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.
Suthisa Krupinski
My husband, Joel and I started the restaurant since the inception with my Mom, On, that’s where the name came from, On’s Kitchen since 2009, My mom retired, then Joel and I took over in 2019. In between that time period, we operated a restaurant, Pad Ga Pow, in Downtown Minneapolis Skyway. Read more>>
SEE MORE PERSPECTIVE
Among my earliest memories are identifying as an artist and loving music. Read more>>
Alaina Herrmann
My name is Alaina Herrmann, and I am the owner of SELAH SKIN in Apple Valley, Minnesota. I’ve always loved helping people and making them feel cared for, which led me to pursue a career as an Esthetician. Over the past four years in the industry, I realized skincare is about so much more than treating the skin. Read more>>
Megan Mac
I always knew I wanted to be a hairstylist. Growing up, I was heavily involved in dance, and I loved everything about getting ready for performances. Hair, makeup, costumes, and the confidence that came from stepping on stage fascinated me from a young age. Being a second-generation cosmetologist probably helped too—beauty was always around me, and pursuing a career in cosmetology felt natural. Read more>>
Anastasia Boothroyd
I was two months postpartum in a long cold Minnesota winter, I need it to do something for myself, I started looking for jobs but it didn’t make sense getting a corporate job because the pay it was low and day care for 2 under 2 babies it’s more than the salary I would have made. Read more>>
Eric, Jessie Halverson, Siiter
Eric and I met working in a Mediterranean Restaurant on Grand Avenue in Saint Paul (Shish, it is still there, and fantastic! We highly recommend), while attending college, nearly 20 years ago. Falling in love with both each other, and the restaurant industry, we built our lives working in different Twin Cities restaurants in many capacities. Read more>>
Dada Zimic
I was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia and I’ve been outdoorsy since before I could even walk. The outdoors was always a huge part of my life. I am a domestic bounce survivor so for a long time my father controlled me and took me outdoors away from me. I started struggling with my mental health and wanted to end my life. Read more>>
Landon Hudson
Where do I begin haha. I started doing theatre at Connection Point Church in Raytown, Missouri when I was about 9 or 10. We would do christian musicals, and I vowed to never sing solos in them, but to have speaking lines was enough. Read more>>
Kelly Asplin
Over the last 20 years, I slowly became interested in holistic health. I’ve worked as an oncology nurse for 18 years now and became interested in ways of supportive my cancer patients in other ways than just pharmaceuticals. I learned about the power of energy work such as Reiki, nutrition, acupressure, etc. Read more>>
Mark/Andrea Petersen/Eichmann
THE PEOPLE’S PATRIOT PROJECT started with a simple observation: there are thousands of organizations, resources, and programs available for veterans and first responders, yet many of the people who need them most either don’t know they exist, don’t know how to access them, or become overwhelmed trying to navigate them. Read more>>
Kylie Higby
My story really started long before I ever officially worked behind the chair. I grew up around beauty, creativity, and the salon environment in a very natural way. My mom, Becky, has been in the beauty industry for over 25 years, so I spent my childhood watching her build relationships with clients, express her creativity, and help people feel beautiful and confident. Read more>>
Michelle/Ralph Horovitz/Nuara
Forma Clay came together the way a lot of good partnerships do — through a shared studio and a shared itch to build something more. Michelle had always been a hobby potter with a background in business and leadership, and she knew she wanted to open her own studio one day. Read more>>
Abbie Kenyon
I’ve always been drawn to clothing, costumes, and fashion. I love texture and dimension, love the history of various regional garments, love how an individual can express something about their self with how they dress, or how an actor can convey an essence with costume. Read more>>
Trisha Hayden
My professional journey began more than 25 years ago as a registered nurse, where I had the privilege of caring for patients through every stage of health and illness. Working in traditional medicine gave me a deep appreciation for the life-saving advances of modern healthcare and the important role it plays in treating disease and acute medical conditions. Read more>>
Ashley Tappendorf
I began my career in nursing and spent the last 15 years caring for patients, which taught me so much about compassion, connection, and what it truly means to make people feel cared for. Read more>>
Alicia Peters
We are the Millstream Arts Festival — an outdoor juried art show since 1982 featuring original works by local and regional artists: drawings, paintings and prints; hand-crafted jewelry; high-end photography; hand-thrown pottery; custom leatherwork; upcycled art, glass, woven textiles — a kaleidoscope of colors, textures, shapes. We also host a “Bookend Literary Arts Tent,” with works by local authors and poets. Read more>>
Ruth Albee
Ruth Albee and Austin Jordan met while working as practitioners at Functional Patterns Minnesota, where we helped people improve posture, movement, chronic pain, and overall performance. One of the foundational ideas FP promotes is reconnecting people with nature through practices like grounding and earthing to support nervous system regulation and overall wellbeing. Read more>>
Eliana Blumenthal
I started at Aveda Institute Minneapolis in 2015, and graduated their Esthetics program in 2016. My first job was kind enough to provide continuing education where I learned how to perform dermaplaning, peels, light therapy, and many other modalities. Due to my hours worked and continuing education I was able to procure my Advanced Practice Esthetician license. Read more>>
Dale Lewis
After leaving my career as an electrical technician and machinist, I had time to explore three-dimensional art. I began making traditional mosaic sculptures and enjoyed the results. However, they are not well suited for permanent installation outdoors and cannot withstand the freeze/thaw of our harsh Minnesota winters. So, in 2010 I bought a welder and started experimenting. Read more>>
Sheryl Tegtmeier
In August 2015, I turned a lifelong dream into reality by opening Stony Hill Gifts & Home Decor. After spending most of my adult life in the retail home décor industry, I wanted to create a store filled with unique, affordable gifts and home décor that would help people celebrate life’s special moments. Read more>>
Heather Strand
I was born in rural northeastern Nebraska and in my town of less than 600 people we had a massage therapist. I started getting massage in early high school and was fascinated by how it could help people. Read more>>
Jeremiah Groff
I am a classically trained musician and composer. I started out playing cello at 10 years old, and started composing soon after, when I got the chance to write music for a school play. I graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in music composition. While I was in school I wrote music for various student films and video games, and theater productions. Read more>>
Jon Quijano
I grew up in Bismarck, North Dakota. I don’t know, I’ve always been artistic. I liked drawing and recording little songs into the boombox in the 80s. My dad was artistic, a photographer, so maybe that’s where I got permission. My grandpa on my mom’s side also loved cameras. In North Dakota what I did was play music. Read more>>
Courtney Bell-Duncan
I am Dr. Courtney Bell-Duncan, a child of God and follower of Jesus Christ, wife of Charles Duncan, and an emancipatory educator. Born in Kankakee, IL, raised in North Minneapolis by my mother alongside my sister and two brothers, I was developed as a systems-level change architect and educational thought leader at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Read more>>
Tori Hey
I am a NYC-based Freelance Ballet Dancer. My dance training began at 3 years old, inspired by my Grandmother who was an Acrobat. My parents had no idea that those early days of Pre-Ballet classes would lay the foundation for the trajectory of the rest of my life, but once I started dancing I never stopped. Read more>>
Rachel Anderson
I started my career in communications when I was just 14 years old. I was a competitve tennis player at the time and was interviewed for a feature article in my community newspaper. During the interview I let the reporter know that I was interested in journalism as a career one day. Read more>>
Katelyn Zamora
The basket business started as Joanna’s Collections in 1991. My mom’s love for the craft turned hobby, turned profitable business. 32 years later, the business is still thriving, but it looks a little different as my brother, Jesse Schutt, and I look forward to the future and where we want to take this thing. We opted to rebrand as Jo & Co. Read more>>
Matthew Terry
I got started in photography in 2004, at the age of 16 when I received my first film camera. I instantly fell in love with the ability to slow down the world and document my surroundings in a way that spoke to me, and hopefully spoke to others. Read more>>
Cassie Roland
I never imagined I’d own my own business or lead a team. My leadership journey didn’t begin in business, it began in childhood. Growing up in an unstable family required me to mature quickly, make difficult decisions, and become someone others could rely on. Being one of five kids shaped me in ways I didn’t fully appreciate until I became a business owner. Read more>>
Allison Zank
I started as a lab scientist, but research services at my facility were shut down during the pandemic. I love to work and create, and found myself working in vegan and organic personal care product manufacturing. Around that same time, I found myself living with my grandcat Cabbage, a tuxedo cat shaped roughly like a turkey. Read more>>
Kate Simmons
As a teenager and young adult, I experienced first-hand the profound impact complementary therapies could have. Chiropractic care, myofascial release, and massage did great things for both my physical and emotional wellbeing. I considered a career in chiropractic care, but fell into Digital instead. After nearly two decades in corporate spaces, I felt that old longing coming back. Read more>>
Leah Holmes
Leah Holmes <leahlynholmes@gmail.com> 10:01 AM (2 hours ago) to me Leah Lyn Holmes started her performing journey at the age of three. Growing up in Minnesota with her close friends and family, it started in the dance studio, after taking inspiration from her sister, dancing before she was eligible. Read more>>
Berit Ahlgren
Dance was my whole world growing up, it’s where I found my body and my voice, and I built an entire career around it. But for almost 20 years, I was also teaching Pilates and yoga all over the Twin Cities, driving from studio to studio, exhausted, underpaid, and honestly a little burnt out. Read more>>
Jessica Olson
My name is Jessica Olson, I am a cottage baker in Blaine, MN. I have lived in Blaine most of my life, I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have three children, my daughter Ceci is 12, my son Cooper is 9, and my youngest son Colt is 5! Read more>>
Kimberly Von Bank
I grew up on a farm in a small town in central North Dakota with majority of my time being spent with my twin sister, Stephanie, and my older brother, Marc. Some of my favorite childhood memories are being outdoors—building forts in the trees, riding bikes through our trails in the sunflower fields, and spending countless hours exploring nature. Read more>>
Michele Beardsley
I attended the Musical String Instrument Repair program at the Red Wing Technical College immediately after high school. I went on to work for a prominent Minneapolis repair shop for the next 25 years where I learned a lot and gained huge experience, which is everything in this field. Read more>>
