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.

DJ Boywife

Love this story so much actually. Basically I had a twitter mutual for years and years and randomly he posted about having a DJ gig here in Cincinnati. I went and finally got to meet him, but it came with a funny twist. Read more>>

HELDER DE ANDRADE

Hello, My name is Helder De Andrade, originally born in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1984. My story starts around 13 to 14 years old when I started to have curiosity about crystals, herbs, natural magic and natural treatments. Read more>>

Paris Bourn

My journey isn’t a typical one. I didn’t have a grand dream of fashion as a kid, and in my early years I didn’t practice design beyond sketching. I had no one who was in the field I desired, and I never knew where to start. One day, I heard that designing could be a career, and I ran with it. Read more>>

Nathan Meister

I’m a visual artist based in Columbus, and the creator behind The Anvil Bear. I’ve always wanted to make the world more interesting, magical, and fun. I have found a way to do that through my art. I have always been rather eccentric, and have enjoyed many different types of creating. Read more>>

Kingsley Conkle

Some of our earliest memories include watching our dad hold band practices in the basement or play three-hour shows from behind his drum kit at a local bar, as well as tagging along with our mom to rehearsals at church. Even our great-grandparents were quite musical. Read more>>

Crystal

I wanted a business that my children and I could run so I bought The Ice Bucket at the end of 2019 with hopes of opening in 2020. This was right before COVID hit so we had a delay but were given the green light to open in June of 2020. Read more>>

Mason Pavlos

My first memory of music might honestly be my first memory, period. I’m a baby in a car seat in the back of the car at night, and Alice in Chains’ ‘Again’ is playing. Metallica’s ‘One’ came soon after. Read more>>

Sanjeethi Anand

I am Sanjeethi Anand, a high school senior from Gilmour Academy. During high school, I started NeuroKnow, a neuroscience and brain-health newsletter and outreach initiative. My interest in neuroscience goes back several years. As I learned more, I became fascinated by how much researchers have discovered about the brain and how much remains unknown. Read more>>

Kevin Milligan

Milligan’s Maple Syrup is a family owned and operated company founded in 2014 by Kevin and Mike Milligan at the bequest of Jana Milligan (Mom’s know best). Milligan’s Maple Syrup is carefully crafted from maple sap to pure maple syrup with no other ingredients added. Milligan’s Maple Syrup is produced in small batches to provide optimal taste for customers. Read more>>

KJ Weaver

KJ Weaver also known as Tha KeeMan began as a online persona sharing dance videos and occasional comedy skits online which then eventually led to music ventures and award nominations. Read more>>

Francesca Miller

Art has been part of my expression for as long as I can remember. As if I was just born with the interest already engrained in me. Watching my uncles draw and paint as a kid definitely fueled the interest. As early as six years old, I started trying to draw cartoon characters from observation. Read more>>

Louis Key

As a young kid, I always had a love for journaling and writing poetry but never thought that it would equate to me making music. In 2020, I booked my first studio recording session with a great friend of mine and ever since then I fell in love with the art. Read more>>

Phillip Strickland

I’m Phillip Strickland, but onstage most people know me as Mr Phil. I’m a clean comedian, host, and the founder of MPSC Entertainment LLC, based in the Columbus, Ohio area. Before comedy became a major part of my life, I spent about 26 years serving with the Canton Fire Department as a firefighter and paramedic. Read more>>

Sophia Zegarelli

When I was a kid, I started sewing here and there, but eventually stopped after my sewing machine broke. When COVID happened I found myself with a lot more free time and decided to pick up sewing again. Since then, I haven’t stopped. Getting back into sewing was the best decision I’ve ever made. Read more>>

Hannah Ellsworth

My dad and I used to talk about how much we would love to run a campground together. It was something we could picture and get excited about, but I don’t think either of us really believed we would ever get the chance. Read more>>

Ashis Dhakal

I was born in Beldangi Refugee Camp in Jhapa, Nepal. My parents were displaced from Bhutan and had to start their lives over in the refugee camp. They went through a lot of uncertainty and hardship, but they always wanted a better future for their children. Read more>>

Xavier Bennett

My name is Xavier Bennett, I’m a content creator and artist from Lorain, Ohio. I grew up surrounded by music, art, film, and different cultures through my family, which inspired me to start creating at a young age. I explored everything from drawing and photography to filmmaking, violin, writing, and eventually recording my own music by age 12. Read more>>

Lauren Voss & John Panza Arms & Armour

Lauren and John have built more than a band over their 18 years of collaboration, a kind of musical marriage. Arms & Armour has existed and evolved over its 15 years, morphing from a vocal/guitar/drums band into the electronic, sludgy monstrosity it is today. Read more>>

Franchell Smalls-Lewis

FSL Services began when I was a mother of two with another baby on the way. I wanted to use my skills to build something meaningful while creating flexibility for my growing family. My faith was central to that decision, and I truly see this business as something I created in partnership with God. FSL stands for my name, Franchell Smalls-Lewis. Read more>>

Kisha Ray

I am a Massage Therapist & Esthetician. I service a lot of celebrities & professional athletes. I also have an apparel & shapewear line ‘Ray Of Beauty’ where we cater to women of all shapes & sizes. It all started for me back in 2013. I was working a bank job that wasn’t consistent & decided I needed a career change. Read more>>

Kalvin Owens

I started off making EDM music freshman year of high school. I always rapped, but didn’t take it seriously until junior year of high school when one of my friends in class heard me reciting a poem and invited me over to make a rap song together. I did it in one take and haven’t looked back since. Read more>>

Kailyn Zatchok

BECK+PALM actually started with me making growth chart rulers! A friend invited me to participate in a vendor event, and I decided to bring along a few onesies with the word “loved” on them. They sold out within minutes, and that experience opened the door to something I hadn’t originally planned. From there, I started making more shirts and onesies. Read more>>

Andrea Bucey-Tikkanen

The town of Hudson has had a Peace, Love and Little Donuts shop for close to a decade, and while we lived in Hudson for virtually all that time, we had never even entered the shop! We thought donuts were a breakfast thing and we ourselves often skipped breakfast. We had NO IDEA! My husband Tom and I got burned out in the business world. Read more>>

Samantha Kirsch

I grew up in Perrysburg and moved around a bit before my parents’ divorced when I was 8. We moved back to the area and I spent a lot of time with my grandparents who were from Maumee. As a kid, I loved to be creative, acting, drawing, writing. I was a good student and loved to be in school and learning. Read more>>

Jill Morenz

My degree is in interior design. After working for another designer for a few years, I started my own business, which I ran full-time for about 3 years and then transitioned it into a side hustle for about 15 years. During this time, I moved to Cincinnati and worked for a couple of nonprofits as my day job. Read more>>

Brittany Landefeld

I’m a Southern California native, and wellness has always been part of my story. I went to college intending to become a dietitian, and that curiosity about how we care for our bodies never left me. My Pilates practice began in 2008, but it didn’t truly change my life until 2015. Read more>>

Tiara Schaffter

Hi I’m Tiara J a singer/Songwriter from NE Ohio. I started writing after I lost one of my best friends in a car accident in 2014 and I had an intense experience of feeling his presence the night he passed. Read more>>

AR!YAH

I’ve been singing since I was three years old. My mother placed me in voice lessons at a very young age. I would sing at church events and school talent shows. This helped me slowly gain confidence and overcome my stage fright. I wrote my first song in fifth grade. Read more>>

Zachary Lamothe

My journey as a writer began in 2011. Prior to this, my main creative focus was music- playing in bands in my home state of Connecticut and then in the Boston area. After a question mark in my career path, I decided to pursue something that I loved: writing. I began as a journalist for a small newspaper in the town of Wellesley. Read more>>

Dr. Lynn Luna Jones

Dr. Arcangela Wood and Dr. Lynn Luna Jones are psychologists who have been colleagues since 2003, and opened their private practice in 2013. They have offices in Chagrin Falls and Hudson. It has been their mission to provide high-quality, comprehensive mental health services. At present we have 37 clinicians, including psychologists, social workers, counselors, and school psychologists. Read more>>

Kailei Brown

Every part of my journey has truly been a testament to just how good God is and how He will make a way—always. My story really starts with 14-year-old me during my freshman year of high school. I knew I wanted to be my own CEO one day; I just had absolutely no idea what I wanted to be the CEO of yet, lol. Read more>>

Velia Ochoa Ramos

I was born in Columbus, Ohio, to immigrant parents from Durango, Mexico. Although Ohio has always been my home, I was baptized in Kyle, Texas. I grew up alongside my twin sister, Braylia, my younger sister Tanya, my youngest sister Kimberly, and my brother Oscar. When I was seven years old, my parents divorced. Read more>>