arts community through Performing Arts Program for Youth (PAPY). Read more>>

OSKAR CASTRO

Creativity has really been a constant throughout my life, even when it wasn’t necessarily how I made my living. I’ve spent more than 25 years working in the nonprofit and social justice world, particularly in leadership, organizational culture, human resources, facilitation, and helping people and organizations navigate change. But alongside that work, I’ve always been an artist. Read more>>

Matt Coker

The first video I ever shot was back when I was about 12 years old, but I officially launched my photo and video services professionally in 2020. Before picking up a camera full-time, I ran a small e-commerce business starting back in 2013. That background taught me a vital lesson early on: creative content has to do more than just look pretty. Read more>>

Lashunika Hicks

Growing Strong Minds started from my passion for helping students become more confident learners. After spending several years working in education, I saw firsthand that many students needed more individualized support than they were able to receive in the classroom. I wanted to create a space where students could receive that support while also building their confidence. Read more>>

Chris Zollman

I got started because I was a drug addict myself. I used drugs and alcohol most of my life. It began when I was 15 after a car accident—I got prescribed Lortab, and it escalated from there. By the time I was at Georgia State, I was selling pills and eventually moved on to heroin. Read more>>

LaTeisha Clément

I’m in my Second Act. Once I turned 40, everything changed, and not necessarily in the ways I anticipated. Three days before my 40th birthday, our team was informed we’d be laid off at the end of the week. I was shocked and knew the only way I could navigate this was with God. He was all I had to lean on. Read more>>

Dear Pricey

I’ve always had a passion for music, but I didn’t decide to pursue production seriously until I realized it was what I truly wanted to build my future around. I started by learning everything I could, spending countless hours making beats, studying the craft, and constantly challenging myself to improve. Like most producers, the journey has come with its share of ups and downs. Read more>>

Carla Johnson

In 2018, our Founder had this vision of a global network of women supporting each other to be successful in their endeavors. The idea behind LOS was to combine her passion for uplifting others while giving back to the community. Our mission is to empower individuals with the knowledge and resources they need to achieve financial independence and stability. Read more>>