Rising Stars: Meet Brad Hester of Northside

Today we’d like to introduce you to Brad Hester.

Hi Brad, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I started pinning insects in the summer of 2021, From there I started doing expos and markets to sell my pinned art! I started traveling all over the east coast and Midwest from Baltimore to Chicago etc! Eventually early 2023 I had an offer from a landlord who suggested I should open a shop and that kinda put the idea in my head a few months later I started putting forth effort and finally got a store opened in September! Fast forward to the beginning of 2024 we were outgrowing the shop we were at and found a new space in Northside and by just we moved to Northside! I still travel and I travel a lot my employees work the shop while I do expos and pick antiques and what not!

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s had its ups and downs! Started out just for fun messing and turning a dream into a business is never a smooth road (unless you’ve done it 1000x). I think the hardest part is always finding the location and all of the paperwork stuff!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am an insect pinner/ self taught entomologist! My specialty and what I’m known for is spreading butterflies/ moths of all kinds usually putting movie backgrounds in the frames with the butterflies!
What I’m most proud of is the community that I’m building with my art and my store! I always love seeing people’s faces when they buy my art

What sets me apart is really as simple as my drive to work!

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
The most important to my success has been the push to keep growing and going forward! Traveling and doing expos to get my name out as well!

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.beardoscuriosities.com
• Instagram: Www.instagram.com/beardoscuriosities
• Facebook: Www.facebook.com/beardoscuriosities