The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Elijah Bell
What’s more important than what sets me apart, is what I hope to bring to the yoga community. I want to make it more accessible for people. All levels are welcome. Everyone has the invitation in my classes to challenge themselves or take it as easy as they need. I aim to give people the opportunity to be alone with themselves in the presence of others. Read more>>
Marie Brown
At this point I’ve been working on pottery for over half my life, that is a lot of thought devoted to just one pursuit and yet there is always something more to explore. Circumstance have dictated I try new techniques fairly often, I got hooked on clay in high school and after graduating from UW-Stout with my BFA in Studio Art (concentration in ceramics), I floundered a bit and ended up in a cubicle, 5 years later when the golden shackles broke I couldn’t wait to get my hands back into clay. I had no idea how or where to start, luckily a potter my friend knew graciously letting me use a part of his studio for a couple months, he fired cone 10 electric which meant so did I. Read more>>
Stephanie Hastings
There’s also constant pressure to prove ROI, especially in communications or brand roles where impact isn’t always immediately quantifiable. Throw on navigating leadership expectations and cross-functional collaboration, it can get rather complex. I will say that. in spite of all of the moving parts that we juggle, people like me stay in it because we genuinely love the madness – the pace, the pressure, the problem-solving. The wins may not always come easy, but when they do, they’re incredibly rewarding and a reminder of why we chose this path in the first place. Read more>>
Eric Burckhardt
The internal sales modo we live by is if your customer wants a truck load of rubber underwear you better find it for them. We are striving to do business with what you would call “old fashioned” customer service. Currently there is a crew of 10 of us that keep this place moving forward and I believe in offering more than just a job to my employees, we do what we can to offer a career. We offer benefits to our employees that include health insurance, disability, paid cell phones, paid time off, and a 401K with a match. When you have a small business in a small community, I think it is very important to offer a job that someone can spend their entire career doing. Read more>>
Laura Andrews
I think making art is a way of searching, opening up your senses and reporting back to your work and your audience about what you find out, which can make you vulnerable. I have had difficulties finding my way with my artwork when I let too many outside influences into my creative practice. Being true to myself, my subjects and my experiences has helped me be more in tune with the paintings I want to make, instead of the ones I think I should make. Read more>>
Bailey Fenn
After I graduated college, I moved up to Minneapolis to continue my education and get my MFA in Design and Technology from the University of Minnesota. While in school I have sound designed Troilus and Cressida, F*ck*ng A, Witch, and (upcoming) The Ferryman. Outside the program, I have sound designed Log Kya Kahenge at Lyric Arts and sound engineered several productions at The Capri Theatre. I plan to continue working as a Designer and Engineer in the Twin Cities after I graduate in May. Read more>>
Suchi Sairam
My dance studio Kala Vandanam was founded in 2022. Sharing dance with my students over the last 23 years is one of my greatest joys. Seeing them grow, gain fluency, and spread their wings is immensely gratifying. Several of them pursue their art seriously while developing careers in other fields and contributing to their community. Read more>>
Kimberly Niosi
Oh no it has not been easy, it is a lot of work and the ups and downs with the economy has a direct effect on interior design. People sometimes say to me I wish to be like you, you have such a fun job I chuckle. OH NO, IT’S WORK. I sometimes go on 2 or 4 hours of sleep, I can’t tell you when I had my last vacation. There are so many decisions, I may have approximately 50 to 100 decisions in just one shower alone times that by how many rooms, how many projects, and pretty soon you get the picture and yes infinite text messages and emails to get back to. some even at 3 am from a client wondering if they made the right decision on something it’s busy. Read more>>
Zero DarkSands
“Growing up, a lot of my family members made music as a way to bond over struggles, so being around in these environments helped influence my passion and interest for music early on. Since I was a little kid I ain’t lost that passion for music. I remember as a kid, my mom used to throw these house parties and I’d be chilling in my room upstairs listening to the music. I used to run down there and interrupt the whole party and put on a little mini concert when my favourite songs came on. I used to do little performances at school and when I would be at St. Joes and I sang in school choir. I would write raps a little bit then too, but back then I looked at writing like more of a pastime and a way for me to articulate my feelings growing up as a kid who struggled to accept emotions. Read more>>
Brittany Beninga
With groups I provide a virtual group therapy we call therapy Book Club where we take mental health books and self help books and we read one a month and then meet every other Tuesday to discuss and I help client’s to take the information they are gaining in these books and help them apply it to themselves and how to implement it within their own lives. My goal has always been to improve the quality of life of all of my clients. We all deserve to be happy and find peace in our lives. We should get the opportunity to be vulnerable, open, and connected in our lives, and our mental health should not hold us back. Read more>>
Melissa “Mei Mei” Abdouch
For example, I have partnered with the University of Minnesota Children’s Masonic Hospital to create custom cookies with oncology patients and donated hundreds of them to the pediatric oncology unit. I did the same for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Honored Heroes. I have been able to collaborate with other local companies to bring meals to patients and caregivers at multiple hospitals in Wisconsin and Minnesota. I have been a guest speaker at schools and on panels in classrooms. Most recently I was an honored speaker at our local Relay for Life. Read more>>
Mark Monson
From there, one store turned into a handful, then more. Making everything by hand was time-consuming and exhausting, so I partnered with a co-packer in Hillsboro, ND to help grow the brand. I also expanded the product line, introducing new flavors like our award-winning Jalapeño Raspberry Rum BBQ Sauce and the one-of-a-kind Lasagna Sauce — the only sauce in the U.S. created specifically for lasagna. At first, the Lasagna Sauce was slow to take off, and I almost discontinued it. I wondered if there was a reason no one else had ever made one. But I decided to give it more time — and over the years, it found its people! Today, it sells just as well, and sometimes even better, than my original pasta sauce. Read more>>
Cristina Flores
My cousin Carlos has been in the cleaning business for years. Carlos was subcontracted by a man named Ed, who was actually thinking about retiring. Ed valued Carlos’s dedication and wanted him to stay with the company because he was so familiar with the clients. Around that time, Carlos saw that I was struggling to make ends meet as a mom of four, and offered me the opportunity to purchase the company from Ed. I felt incredibly fortunate to be considered, and after some thought, I decided to go ahead and take the leap into business ownership. Read more>>
NicCole Weinberg
We’re just reaching the point of putting them in stores/shops. They can be bought on our website now. It’s been fairly smooth, because we haven’t been in a hurry. We took our time, had test groups for each new deck, crowdsourced ideas on tiktok and instagram to make sure we’re covering as many needs as possible. We’ve also partnered with Springboard as a fiscal sponsor so we can claim nonprofit status, which lets us give decks away to places like shelters and homeless programs. Our next big road is translating them into the words, and cultures, of the local needs. They’re not helpful if you don’t understand them. Read more>>
Shatara Donmore
Hello, so back In 2013 I decided to become a personal assistant. I grew up with a r&b singer from my home town, I decidef d to ask him could I work for him as his PA and he said yes. I worked with him for 10 yrs on and off. My job duties consist of so many varies of things like keeping his schedule, reminding him of things he had to do, picking him up from the airport, being at the studio with him for hours In sessions, being at shows with him doing whatever It Is that was needed of me and so much more. I also worked with another close friend as a PA for a dvd/show he had named nortorized tv. Read more>>
Jolene McLaughlin
One day someone asked me if I might be able to connect with their pet to help them with separation anxiety. To my knowledge I had never communicated with an animal before, but I thought, heck I’ll give it a try. The connection was clear but my trust in my experience was shaky. As the information came through, I shared it with their person. The next day their person texted saying that they did all the things that came through and their dog was much much calmer than she had ever been. This is where my journey into animal communication started. Read more>>
Trevor Skarie
The combination of TK’s recording studio, LVNDR Sound and Skarie’s design and print studio, Shred Design Co. is what makes Dirty Laundry Records possible. After years of writing and playing original music we learned enough skills to take on the entire recording and releasing process ourselves. TK built a recording studio in the basement of his home in Mankato. It created a space where we could record our own music the way we wanted it to sound. Skarie built a design and print studio in his home in St. Paul Minnesota, which created a space where all design and print related work could be done. Read more>>
Crystal Jensen
Right now, the hardest part is defining exactly what Candie Clouds is — and what it isn’t. When I first started, one of my big dreams was to have a trailer or a truck and pop up at fairs and events. But as I’ve grown and watched Candie Clouds take shape, I realized that’s not quite the right fit for us anymore. I want Candie Clouds to be so much more than just a fun treat you stumble upon at the carnival — I want it to be something special, memorable, something you seek out and want to support because of our values. Read more>>
Bailey Cogan
Some of our band mates left the band end of 2019 and Karl and I co-produced our album Portal Party when the pandemic hit and released that in 2021- Then I moved to new orleans for two years, and would come back here in the summer months to throw shows at a DIY space called the Bat Cave, missed the music scene and community here and moved back to minneapolis january 2024. This last February I put on a drag, puppet, music show with all original music at the Southern theater celebrating queer community and telling my story. Read more>>
Roe Family Singers
In the Spring of 2005 we were invited to play a show at the newly re-opened 331 Club in Nordeast Minneapolis. Kim liked the 331 so much that she approached the owner, Jarret Oulman, about the possibility of the Roe Family Singers doing a weekly residency there, and Jarret agreed. It became apparent pretty quickly, though, that we didn’t know enough songs to fill the evening, so we started inviting other musicians to join us on stage. Over the years, these other musicians became a part of the band permanently. Read more>>
Clayton Kettering
I worked for smaller framing companies for years got to a spot where I was a foreman for 7-10 man crews. Got into an arguement with my boss about how he ran his company got fired. This happened about 4 weeks before me and my wife’s first child and she told me I should just do it myself and run my own company. 11 years later 3 kids later here we are. Read more>>
Lynn Cornell
As for how I became involved in Save the Rookery: one evening in early 2021, my husband and I received an email forwarded from a neighbor in Rochester who told us about a great blue heron rookery (nesting site) just a couple of miles from our home. We had often seen herons flying overhead in the evenings, returning from a day out fishing, but hadn’t really thought about where they nested and raised their young each year. It turned out this rookery had been there for decades, known mainly to the immediate neighbors. Read more>>
Jill Rieken
One of the most significant challenges in recent memory was the onset of the COVID. Like many, I was engulfed by fear and uncertainty as the future of our cherished studio. The restrictions and unpredictability threatened the very foundation we had built with passion and dedication. There was a pivotal moment when the weight of these challenges felt overwhelming. I made a conscious decision to embrace a positive mindset. I reminded myself, “I can and I will make this work.” This shift in perspective was crucial. Read more>>
Sarah Vosen
In 2007, after completing school, I also was certified to teach AcroYoga. Becoming a teacher and gaining the ever expanding AcroYoga community was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I LOVE embodied play, and I love to travel, and AcroYoga facilitated both. But most importantly, it provided me with an amazing community of like-hearted people that have continued to provide me with loving support and the best friendships, even though the physical practice isn’t something I do that often anymore. This practice taught me how powerful and important trust, communication, community, and playfulness are to me, on and off the playground. Read more>>
Ava Godwin
My specialty product is my decorated sugar cookies but I also make cakes too! In my little town that I live in, there is not many bakeries or people who do specialty baked goods. To my knowledge, there is no one else who does the decorated sugar cookies in my town so that definitely makes me unique. I love that I get to bring something new to everyone. It’s so cool when people bring my cookies to events that involve a lot of people from our town. I also love getting to try out new themes for cookies. I have so many cookie cutters and I keep getting more. I basically have some for almost any occasion! Read more>>
Rian Mitchell
Finding pre-loved items has always been a part of my story – I grew up going to yard sales with my mom and in middle school my best friends and I would thrift argyle socks, polyester grandpa pants, and vintage Lacoste sweaters. I would always stop to examine free items left on the curb and may have done some dumpster diving to go treasure hunting. The thrill of giving second hand items another life has continued into my adult hood as I clothe my family and decorate my 50’s rambler home. Read more>>
Christie Larson
I was asked to join the Board of Directors at the Redwood Area Animal Shelter in the fall of 2024, and despite my energies saying I didn’t have the time with two little boys, a career, volunteering, and actively competing with my horse in the Reined Cow Horse Association, I kept hearing a voice tell me that I could really have potential here to make a positive impact that may have a rippling effect on the community and the animals in it. Read more>>
Mareon Prowell
Growing up we was broke as hell my pops wasn’t there and my mom was working 2-3 jobs at a time to keep us going I was fighting and also was fighting severe depression getting thru day by day of just you know not wanting to be here it took a very long time to break through that time in life it didn’t help with the deaths in my family and wrong friend groups I was hanging out with as a kid fighting thoughts seeing myself take my life or get hit by a car or getting shot this was something that was truly besides messing up my focus in music it was destroying my life around me Read more>>
Andrew Stecker
Yes & No. There is something to be said for what happens to you when you finally go after what it is in your heart to do. I look at pictures of myself from my older life 10 years ago and I think I look better now than I did then. I remember I always felt that I was searching for what I was meant to do. What my passion was. But never fully committing to that search. I was just existing. That struggle I would consider to be far more difficult than anything I’ve experienced since. Read more>>
Shannon Anttila
I was raised in northern Minnesota, specifically Brainerd, and for the last 30 years have lived in the Deer River area. I’m a married mother of a teen and preteen boy, and my husband and boys are my number- one supporters. My family has always been huge animal lovers; my mom fostered several dogs from a local animal rescue when I was young, which was a big part of my inspiration to start the animal rescue I co-founded seven years ago. Read more>>
Kari Maloney
As a mom and an entrepreneur. I love spending my days with my sweet little girl, soaking up all the precious moments with her, and I love using my bonus time to help other families or individuals soak up the season they are in as well. I officially launched Kari Maloney Photography in the Spring of 2024, and it has been a joy to meet hundreds of people and capture thousands of moments this last year. I’m excited to be walking into year number two. Read more>>
