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.

Nicholas DiGiuseppe

I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors and have had a desire to work outside. In high school we got to choose a. career for a mentorship program and I chose landscape architecture. My first job at 15 was at a landscape business and nursery that was behind my house. Read more>>

Kingg Lowkeyy

My journey has honestly been about rebuilding myself, finding purpose, and turning my vision into something bigger than just me. I’ve always had a creative mindset and entrepreneurial spirit, but life humbled me in a lot of ways over the years. Read more>>

Becki Chesnes

I started playing music in school band when I was 12. By the time I was 14 I knew I wanted to play flute professionally. By the time I was 17 I knew I wanted to run my own company. At age 19, I moved to LA to attend USC’s world renowned music program. Read more>>

Ronnell Elkins

Born & raised in Youngstown, OH. I always wanted to be an entrepreneur and community advocate. My journey into shared mobility began with a family vacation in Washington DC. I believe transportation should not be a barrier to opportunity. Growing up in Youngstown, I saw firsthand how limited access impacted people’s ability to grow, thrive and explore. Read more>>

Gretchen Whitehead

I took my first jewelry class at the Toledo Museum of Art when I was young. Twenty-five years later, my work is sold inside it. It started earlier than most people know. My dad had an orthodontic practice and I worked inside the lab, using small tools, polishing, learning the satisfaction of careful handwork. When I took that class at the museum, something clicked. Read more>>

Brian Canale

DeVore’s Hopocan Gardens was started by my grandparents Helen & William DeVore in 1944. Barberton is known for its Serbian Style fried chicken, which we are part of this heritage. With the large factory base in the mid 1900’s. Barberton Chicken became a family tradition on Sunday’s after church. Read more>>

Sierra Shelhorse

I’ve been an artist my whole life, so creating has always been a part of who I am. Right out of high school, I found myself really drawn to nails because it felt like the perfect way to take my creativity to the next level, like painting on tiny canvases. Read more>>

Dusan Simic

My story really started with a love for storytelling, music, technology, and visual media. I always believed that great creative work should not only belong to major studios or big-budget companies. That idea eventually became the foundation for 2immersive4u. We started in Northeast Ohio, in the Cleveland area, with a focus on music videos, 180 and 360 content, animation, and emerging technology. Read more>>

Nicole LaMar

I started Universal Mobile Bears of Central Ohio in 2019, originally mirroring the original Universal Mobile Bears (New York). I received some mentoring from that business to get started, thought the business are officially unrelated. I started pretty small with a single stuffing machine, making stuffies at birthday parties and small festivals. Read more>>

Chad Kauffman

My father came up with the idea for an all-in-one disposable cat litter box. At first, I thought it was a terrible idea for several reasons, including the potential for leakage, the weight of the litter, and the high cost of shipping. My main interest was building an e-commerce business focused on a direct-to-consumer model. Read more>>

Shelley Fredricey

I have been doing photography for a long time. I was first introduced to it as a child by a dad in our neighborhood who would take all of the kids on photo adventures. I also took it as a project in the 4-H program, and I developed and printed black and white images in high school. Read more>>

Kimberly Kyler

The Journey of IlluminaQuest My path to where I am today has been a journey of moving from survival to sovereignty. For the majority of my professional career, I navigated the worlds of staffing, marketing, and consulting, with a primary focus on sales. Read more>> 

Paul Abbey

I grew up in Bradford, Pennsylvania, surrounded by trees, though at the time, I probably didn’t fully appreciate how much that experience would mean to me. It became more evident after I graduated from The College of Wooster. I then moved to Cleveland and began a career in Investment management and along the way obtained an MBA. Read more>>

Kathryn Schwab

I started my career as a school psychologist, where I worked closely with children, families, and educators navigating learning and mental health challenges. That experience really shaped the way I communicate and connect with people, and it gave me a strong understanding of trust, clarity, and how overwhelming it can feel when someone is searching for help. Read more>>

Leah Curtis

I have done hair for 14 years and enjoy what I do but art is such a passion. I began praying for the Lord to direct me on how to bring these 2 things together. I thought of creating a space where artists can sell their items and host a class, while I still have space to take care of my clients. Read more>>

Zachary Thomas

I’m a 1999 Regional Golden Glove champion and 1999 national Golden Glove participant who turned professional shortly after not qualifying for the 2000 Olympics. I started helping one of my boxing coaches run his Boxing for Fitness classes for 5.00 dollars a hour and did that for a little over a year. Read more>>

Kristina Gorr

The amount of journals that filled the bookshelves of my childhood bedroom is uncountable. I am wired to write and have been passionate about it since before I can remember. Yet, somehow, it wasn’t obvious to me. I entered The Ohio State University as a deer-in-the-headlights freshman with “exploration” as my major of choice. No, it did not mean I wanted adventure. Read more>>

paul Wood

I grew up in Medina Ohio and after college moved to Rochester, NY, Rockport, MA, Old Orchard Beach, ME and finally Biddeford, ME where I renovated my 1865 farmhouse. After 30 years away from home, I discovered that you can go home again so I returned to my beautiful hometown. I bought a storybook house that I had admired as a child. Read more>>

Lisamarie Pietragallo Moreschi

Like a lot of people in healthcare, my journey started with frustration. I spent years working as a Nurse Practitioner watching more and more people struggle with symptoms that weren’t being fully explained by conventional answers alone. Read more>>

Gia Rossi

Hi guys my name is Gia! My story starts as young as growing up watching my dad being a body builder, my brother being into fitness and my mom loving fitness as well. I was always surrounded by it. After loosing both my parents, my life was feeling shaky and I got very into yoga at the time. Read more>>

Kelly Kanicki

What started as a simple hobby during COVID quickly became something much bigger for Kanicki Jewelry Co.. While spending time at cattle shows, I fell in love with the timeless beauty of Navajo pearl jewelry and genuine turquoise pieces. During COVID, I decided to learn to make my own jewelry. Read more>>

Anastasia “MsPrettyB “

As an artist and entrepreneur, my journey began with my skin care brand- Lillie m Collections in 2020. While many only saw beauty on the surface, I understood that beauty and wellness are deeply connected. So, I studied wellness alternatives, and started building a brand that helps others feel restored on the outer. Read more>>

Andy Eschenbach

I started tattooing in 1999 after an apprenticeship under Gerry Rigsby and Tim Reed. After a couple of years at Queen City Tattoo, I went to work for Dana and Dot Brunson at Designs by Dana Tattoo. Read more>>

Patrice Allen

Music has always been a part of me, but for a long time I kept it personal. I grew up around church and worship music, and singing became one of the ways I processed life, emotions, faith, and healing. Over time, I realized music wasn’t just something I loved it was how I expressed the parts of myself I couldn’t always put into regular conversation. Read more>>

Paulina Montaldo

I was born in Chile and moved to Ecuador when I was seven years old. We moved because my father was a diplomat for the Chilean government. From an early age, I was drawn to storytelling and journalism (my father and my grandfather were journalists).. While still in high school, I was involved in my school newspaper and was always looking for stories to tell. Read more>>

Lytoni Brown Beckham

name is Lytoni Brown Beckham, founder of Speak Into the Light, a Cleveland-based nonprofit that I started in 2011 with a focus on community empowerment, youth development, and neighborhood resilience. My work began from simply seeing the gaps in my own community — young people needing guidance, families needing support, and neighborhoods needing investment that truly included the people already living there. Read more>>

Renate Fackler

With a degree from The School of Journalism at The Ohio State University, I enjoyed sculpting as a hobby. However, at the age of 30, I had a hysterectomy for pre-cancer cells. That event caused me to turn my interest to sculpting full time, which I have pursued with a passion for the past 41 years. Read more>>

Drew Simri

Providing a safe and affirming space for LGBTQIAP+ folks is what led me to pursue a career as a mental health therapist over a decade ago, and it’s been my true north ever since. Read more>>

Steven Foley

My journey with book reviewing, which has evolved into book influencing, started back in 2009. I was mysteriously sent a physical ARC (advanced review/reader copy) of Carolyn Turgeon’s Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story. I remember being so confused at how, and why it was sent to me. I never requested it, nor had I even heard of the author before. Read more>>

Karen Hadden

Many people in my community know me through The Helicopter Daughter — a boutique centered around self-care and wellness for those navigating cancer, chronic illness, and anyone dealing with overwhelming or difficult life seasons. The business was born after the loss of my parents, both of whom I cared for through serious health journeys — one battling chronic illness and the other metastatic cancer. Read more>>

Nicole Dixon

I’ve had a camera in my hands since elementary school. I studied fine arts and photography at CCAD (Columbus College of Art and Design), started my business in 2003 and have been photographing full time ever since. Read more>>

Derek Wilson

Hi, my name is Derek, and I have a problem: I can’t leave broken things alone. Think of me like an HR-safe Ray Donovan. I uncover what’s being left on the table and turn it into measurable solutions. I’m still not sure if that’s a gift, a business model, or something that requires a prescription. Read more>>

Jennifer Might

I started in the autism field when I was just 21 years old, at a time when the incidence of autism was still considered relatively rare and far less understood than it is today. Back then, there were fewer resources, fewer answers, and often lower expectations placed on autistic individuals. Read more>>

Betsy Billingsley

In 1996, when I was still in college, I had a friend who was working part-time at an oldies station in our small town of Lima, Ohio. I thought it sounded like fun and he got me an interview. Read more>>

Savannah Mack

It all started when TJ moved from working in Texas up to Akron to be with Savannah, who was getting her degree from the University of Akron — they lived down in the Valley with a balcony overlooking the Cuyahoga, and TJ asked a simple question “Do you want to float the river?” Read more>>

Cynthia Slee

I’ve had a lot of interruptions in my life, but I can’t quit music. It’s in my DNA. I learned to play guitar at the age of twelve and had dreams of being a rock star in my late teens. My parents, however, had other ideas for me. They said I needed to go to college and get a real job. Read more>>

Devon Moore

Growing up I’ve always been into fashion , wearing what I like not what’s the latest trend or what’s hot. In middle/high school friends & people often came to me to buy my shoes, clothes or to freak they shoe strings. 5 years after graduating during the covid pandemic I decided to do my own thing & make my own clothing line called DirtyMoney216. Read more>>

Stacy Owen

Copper Moon Studio Gallery & Gifts started in 2006 from a simple idea that art should feel welcoming and bring people together. I’ve always had a passion for creativity and handmade craftsmanship, and I wanted to create more than just a traditional art studio or gallery. Read more>>

Finley (girlgonemissing) Winters

I started as a kid writing songs on my dad’s work notepads, I’d write love songs to my crushes and fantasize about performing them for them. Once I turned 13, I spent the summer working for my grandma to afford my first acoustic guitar, and never put it down since. Read more>>

Steve Sosebee

It started at Kent State University, more than three decades ago, when I was a college activist working for human rights in Palestine. I was invited on a fact-finding tour of the occupied territories on winter break of 1988, and was very moved by what I saw there. Read more>>