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.
Brian / Ayleen Largaespada / Lanza
I had worked in the retro gaming field profesionally since 2014, and I had always had a passion for gaming since I was a child. I was working as a manager at a local game shop in Miami and was so good at it, that it just felt right to eventually start my own business and use those skills to bring nostalgia to everyone! Read more>>
Tara Hepburn
Since I was a young woman, people have naturally come to me seeking remedies, guidance, and a sense of being cared for. I have always felt a deep connection to the wisdom of the natural world and to the healing that can take place when we listen—to our bodies, our hearts, and our spirits. Read more>>
Giovani Hidalgo
I definitely didn’t take the traditional path into filmmaking. When I was in high school, I was a knucklehead. I got kicked out of a couple of schools, dropped out for a period, and spent more time hustling and running around than thinking about my future. Read more>>
Svenja Iglesias
A Little Piece of Germany in South Florida When I look back at the beginning of the German-American School of Fort Lauderdale, I sometimes wonder if I truly understood what I was starting. I knew I wanted to create something special. I knew there were families in South Florida who wanted their children to grow up with the German language and culture. Read more>>
Siouyari .
It all started when I was 13, I first got into music through an app called ‘Virtual DJ’ , At the time I thought that was the only way to produce music until I figured out about FL Studio and thats when things really got set in stone for me. Read more>>
Andrea Szapiro
I would say that my journey into wellness really started when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s at 17. But if I’m being completely transparent, I didn’t suddenly become health-conscious overnight. Shortly after my diagnosis, I moved to Italy for a year, and I fully embraced the experience. Read more>>
Priya Alexander Edelson
I grew up in Orlando, Florida, after my parents immigrated to the United States. From an early age, I was always drawn to science, health, and helping others, which ultimately led me to pursue a career in medicine. I attended the University of Florida for my undergraduate degree and later earned my Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies from Nova Southeastern University, graduating in 2022. Read more>>
Angel Torres
My story started as a swimmer mom. I first became interested in learning how to teach swimming because I wanted to help my own children feel safe and confident in the water. That became especially meaningful with my older son, Mateo, who is autistic and is now ten years old. Through him, I learned very early that every child learns differently. Read more>>
Holden Amory
I was born in Chicago but spent most of my childhood in Vermont. I started writing songs when I was eight years old, after a local singer-songwriter, Jon Gailmore, came to my third-grade class to teach a workshop on songwriting and composition. Read more>>
Gokce Saygin
After graduating from Istanbul Technical University with a degree in architecture, I moved to the United States to study sustainable architecture. Over the next fifteen years, while building arKIDect alongside my professional career, I worked at leading New York City design firms, contributed to major public-sector projects, and became a Design Manager at Amazon. But the real story behind arKIDect began much earlier. Read more>>
LaKeya Murray
My journey started long before KM Financial Services Inc. In 2003, I became a Certified Dental Assistant and spent 18 years working in the corporate 9-to-5 world. In 2016, I stepped out on faith and started my first business, Keya Monroe Lace. In 2021, I entered the tax industry under the mentorship of Candace Hill. Read more>>
JENNIFER LESLIE
My story did not begin with titles, books, crowns, or accomplishments. It began with a little girl who learned far too early how to survive. Some of my earliest experiences taught me responsibility before I was old enough to understand what responsibility meant. I grew up carrying circumstances that shaped my strength, my independence, and eventually my determination to create a different future for myself. Read more>>
Amelia Visbal
I’m a licensed esthetician whose passion for skincare blossomed from my own acne struggles. I started to struggle with acne since I was as young as eleven years old. My mom would take me to different dermatologist offices or skincare aisles in store, but nothing seemed to work. Read more>>
Priscilla Rojas
My story began in Venezuela, where I discovered my passion for storytelling and the power of audiovisual media at an early age. I studied Media Communications at Universidad Central de Venezuela and began working in television and film while I was still building my career. Read more>>
Charisma Adams
I am a native of Palm Beach County and started my career on the private side in financial services and construction before I ventured to the public side working in economic development for a congressional district. Read more>>
MARIA ARRIOJAS
My journey has been built around helping people turn ideas into real, functioning businesses. Over the years, I found myself naturally becoming the person people came to when they needed help navigating business registrations, licenses, permits, compliance requirements, administrative processes, and the many details that can become overwhelming when starting or growing a company. That experience eventually led me to create MGA Consulting Services LLC. Read more>>
Emi Guerra
I was born and raised in Miami, one of four boys, in a house with no ties to hospitality or nightlife growing up. My dad was a pharmaceutical salesman, my mom was a teacher. Sports and part-time jobs kept me busy through school. Read more>>
Raneem Abudagga
I started my journey in content at 16, when I got my first paid photography job shooting for a food truck. What began as something I genuinely enjoyed quickly turned into a career. Read more>>
Jonathan Bokobza
Email my passion for Construction started at a young age, I am French originally and used to do a construction from this and there mostly in real estate properties that I would flip. Read more>>
Alejandra Domínguez
My story is one of reinvention, resilience, and discovering that success becomes more meaningful when it creates opportunities for others. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where I built my career as an attorney specializing in family law and earned a master’s degree in civil law. Read more>>
Philip Cardona
My name is Philip ‘Phil the Mayor’ Cardona, and my journey has always been about building brands, creating experiences, and bringing people together. I was born in New York and moved to Miami in 1996 with big dreams and very few shortcuts. I started at the bottom, handing out flyers on Ocean Drive and working long nights in the hospitality and nightlife industry. Read more>>
Holly Niemela
My journey began in 1987, when I started studying the relationship between the body, mind and our capacity to live well. Over the years, I trained in yoga, meditation, bodywork, emotional intelligence and mindfulness, spending time in India and learning from teachers of the Dashnami tradition. Read more>>
Christian Lora
I never thought I was ever going to be a professional photographer. I bought a camera one day 6 years ago because I was serverly depressed. I needed some kind of outlet and I always thought photos were cool, so why not right? Even then I never wanted to take photos of people. I didn’t even want to talk to anybody. Read more>>
Alice Estrada
I am Alice Estrada, a Nicaraguan American filmmaker and artist. I wasn’t always a filmmaker, I’ve always considered myself an artist first. I attended New World School of the Arts for high school, where I discovered many of my creative passions, including painting, photography, animation, and other forms of visual art. Read more>>
Teffany Fragoso
I began my journey as an artist when I was a young child. I would spend all of my summers in the Dominican Republic, visiting my grandmother and she lived alone so she had no idea what an art supply store was and we had no access to paint. Read more>>
Priscilla Peete
I truly believe my story began with the family I was born into because they helped cultivate so much of the woman I am today. Growing up, I thought I had life figured out—as most of us probably did. Read more>>
Cristy Duran
My path has been anything but linear, and for a long time I thought my life was supposed to follow a very specific plan. I grew up in Miami, in the same home my mother was raised in, went to college, and eventually joined the U.S. Army, where I worked in counterintelligence. That experience shaped me in ways that still influence me today. Read more>>
Victoria Verdeja
I definitely did not grow up knowing I wanted to work in public relations. I actually started at the University of Florida as a civil engineering major. At the time, I barely knew what PR was. What is interesting in hindsight is that communications was already very much part of my family. Read more>>
Meshach Berry
My name is Meshach Berry and I’m a menswear content creator from Miami, Florida. My content can be found on socials under ‘Pieceofthepuzzlesc.’ I specialize in fashion content that can range from full-on streetwear to smart casual and suiting. By surfing the web, I was introduced to so many different forms of fashion and style. Read more>>
Cheyanne Cloonan
My story starts in healthcare. I always had a passion and school wasn’t my strong suit but I continued to chase it outside of high school and college where I landed my first role as a medical receptionist. Read more>>
Yianni Tsatas
My story begins with my own battle with drugs and alcohol. Addiction brought me to places I never imagined I would go, but recovery gave me the opportunity to rebuild my life from the ground up. I learned that change does not happen through words alone—it requires honesty, responsibility, discipline, and consistent action. Read more>>
Stephanie Flores
My passion for beauty really started when I was young. I remember going to the salon with my mom and loving everything about it – the chitchat, the energy, watching the stylists do hair. I was always drawn to that world. When I moved to Miami from Jersey, I started doing my friends’ hair for fun in high school. Read more>>
Alvaro Cabrera
My journey with cooking started when I moved to the United States for college. Living on my own meant I had to learn how to cook—because, realistically, I couldn’t survive on the McDonald’s dollar menu forever! But I think my connection to food started long before that. I grew up surrounded by great cooks. Read more>>
Zhane Washington
My name is Zhané Washington. I am 28 years old, born and raised here in Florida. I’ve been a Licensed Cosmetologist since 2018. I specialize in Natural Hair, Extensions, Color, and Treatments. I specifically sought out the kinkiest, most natural clients that no one wanted or even knew how to deal with. Read more>>
Ateliê Vivo
Ateliê Vivo is a Brazilian artistic collective of art, fashion and education that has been working since 2015 and is based in the center of São Paulo, Brazil. Conceived and coordinated by four women artists, Andrea Guerra, Carolina Cherubini, Flávia Lobo and Gabriela Cherubini, it operates on three main fronts: the Pattern Library, the Ateliê Vivo School and the Textile Laboratory. Read more>>
Rita Holanda
I was born in São Paulo, Brazil — a metropolis shaped by contrasts, diversity, art, and an extraordinary mix of cultures. Growing up in that environment had a strong influence on the way I observe the world, and I believe it continues to influence my creative process today. Read more>>
Hilda Rodriguez
Dahil Bar started in 2021 from my love for candles, fragrance, design, and creating beautiful things for the home. At the time, candle making itself was completely new to me, so I began teaching myself the craft; learning about waxes, fragrances, molds, temperatures, formulations, and all the little details that go into creating a beautiful, high-quality candle. Read more>>
Patrick DeCarlo
My path to becoming a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist began with community organizing and advocacy. Before I was a therapist, I was knocking on doors in the cold rain of Seattle, sitting on thousands of couches and asking people a deceptively simple question: What would make your community better? That experience shaped much of the therapist I eventually became. Read more>>
Tiger Solomons-Tibi
I grew up in Paris in a family that was half English and half French, so I have always had one foot on each side of the Channel. I went to an international school in Paris, then moved to London to study history, politics and economics at UCL, and stayed on for a master’s in conflict studies and international relations at the LSE. Read more>>
Dr. J. Shimon Rubinstein
I knew I wanted to be a chiropractor from a very young age. I grew up watching my father help so many people improve their lives, whether that meant avoiding surgery, becoming less dependent on medication, or simply getting back to doing the things they loved. Read more>>
Elvis Fuentes
I was born in Cuba and studied Art History at the University of Havana. My career began at the Ludwig Foundation of Cuba, Havana, in 1999, where I served as curator working directly with contemporary artists and organizing monthly exhibitions and educational programs, and promoting international new media, video and avantgarde art in Havana. Read more>>
Shaee Presume
Since I was young, I’ve always had a love for makeup. Even though I’d always get in trouble for wearing it! Read more>>
