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.
Natalie Pierson
I opened Vagabond Village ten years ago. It started out with a small vintage collection and a dream to support the underserved community through small business internships for young people and community partnerships. Vagabond Village has funded and hosted community sales and other fundraisers in support of Veterans, animal rescue, local unhoused support, student school projects, and youth entrepreneurial practice. Read more>>
Megan Derby
I am very much a ‘noticer’ I fell in love with film photography in high school — the grain, the process, the darkroom, and the magic of not quite knowing what you were going to get. I carried disposable cameras everywhere and was constantly creating ridiculous images with my friends. I just loved keeping memories, in physival form. Read more>>
Miz Diagnosis
Miz Diagnosis started on stage in February of 2026. She was crunchy, campy and creepy. What started as a delightful on-stage drag persona soon shifted into a digital débutante because of the Pandemi Lovato (pandemic). Miz then started sharing her drag journey through virtual green rooms, digital parties and social media. Until she came back out in-person at the tail end of 2021. Read more>>
info@pointcarebehavioral.com shakur
My journey toward starting Pointcare Family & Behavioral Health began through my work as a Family Nurse Practitioner. While working in pain management at HCMC, I quickly recognized that many patients experiencing chronic pain were also struggling with significant mental health concerns. Depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use, and other behavioral health challenges were often closely connected to their physical health and their ability to recover. Read more>>
Walied Khogali Ali
My story begins with family, community, and the experience of starting over. I came to Canada from Sudan with my family in 2002 as the eldest of six children. I watched my parents rebuild their lives from the ground up, and that experience shaped my understanding of how difficult it can be for families to navigate systems that are supposed to support them. Read more>>
Jessica Max
Started as a kid I had a fascination with acrylic nails at the time we only had regular polish and my collection grew as I got older these days go to for nail art and tools by time I got out of high school. I was a pro at doing my own nails, and I ventured onto friends and family Covid. Read more>>
Allasondra Akwa
It’s hard to say where I started because I feel like I am still in that ‘starting’ phase every day. I got my degree and began my career in broadcast journalism, before quickly realizing that local news was not going to fit. That was five years ago. Since then, I have worked in several different careers all in the Comms world. Read more>>
Twin Cities Flamenco Collective
Twin Cities Flamenco Collective (TCFC) was founded by McKnight Fellow Sachiko ‘La Chayí’ Nishiuchi, a dancer, in 2015. Cante (flamenco singing) is an integral part of the flamenco art form, along with flamenco guitar, dance, and palmas (rhythmic clapping). In the past, many artists in the MN flamenco community would often perform without cante. Read more>>
Brandt Belisle
NEEKS N BRANDT What started at Saint John’s University with two friends who simply wanted to DJ parties in exchange for a couple free beers has grown into a journey we never could have imagined. We created a social media page for our DJ duo and began posting videos from our college parties. Read more>>
Mark McGinty (from the band Lost Evidence)
Lost Evidence is a Minneapolis rock band known for their chaos, chemistry and crunchy riffs. Read more>>
Mourning Blooms
I grew up in a pretty musical matriarchal household but it was never something that really stuck out to me. Read more>>
Nicki McCracken and Eddie Hofmeister
ArtYouHeart is an online art shop and artist collective that we (Nicki McCracken and Eddie Hofmeister) founded to support independent artists, help their work reach a wider audience, and connect art with causes and communities we care about. We met in art school and have both spent our careers as graphic designers, so our lives have always been surrounded by artists, designers, and creative communities. Read more>>
Thomas Nelson
My name is Tom Nelson aka Midwest Miniature Guy’s alter ego. I’m an award winning miniature painter from Minnesota. My wife actually got me into miniature painting when we were newlyweds. This was back in 1999. In 2008, my job was eliminated at the company I was working at. Read more>>
Frannie Cardona
I’ve been drawing all my life. Since childhood, I’ve only ever wanted to be an artist. Drawing and making booklets and comics was my foundation that took me through childhood, into adolescence, and carries me throughout adulthood. Read more>>
Andrea Brady
Being a curvy, bisexual, mixed Filipina woman in the tattoo world wasn’t an easy road. I dropped out of high school at 17 due to severe bullying, but I knew formal school didn’t define my intelligence. Self-made and unbound by society’s rules, I set my sights on tattooing. I entered the industry in 2010 in Fort Myers, Florida—diving straight into a rough, male-dominated biker culture. Read more>>
Madison Amland
I’ve always been drawn to storytelling, live entertainment, and fashion, even before I realized there was a career that could combine all three. Early in my career, I worked at a variety of thrift stores, mall retailers, and live music venues, and I even started my own vintage clothing business. Read more>>
Amanda Clark
Since I was a little kid, I have always wanted to have my own little gift shop. In 2018 I decided to make that childhood dream a reality! Read more>>
YG SOLO
My journey as an artist began about two years ago, when I followed a friend to a studio session after leaving college. I went simply to support my friend, but that experience ended up sparking a passion and love for making music. Eventually, I decided to hop in the studio myself. Read more>>
Belle Mazurek
Hi, I’m Belle, and I’m from St. Cloud, Minnesota. I relocated here in 2023 after spending nearly my whole life in the Forest Lake area. I never started gaming with the intention of becoming a content creator. In 2019, I started playing Call of Duty because gaming gave me something to do from home. Read more>>
Naomi Witherspoon
Growing up, I’d always cut up my clothes that couldn’t fit and I’d restyle them. After graduating college I had extra free time on my hands. So I started revamping my clothes and shoes just has a fun side quest. At the time I was focusing my creativity on digital arts such as invitations, flyers and more. Read more>>
Sophia Spiegel
I had wanted to start a band ever since I saw Coldplay live as a kid. I remember watching the United Center in Chicago burst into little puffs of light across the crowd, thanks to thousands of light-syncing bracelets. Read more>>
Darnell Frazier
I founded Imperial clothing design company during the covid-19 era of 2020 as an opportunity to give myself a way out. At that time in my life I was struggling and making poor life decisions that I knew was only holding me back from becoming a better version of myself. Read more>>
Joe Virnig
Ive been competitively powerlifting for 2 years and recently set state records for squat bench and deadlift, and currently working with Bucked Up! I got here by getting started wanting to put size on for Football in highschool. I immediately fell in love with training and weightlifting. Read more>>
Suzie Voy
I’ve always had a creative side, but floral design began as a creative outlet, playing with blooms, colors, and textures. What started as a hobby slowly blossomed into something more as I found myself drawn to creating arrangements that feel whimsical, colorful, and full of life. Read more>>
Avé Edwards
I’ve always believed that, when words fail, music speaks the loudest. I started performing at a young age training with the renowned Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale, and then Temple’s Musical Theater program. Over the years, I’ve poured myself into writing, producing, and telling stories that many fear sharing but need to be seen. Read more>>
Ryan Burns
My journey into the wedding industry began when I was just 14 years old. I started by carrying records for Roger Maunders, owner of The Twin Cities Scene, which at the time was the largest DJ company in the Twin Cities. Read more>>
Aryy Taylor
I started braiding hair when I was in high school. I started doing my little sisters hair because we lived with our dad and he didn’t do hair well at all. Read more>>
Danielle Nicole Williams
When you hear the phrase ‘student with disability,’ what do you envision? A monster? A deformity? Do you ask yourself what is wrong, or do you feel pity? I felt every one of these emotions and more. I did not want my sons, either one of them, to be different. I still to this day look at society and want them to FIT IN. Why? Read more>>
Bill Williams
I was always a pro wrestling fan growing up. When I reached adulthood, my educational pursuits delayed my ability to seek out training to become a wrestler. But once the Academy School of Professional Wrestling open in 2016, I knew that was my opportunity. Read more>>
JUDY TRAN
The first time I stepped onto a driving range, I thought I was simply trying something new with a friend. I didn’t know that one swing would lead me back to a part of myself I had been missing for years. I was introduced to golf during a season when I felt disconnected from who I was. Read more>>
Lulu Ma
Like many other kids, I had always wanted a dog growing up. It took years of asking to convince my parents to visit the shelter, and that’s where I met Cooper. I completely fell in love, and he’s been my best friend ever since. Read more>>
Nathan Blomquist
Since 15 years old, I started selling Nike SB Dunks on Ebay but as I got older I really wanted to do my own brand. When I was 18 for my marketing research project instead of using standard companies for the project, I asked if I could do research to start my own brand and Common Apparel was the consensus after my research. Read more>>
Kashif Shakti
I began my acting journey in Philadelphia during elementary school with a role in The Wiz. From the moment I delivered my first line, I felt that acting was a gift from the universe—not just a way to escape the tough streets of Philly, but a driving force for a meaningful and purposeful life. Read more>>
Allison Steinke
The sun was beating down outside Tegucigalpa, Honduras, when our car came to a sudden halt. It was a high-risk assignment: I was a journalist on assignment to investigate drug and sex trafficking rescue operations in Latin America while co-leading a team installing clean water systems in one of Honduras’s remote villages. Read more>>
Tiffany Reiner
If you would have asked me years ago what I would be doing today, I never would have imagined I would become a dog breeder. Like many things in life, this journey wasn’t something I planned—it grew out of a love for dogs, a desire to build something meaningful for my family, and a willingness to work harder than I ever thought possible. Read more>>
Kari Fridgen
Photography has been a part of my life for a long time, but it definitely wasn’t a straight path to where I am today. I became a single mom at a young age and knew I needed to build a future that would allow me to support my daughter while doing something I truly loved. Read more>>
Nicole Linde
Sure, my creative path helped lead me to my psychic mediumship development. I was aware of my intuition growing up, often ‘knew things’ that I couldn’t explain. Also being a very sensitive empath, I was able to express my connection with spirit world through my artwork. I didn’t understand that I was channeling until later in my life. Read more>>
Sierra Liestman
I am an independent hairstylist, I started Hair by Sierra Elizabeth (HBSE) in 2023. I had worked in a commission setting for 2 years prior to that. I had the opportunity to start on my own and I leaped. I had started in a suite, which I loved at first, then I started to get lonely. Read more>>
Sarah Bloo
Art has always been my way of understanding and connecting with the world since I was a kid . Long before I called myself an artist, I was captivated by colors, textures, and the stories that could be told without words. Read more>>
Angelica Foster
My story as a photographer started in my parents’ basement, where I was constantly convincing my siblings to be my first models. Looking back, though, I think it really began years earlier. Some of my favorite childhood memories are sitting with my grandma, flipping through her family photo albums. Read more>>
Robin Crockett
I started Heaven Scent Home Cleaning over 31 years ago with just $20 and a determination to build a better life for my family. After years of running a service business, I saw firsthand how much time contractors wasted driving to estimates. Read more>>
Dan Wiemer
I have been painting since I was a kid. My father was a landscape architect who taught me how to watercolor. His favorite painter was Winslow Homer. I graduated from Iowa State University with a BA in Graphic Design. My career started as a Designer at a small Minneapolis ad agency and evolved to illustration for clients in the Twin Cities and Chicago. Read more>>
Victoria Ann
I’ve always been an entrepreneur at heart. Long before I knew what entrepreneurship meant, I was setting up little stands selling friendship bracelets at the end of my driveway and dreaming of owning my own creative business someday. As I got older, I started making handmade hair bows that eventually turned into an Etsy shop. Read more>>
Darcy Geho
I’ve always loved learning new things and then helping other people realize they can do them too. That started with my blog in 2018, PreservingMySanity.com, where I write about food preservation, natural living, gardening, and making everyday life feel a little more intentional. Read more>>
