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.
David Barkley
I grew up in a baseball family. That was our world for years — practices, tournaments, weekends at the ballpark. But when I was ten, I realized my heart wasn’t in it anymore. I wanted something that challenged me differently, and that’s when I discovered martial arts. Read more>>
Angelo White
Hi my name is Angelo White. I am a 30 year African American male born and raised in Detroit, MI. I currently reside in Texas. I have been a licensed barber since 2015. I started cutting hair to have freedom over my life and to help people. Read more>>
Yuri Noh
Music has always been at the heart of my life. I’ve been fascinated by its power to express emotions that words cannot, to comfort, to connect, and to bring joy to people. In 2012, I came to Texas with nothing but my violin and a desire to study music more deeply. Read more>>
Ashley Collie
Licensed midwife and mother of three, Ashley founded Haven Birth & Wellness in 2020 under the name Hill Country Birth & Wellness. Her journey to birthwork came about from her own childbirth experiences; they were not traumatic but they were not what she wanted. Ashley started as a doula supporting childbearing families in the Richmond, VA area. Read more>>
Carlos Nazario
Carlos Nazario is a Business Coach and Tax Strategist and CEO at TAX-Man Consulting. Carlos is a licensed CPA in the State of Texas. He also holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Puerto Rico. He has more than 30 years of experience dealing with complex tax situations in different scenarios from Mom and Pop shops to Fortune 500 clients. Read more>>
Adam Handelsman
Adam Handelsman: From New York Hustle to Austin Harmony For decades, Adam Handelsman thrived at the intersection of culture, media, and communication. Born and raised in New York City, he built his career in the fast-moving world of public relations, where quick thinking and bold storytelling were the keys to success. Read more>>
Kelsey Taylor
I was fired from my job after having an affair with a coworker. I was at a loss on how to repair my marriage and provide for my family. I wrestled with confidence and depression. Who would want to hire a broken person like me? A friend reached out and asked me to do an Enneagram training for his department at Central Texas A&M. Read more>>
Amanda Nuckles
In 2019, a dream to open a paint-your-own-pottery/fused glass business in Lampasas was planted in my heart. When I shared my idea with my husband, he said he would support me if it could be an ice cream shop too. I have to admit that I initially thought his idea to merge the two was a dumb one. Read more>>
Kevin Kinkade
I became involved with the Texas pagan community, the Council of Magickal Arts and the Burning/Man Flipside community in the late 90s here in Austin. One of the people who played drums with us around the revel fires had a business selling DVDs of his erotic art movies and one of his former models helped me find talent and also became my director of photography. Read more>>
Javier Jara
Javier Jara plays both originals and renditions of classic Latin American tunes influenced by the troubadour and Canción Social Movement. In 2022, Javier Jara won the New Folk Kerrville Songwriting Contest, becoming the first Spanish speaking artist to do so since the festival’s inception (1972). Read more>>
David Brown
I started high school with aspirations of playing college baseball. Went thru the primary and first 2 years of high school in the E.A.N.S school district living in shady hollow and graduated from lake travis. Getting a small incentive to play ball at conconcorida University i moved to campus, however with in 6 months my focus gravitated towards playing music in a small touring band. Read more>>
Virginia Sampson
I graduated from the university in my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. – the University of Pittsburgh. I had lived a home and attended college because that is what my parents could afford. I got married and started a family. I thought I wanted to follow a traditional path of being a full time mother. Read more>>
Callie Counterman, IBCLC
I founded Mooch Lactation Co. in September of 2023 after seeing a need for inclusive and individualized care in the Greater Austin Area. At Mooch we believe that neither your zip code or financial status should inhibit your potential for receiving lactation support. Read more>>
Sara Rudin
I actually discovered baton twirling by accident! When I was six years old, I found my mom’s old batons in her closet. That little discovery led us to find out my aunt had been a nationally ranked twirler. From that moment on, my sister and I were hooked. I started out twirling with a group, then moved to Texas where I focused on solo competitions. Read more>>
Laya Pouresmaeil
My journey with design began long before it became a business — it started as a heartfelt hobby, rooted in love and creativity. I was born and raised in Shiraz, a city known for its poetry, gardens, and beauty. For 28 years, Shiraz was home — and it was there, at just 18 years old, that I discovered my passion for event design. Read more>>
Kennadi Sheppard
When my mom was diagnosed with cancer when I was a senior in high school I knew I wasn’t in the right head space to go through college, which was my plan all along. I had been searching for alternative schooling options so I could do SOMETHING with my time and not just sit around. I stumbled upon esthetic’s and cosmetology. Read more>>
Chemise McCain
After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, like most graduating seniors, I was uncertain about my next steps. I wondered if I should move back home to Houston, head to New York, or maybe go to grad school. It was definitely a time of exploration. Read more>>
Veronica Ratcliff
Odd Roots was born from a mix of nostalgia, courage, and a deep love for connection. Some of my favorite childhood memories were spent camping every summer at a place called Odd Fellows along the Russian River in Northern California. Those summers were simple and magical — surrounded by redwoods, campfires, and the same families we reunited with year after year. Read more>>
Brett Pritchard
I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was nine years old. My grandmother once took me with her to her lawyer’s office, and when I asked what a lawyer does, she said, ‘a lawyer helps people.’ That stuck with me, and from that moment on, I knew what I wanted to do. Read more>>
Cyril Kuhns
I started teaching myself to tattoo in 2012 when I was in high school in Austin. Nowadays it’s pretty common to find self-taught artists working in shops, but at that time it was still very taboo to be a “scratcher” and I avoided mentioning it to other tattoo artists. Read more>>
Daniela Archibong
I think my connection with cards began long before I ever picked up a tarot deck. As a kid, I would play rummy with my mom and grandma and spend hours with a deck of playing cards — solitaire, building patterns, and watching how chance and intuition intertwined. Read more>>
Sonja Cousar
My Story — From Shame to Strength: How God Called Me to Serve My name is Sonja Cousar, and my journey to helping youth began with my own story of brokenness, redemption, and purpose. There was a time in my life when shame, rejection and struggle defined who I thought I was. Read more>>
Brett Nelson
My husband Brett Nelson started the business from a small amount of items his parents had purchased at a ‘start your own small business seminar’ in the late 90’s. Read more>>
Kelly Reyes
Results Weight Loss & Med Spa began as a small but powerful mission, to help people in our community regain their health, confidence, and joy through a specialized ketogenic weight-loss program. What started as a successful local wellness which quickly grew as we witnessed incredible transformations, and the need for continued care. Read more>>
Leigh Davis
I’ve always been drawn to all things arty and Austin. A lifelong lover of film and television, I’m endlessly inspired by the magic of visual storytelling, especially the kind that comes out of our fiercely creative Austin film community. Read more>>
Ashley Bowling
Ashley Bowling, Co-Founder + Editor-in-Chief of EASTside Magazine, Travel Writer, Founder of Locals Know ATX Food Tours If you told 2006-me that I’d someday be herding three kids to and from practices, running a women-led creative team, and brining people together through food tours, I would’ve politely asked what you were smoking. Read more>>
Laurie Marchant
I pursued an art degree, and I had planned to go to grad school for art conservation and restoration, and I was interning at the Cooper-Hewitt design museum in archives. Read more>>
Edward Chandler
I’m originally from Jackson, Mississippi, a place that taught me resilience, faith, and hustle. Growing up, I faced a lot of challenges, from being surrounded by poverty and violence to figuring out how to rewrite my own story. After graduating from Jackson State University, I decided to take a leap of faith and move to Austin, Texas. Read more>>
Kimberly Plafke
Hi! I’m Director of Operations & Culinary of Radius Butcher & Grocery in Austin, where I blend creativity with my whole-animal ethos and turn overlooked cuts and bones into sausages, charcuterie, ready-to-eat goods, beauty products, etc. Before becomming a chef, I grew up in a Jew-ish family (lots of big briskets, lamb, tons of different chicken preparations. Read more>>
Erika Barczak
Both Spruce and my personal design career started around the same time but didn’t collide until 4 years ago in 2021. While I was starting my journey as an interior designer in Houston, two women started Spruce primarily focusing on upholstery and sewing. How I came to own Spruce is quite a story! Read more>>
Caleb Sanchez
I actually started right out of high school, thanks to a little luck and a great teacher. My senior year at W.B. Travis High School, I caught a case of “senioritis” and ended up in detention with a new teacher named Mr. Platt. Read more>>
Shannon Healy
Before I became a massage therapist, I was working as a caregiver for the elderly for about 5 years. I have always enjoyed and found a lot of value and purpose in helping people, specifically one-on-one. Desk jobs have never appealed to me… the structure of my brain and the structure of a 9 to 5 do not share much in common. Read more>>
April Winder
In 2018 I decided to take charge of my anxiety and took a weeks approach at the ‘Yes’ method. I spent a week saying yes to every opportunity that was presented to me wether I wanted to do it or not. Read more>>
Lindsey Thorne
My father was a graphic designer, illustrator and photographer and taught me how to use his film cameras when I was 16. I instantly fell in love and never looked back. I received my BFA in photography at the Savannah College of Art and Design and initially thought I wanted to go into fashion photography. Read more>>
Jennie Albano
When my daughter was a newborn, she was a champion eater…until she wasn’t. Suddenly, what was once easy and relaxing became frustrating and stressful for all of us. In those early months, I was also dealing with postpartum anxiety and OCD — something I didn’t really even have the words to describe accurately at the time. Read more>>
Ashleigh Hakes
It’s been quite a journey to get here. There are many pieces and my story is one that’s woven with ceremony, community, and a deep calling to live in harmony with the Earth. Read more>>
