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.
Silvana Camargo
My journey began in television, where I discovered my passion for storytelling, entertainment, fashion, and culture. I launched Con Estilo TV as a television show that aired for several years on Telemundo 43, serving as both host and producer. Over time, the brand evolved into a digital publication with a broader international focus. Read more>>
Meddy Mahieddine
My journey started in Europe, where I trained in Paris, London, and New York before building my career in Miami. Over the years, I became known for luxury color transformations, blonding, and hair restoration while educating other professionals for one of the world’s leading beauty brands. Read more>>
Griselda Lechini
I was born in Argentina, but the United States became the place where I built much of my professional life and developed the career that opened the door to many new opportunities. Throughout the years, I embraced opportunities in television, fashion, entrepreneurship, real estate, hospitality, writing, and eventually found my true calling in the visual arts. Read more>>
Nathanael Clerveaux-Jean
My name is Nathanael, but everyone knows me as **Nati** (pronounced *Na-tee*). My story begins at home and in church. I am Haitian, born and raised in Broward County, Florida, and my faith has always been the foundation of who I am. Growing up, my father was an incredibly talented pianist and keyboardist. He is the reason I fell in love with music. Read more>>
Cali Bam
My journey started with a passion for music, entrepreneurship, and creating opportunities where I saw there were none. Growing up, I watched talented artists struggle because they lacked the right guidance, business knowledge, and resources—not talent. That inspired me to build something that could change that reality. Read more>>
Alex Ferguson
I never imagined that a girl from a small town in Southern Indiana would one day find herself walking runways, appearing in magazines, shooting campaigns and seeing her face on billboards. At 14 years old, I started modeling, and what began as a fun opportunity turned into a career that has now spanned more than 20 years. Read more>>
Claudia Wentzell
In 2014, I started my business with my kids in mind. I wanted to create moments of celebrations that I can fully enjoy and not have to worry about what my kids were eating and what type of ultra-processed food I was giving them when they were cutting their cake. Read more>>
Donisha Brown, M. Psy.
Looking back, my journey probably makes more sense than it did while I was living it. Every chapter of my life has taught me something about people. My journey started at the GREAT Bethune-Cookman University where I received my B.S. of Arts with a focus in Hospitality. During that time I worked in the entertainment industry where I learned my superpower. Read more>>
Ana Luisa Halvorssen
My name is Ana Luisa Halvorssen. For as long as I can remember, every detail of my life has orbited around art. Read more>>
Xaviere Altzinger-Franklin
My name is Xaviere Altzinger, but everyone always calls me Xav and I’m the founder of 1:1 Marketing Agency, a South Florida marketing agency and community dedicated to helping women grow their businesses through marketing, networking, and meaningful connections. I was born in China and adopted by my family in Ireland when I was just 10 months old. Read more>>
Ysabel Rossi
My story started in Peru, where I went to culinary school. About 11 years ago, my mom and I moved to Miami in search of a better future and new opportunities. Like many people starting over in a new country, I took the opportunities I could find and got my first job working in a kitchen. Read more>>
Doug Powell
My path to becoming an artist has been anything but conventional. After serving ten years in the U.S. Navy, including service during the Gulf War, I found myself reconnecting with the creativity that had been part of me since childhood. From the very beginning, I knew I didn’t want to follow a traditional artistic path. Read more>>
Yasser Morales
KOROIDIA As the tides on the southeastern shores of the new world rise, threatening coastal cities, prayers are shouted towards the heavens, pleading for the mercy of God. A dark voice of reason crescendos in the form of God mocking, unholy sound of crushing force, and savagery… KOROIDIA. Read more>>
Glendy Rocha
My journey has been one of faith, resilience, and reinvention. I’ve always been a creative person, but I didn’t start out knowing exactly where that creativity would take me. Over the years, I’ve worn many hats, from entrepreneurship and business management to community association management, but no matter what role I was in, I always found myself drawn back to storytelling and helping people. Read more>>
Boris Pavlenko
My name is Boris Pavlenko, and I create under the name Samādhi. My creative journey began when I felt a deep desire to discover and express the creativity within myself. I started with painting, and later music naturally became another language through which I could express ideas, emotions, and experiences. Read more>>
Kaleb Beek
Poster Child was initially born out of a desire for there to be more Hip-Hop and R&B representation at University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. It started out as vocalist and pianist Natacha Chacin, guitarist Ethan Bowden, and myself (vocalist and rapper Kaleb Beek) coming together for a “DIY” class that encouraged forming bands and developing them over the course of the semester. Read more>>
Mika Santo
When I look back on my career, every opportunity I’ve had can be traced back to one simple decision my grandmother made when I was five years old. She signed me up for my very first dance class, and I’ve now dedicated the past 22 years of my life to dance, now going on my 23rd year. Read more>>
David Feder
Hi I’ve spent my life exploring one simple idea: that music has the power to bring people together, create moments of peace, and inspire us to become the best versions of ourselves. For more than three decades, I’ve made my home in the Florida Keys, where the rhythm of island life has shaped both my music and my outlook. Read more>>
Sandra Deravil
My journey has been one of growth, resilience, and purpose. I started in real estate because I wanted to create a better future for my family while helping others do the same through homeownership and housing stability. Like many entrepreneurs, I balanced working a full-time job while building my business from the ground up, learning how to stay consistent even during challenging seasons. Read more>>
Sarah Caicedo & Erica Quince
House of Mane started with a friendship. We met as coworkers, and from the beginning we shared the same passion for the beauty industry, the same work ethic, and the same vision for what a salon experience could be. What started as supporting each other behind the chair quickly turned into dreaming about building something of our own. Read more>>
David Marin
Terminator 2 in a movie theater when I was six. That’s where this whole thing starts. Its scale, sound, altered reality, and the experience of finding a father figure and losing him affected me before I had language for it. That night, I improvised on a relative’s Casio keyboard around what I was feeling. Read more>>
Elizabeth Allen-Cannon
I am an artist living in Brevard County, Florida and I run Causeway, an artist-run gallery that I founded in 2024. When I moved to the Space Coast from Chicago in 2017, I found a lack of support for visual art. I am also an adjunct professor and I wanted my students to have access to practicing artists. Read more>>
Samantha Calderón
I started my career right out of college, picking up copywriting gigs on Craigslist. I wrote website pages, blog posts, email sequences, SEO descriptions, and everything in between. I even wrote and voiced a local radio ad. Looking back, those early scrappy projects were the best training I never paid for. Read more>>
Juan Dangond
I am a board certified Family Medicine physician and always wanted to have my own practice. While in my training years it became incredibly clear that private practices in the primary care space struggle to stay open before they are absorbed by large systems or groups because of costs associated with the health insurance industry. Read more>>
jeanne jaffe
I was born in Butler, Pennsylvania, a small steel mill town, where I spent much of my childhood exploring the woods and shores of a nearby lake. My artistic path started by leaving high school early to study archaeology in Israel. This choice was pivotal in shaping how I view the world, art, and its significance. Read more>>
Nunzio Ruggiero
Like many photographers, I didn’t start with a detailed business plan or the expectation of building a company that would serve clients across the country. I simply fell in love with photography and the ability to capture moments that tell a story. In the beginning, I photographed anything I could to gain experience. Read more>>
Cristal Miranda
I’ve enjoyed being polished since a very young age. My nail polish addiction started with my mom. I would see her paint her beautiful long nails and I wanted to look just as good as her. She was always DIY with her nails and as soon as gel polish became a thing, she got her own kit. Read more>>
Nía Vásquez
My love for fashion started when I was a little girl. I was lucky enough to grow up with a very talented fashion designer close to my family, which inspired me from a very young age. I started designing dresses as a child and even sold them to my friends. Creating and designing has always been my greatest passion. Read more>>
Keera Belviy
Before founding Vital Surf Gear, I spent over a decade as a licensed cosmetologist, where I developed a deep appreciation for craftsmanship, problem solving, and creating experiences that genuinely improve people’s lives. Those same values eventually carried over into my passion for the ocean and surfing. Read more>>
Kadina Grant
This story is currently about my brand – TheCalmDownSpot ( TCDS) where we are not just for aesthetics but for Gods kingdom. I created TheCalmDownSpot when calming down my depression, anxiety, fear and many others by clinging onto Jesus. Read more>>
Vicky Garcia
My journey has taken me through four countries, and when I look back, every stop along the way has shaped the woman, coach, and entrepreneur I am today. I was born and raised in Venezuela, where I completely fell in love with sports. I was the kid who wanted to try everything. Volleyball, gymnastics, tennis, swimming, dancing… Read more>>
Aziah Kamari
Thanks for asking! My story is really driven by a deep love for creativity, storytelling, and the art of creation itself. For a large portion of my life, I was a full-time track athlete. I spent most of my time eating, sleeping, and breathing track. Read more>>
Ama Arnesen
I’m from Venezuela and I came to this country when I was 16yrs old. I have always lived in Miami except from 2007-2009 that I went to live in Chicago, IL where I did my 2 yrs of college and then came back to Miami and graduated from FIU with a Bachelor in Arts specializing in photography. Read more>>
Glenda Hernandez Quezada
My name is Glenda Hernandez Quezada, or as some know me, Glenda Alicia or Itsúri Tsari (which means bright hummingbird). I am an immigrant from Mexico and of mixed indigenous background. My family and I lived in a border town called Tecate and lived our early lives in Los Angeles and in the Miami Dade greater area. Read more>>
Phil Michael
My name is Phil-Michael, but most people know me as Kumo. I’m of Haitian descent and grew up in Miami. As far back as I can remember, music has always been a huge part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of playing my dad’s Haitian Konpa vinyl records, mainly Tabou Combo. Read more>>
Claudia Villalta
When I was little, around 5 years old, I remember my parents saying, “La Florida, en los Estados Unidos. Ayi, está Miami.” There was a war going on in Nicaragua at the time. I heard them talk about moving to Florida a lot. Read more>>
Annishka
Born in Miami, Florida, Annishka discovered her passion for music at an early age. Growing up surrounded by the rich sounds and diverse cultures of South Florida, she was inspired by artists who weren’t afraid to be original, authentic, and fearless. Read more>>
