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.
Leslie Johnson
Over two decades ago I officiated my first ceremony and it was a beautifully formative experience. My profession at the time was in restaurant management and I also owned a small event studio, but the memory of that ceremonial evening remained strong. Read more>>
Oluwafunso Akande
Crystal’s Cakes is a Ramsey, Minnesota–based bakery specializing in producing and selling custom cakes, pastries, and baked goods that serve weddings, birthdays, graduations, showers, corporate functions, and community celebrations. Started in 2015 as a home bakery by Oluwafunso Akande. Read more>>
Yelty Koe
Yelty’s passion for acupuncture and Oriental medicine germinated as she experienced the great healing potential of these holistic modalities herself. Yelty decided to devote her career to inspire others by promoting healing through her education, intensive training, and her own experience of battling with a 16-year health crisis. Yelty sought various treatments ranging from well-established, conventional medicine to holistic medicine. Read more>>
Serenity Crego
Like many creatives, I turned to art to escape my reality. I’d spend hours just looking at paintings, dreaming that I’d make something half as skillful as what I found on Google someday. I created a ton of art that wasn’t ‘good’ (in the sense that it didn’t meet my expectations), but it was still therapeutic to create something. Read more>>
Kendra Olson
I worked at a large clinic system for about 12 years before I decided to start my own mental health private practice. Towards the end of my time at my previous employer, I started to see clients who were new mothers, became a mother myself, and took further trainings to increase my expertise in perinatal mental health. Read more>>
Brandon Bergeron
I began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) when I was in high school in hopes of becoming a UFC caliber MMA fighter. I spent a few years pursuing MMA, acquiring a pro record of 11 wins & 3 losses. Read more>>
Samuel Wilbur
My name is Samuel Wilbur. I started playing guitar when I was 16 years old because I was obsessed with The Beatles and I have been writing and recording music in various bands for the last 24 years. I started putting out a solo album every year once I turned 30. Each year the music and the production value improved. Read more>>
Nick Lawson
Worked on my own cars in the driveway from the age of 15. I then worked at a Ford dealership at 18 and fell in love with the customer service side of the industry. More recently I managed a small specialty shop in St Louis Park for 10 years and gained the experience to purchase and run my own repair shop. Read more>>
Jana Swenson
I’ve always had a heart for helping others. This led me first into a career as a pastor. After several years in that role, I stumbled into fundraising when the church I was serving launched a capital campaign. The owner of the campaign consulting firm we were using saw something in me that those in leadership around me (often men) didn’t: wisdom, leadership, and influence. Read more>>
Sandy Younger
As a young child, I was mesmerized by decorating dollhouses. Finding fabrics and wallpaper to enhance the rooms was a favorite shopping trip with my mom. At age 10, I turned to building forts in my backyard. Using crates scavenged from the nearby construction sites and nails provided by my dad, my friends joined me in building a carpeted ‘two-story’ fort. Yes…it leaked! Read more>>
Noel Mshihiri
My mom is the oldest out of 8, 4 boys and 4 girls, so growing up I was always around my aunts and uncles. My uncles, being uncles, always dressed me up in baggy clothes and threw chains on me for fun as I was their little science experiment. Read more>>
Amber Olsen
My wedding officiating journey began in the back room of a Mexican restaurant, where I officiated my first wedding ceremony in 2016. It was an emotional event for me, as I got to see a couple’s love celebrated with their friends and family with a ceremony that I created, as I told their love story. Read more>>
Ryan & Sam Langseth
Ryan and Katie Langseth owned Daylight Donuts in Breckenridge, Colorado for seven years. They decided that they wanted to move back home and raise their family in Minnesota. They bought Dave’s by the Lake in 2003 in the Normandale Lake Office Park, changing the restaurant name to Ryan’s Cafe’ & Catering. From there a family business legacy was born. Read more>>
Synnove Nieuwenhuis
The Jonas Center began as a vision of Jim and Lisa Jonas who believe all people from children, families, to adults should have the opportunity to obtain safe, confidential, and respectful mental health services. In 2005, The Jonas Center was created from the pair along with a group of therapists with a variety of backgrounds and specialties. Read more>>
Nikki DeMeglio
I was recruited in 1990 when Lenscrafters was expanding the 1 hour optical concept across the country. At the time I was working in the K-Mart garden shop and the rest is sort of history. I moved on to work for a large opthalmologist group, then to a small town independent optician, then to a hospital clinic system. Read more>>
Rachel Knutson
My Mother, May Kirmer Buckley was a war bride who came to America at the age of 19. She was a dancer at the Theater Royal in Dublin and brought with her the love and art of dance. She instilled this in me at a young age. Read more>>
Tiffany Sass
I started with a camera in my hand from a pretty young age. I vividly remember as a kid taking my grandparent’s point-and-shoot digital camera into the garden and photographing all the bees, barn cats, and prettiest flowers and rushing inside after to download all the photos to their desktop computer. Those photos really sparked my love of the photography process. Read more>>
Stan Wiebe
I started The Driveby Tourist in 2018 when I drove Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica. I enjoyed the trip and the blog I started, and I’ve kept it going. While I’ve completed posts about my trips around the US, I’ve got about 15 – 20% of my content about Minnesota. Read more>>
Joshua Espinosa
I first picked up a guitar when I was about 15 years old and fell in love. It was pretty quick that I started adding lyrics to chords, as I’ve always been something of a natural writer. Read more>>
Anisha Murphy
My life’s work is centered on the pursuit of economic justice—creating equitable systems that allow all communities, particularly Black and Brown communities, to thrive. For over a decade, I have dedicated my career to advancing equity, leading organizational innovation, designing transformative programs, and fostering partnerships that drive community-centered impact. Read more>>
Erica Bisbey
I began playing piano and singing when I was 5 and begged my mom to let me start piano lessons. I continued lessons throughout my childhood. I started guitar lessons at age 12 and began writing songs at 13. I formed my first band with my 8th grade girl friends. We played Sister Hazel at the talent show and totally rocked it. Read more>>
Ryan McGuire
I started working on Harley’s when I was twelve. I performed maintenance on my dad’s bike and would do repairs like clutch work, primary work, and cam work. As I got older, I started doing work on my dad’s friends bikes as well as my own; once I was old enough to ride. Read more>>
Leigh Pomeroy
My background is in the wine business and film business, but when I moved to Mankato with my wife for her job teaching at Minnesota State University, Mankato, I realized that my careers had no future here. I ended up teaching writing and film part-time at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and and freelance writing and editing. Read more>>
Michael Conway
As a child my grandparents were my daycare. My grandmother never had a drivers license and as a 9 year old boy I was tired of watching soap operas in the summer with her. My grandfather was a contractor and I asked to go to work with him. We did mostly residential exterior remodeling like roofing, siding, concrete etc. Read more>>
Kiki Williams
I would love to share my journey with you. I’ve always carried a deep sense of pride in living impactfully and showing up for others. This passion has influenced every area of my life, including my career. What began as a simple path in hairstyling and salon management quickly evolved into something much greater, a path to entrepreneurship. Read more>>
Mariia and Stan Shupikov
We lived in Europe for eight years. I gained experience in the confectionery industry, and my husband gained experience in the restaurant business, learning all the rules of high-quality service and product quality. My family and I now live in America and are happy to present our international and European desserts. Sweet 9 desserts are simple, straightforward, and, most importantly, natural. They don’t need any extras, complications, or embellishments. That would only ruin them. Read more>>
Menisha Mahan
So I made the decision in January of 2023 to start my own Wedding Coordination business and I named it SJR Coordination, which are my best friend’s initials who had passed away. It was a way for me to channel my grief into something positive! Starting a business in Minnesota is truly a fairly easy process; however, what you put into something is what you will get out of it- so those out there eager to do the same, if you have the passion for it, you can do it! Read more>>
Eileen Arcilla
Cinema Ballroom began in 2004 when professional ballroom dancer and teacher Eric Hudson and IT professional Eileen Arcilla decided to open a dance studio in the Twin Cities. At the time, Eric was teaching independently and Eileen was one of his students. Together, they dreamed of building a welcoming community of professionals and students who shared their love of dance. Read more>>
Jon Coty
When Jon Coty launched his modern collaborative design workspace in a 7,000-square-foot St. Louis Park locale in 2020, he knew he had a good thing going. Read more>>
