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.
Barbara Bullard
My first career was as a high school Art Educator, a calling I thoroughly enjoyed for 26 years. It was gratifying to work with the extremely talented students who came through my classes, but even more satisfying to kindle the spark of creativity in students who did not realize they had the ability to make and appreciate Art. Read more>>
Jimmy Cahill
At the age of 41 and in the interest of health benefits, I was a regular at our local gym. During one session I noticed a flyer promoting a ‘Reality-based Mixed Martial Art Street Fighting System’…color me intrigued! I began my Kenpo journey under Grand Master Brian Oakes and became his first Black Belt in his newly developed system. Read more>>
Debra Sunderland
Growing up, believing that I had to be the best at whatever I did-from academics, to being a violinist, running track, international sales manager, starting a business and selling it-to being a competitive cyclist while homeschooling my children- My life was always about winning, achieving, and never failing-this meant I didn’t rest much. Read more>>
Steve Stern
Started entertaining at 15 years old in hometown of Fairmont, WV. Worked in Morgantown while at WVU, then moved to Pittsburgh and earned BS degree in Clinical Psycholgy, with minor in Statistics. Did solo act and played in several bands covering the tri-state area, performing original and cover tunes. Moved to Nashville 4/01/1993 to work on songwriting career. Read more>>
David Kumm
I was born and raised in Miami. My dad’s American and my mom’s from Chile. They split up when I was about five, so I grew up with my mom in Miami. That city shaped me in every way. I loved the seafood, I loved the water and the ocean, and I was surrounded by so many different cultures. Read more>>
Niki Green
My journey to become an Aesthetician started many years into adulthood. As a high school graduate I went straight on to traditional college. As I married fairly young and started having a family I put traditional school on hold in the hopes that I would come back to it. As you might’ve guessed… Life had a different plan. Read more>>
Jackson Stewart
I was born and raised in Memphis Tennessee, I had always had a love for music thanks to my dad and a love for fashion thanks to my mom. I had never considered either as genuine interests though until a little later in my life. Read more>>
Colin Poulton
I grew up in a musical family and started playing guitar when I was 13. I was initially inspired by progressive rock and heavy metal, as I got older I played in punk bands while also taking jazz guitar lessons. I moved to Nashville in 2008 to attend Belmont University where I studied Commercial Guitar. Read more>>
Tiffany Yates
I started massage school in 2009 and graduated in 2010 from Southeastern institute. I got my license in September of 2010 and have been working in the field since then. I spent the first 2 years working for a few chiropractors before I moved on to more of a spa setting atmosphere. Read more>>
Dustin Scaccetti
Apprenticeship…Journey to Becoming A Chef My story begins with my alumni, the Culinary Institute of America. I was groomed and trained by the finest chef instructors America has to offer , in 3 week classes, which featured cooking techniques mostly based in the fine cuisine arts/ French cuisine. But also explored the cultural context and cuisines of the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Americas. Read more>>
Larry & Toshya DeRossett
Larry has been doing renovations since he was a teen and built a thriving business in Illinois. He relocated to TN and started doing renovations in the Brentwood/ Franklin area. When Larry met and married Toshya that relocated the business to Mt. Juliet. Toshya’s background is in healthcare and non profit work and focused on helping people. Read more>>
Suzanne Wing
What began as a simple curiosity about the bizarre experiences I’d had throughout my life has unfolded into my life’s work. I never imagined that peeking into past lives—or rather, parallel lives—would be relevant or helpful. At least, not until a pivotal moment in my therapist’s office changed everything. Read more>>
Sherry Martell
I was born in North Carolina in a small mill town in 1946. When I started high school I knew I’d have to leave home to further my education and make a living.. During high school I worked selling shoes. I guess that set a pattern in my life in sales. I moved to Canada, went to school to become an executive secratery. Read more>>
Heather Dawn
From a very young age, I have been able to see the unseen. Sometimes that looked like visions of light beings or shadow forms, other times it came through prophetic dreams, waking visions, or a deep sensitivity to the auric and energetic fields of others. Read more>>
Rachael Farkas
With over 20 years of experience working with children with Autism, as a special education teacher and in ABA settings, I’ve seen firsthand how insurance limitations often leave families without the full support they deserve. I founded Mindful Voices Autism Consulting to bridge that gap and provide customized family support for children impacted by Autism. Read more>>
Sonja Carney
I actually started out doing taxes for a small finance company. That’s where I realized how much I enjoyed helping people make sense of their finances and feel confident about their money. Once I became certified, I decided to branch out on my own — and in August 2007, I started what’s now known as AuthentiQ Tax Service. Read more>>
Chelsea Blackford
When I was about 16 years old, I had a horseback riding injury. That very day I went to the Chiropractor. Fast forward to newly married, 22 years old and I was still seeing the Chiropractor multiple times a week as well as doing physical strength training to try to help my original injury area. I felt that it was getting worse, not better. Read more>>
Bernice Davidson
This is a story about a hero’s project. Which was started in the year 2007 while doing a 15 year profesor ship at Martin Methodist college in Pulaski TN. After serving as a profesor of art for many years I was asked by members of the rotary club to help rebrand the city of Pulaski. Read more>>
Lindsay London
We always had a vision for a sophisticated, regal, mature coffee house instead of a coffee shop. Somewhere that felt like grandpas living room with the finest coffee. We wanted somewhere the community could leave their home and come to our home with warmth and superb hospitality and to also feel seen. And we did that. Read more>>
Rachel Deffendall
I have been a nurse for 22 years, and a nurse practitioner for 11 of those years. I graduated from Cumberland University cum laude with a Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing (BSN) in 2003. As a RN, I had prior nursing experience in a multitude of areas, including ER, medical ICU, surgical ICU, cardiovascular ICU, pediatric ER, and cardiac Cath lab and special procedures. Read more>>
Porcshea Crawford
Legacy Hauling, LLC began with faith, family, and a shared vision to build something lasting. My husband had already spent over ten years driving roll-off trucks, so when the opportunity came for us to become business owners, it felt like the right next step. Read more>>
Taylor curtis
I have been a nurse for 22 years, and a nurse practitioner for 11 of those years. I graduated from Cumberland University cum laude with a Bachelors of Science degree in Nursing (BSN) in 2003. As a RN, I had prior nursing experience in a multitude of areas, including ER, medical ICU, surgical ICU, cardiovascular ICU, pediatric ER, and cardiac Cath lab and special procedures. Read more>>
Garrett Ramos
I started a moving business with some buddies going into my freshman year of college. At this time, I was going to school in South Jersey. We wanted to be able to work in college while still having a flexible schedule built around our classes and other priorities. Read more>>
Katie Bullington
My journey with StorPlace of cool springs actually begins about 2008 I am very grateful and feel very blessed to be part of this organization I think it’s important to state that I am a Christian and store place has Christian values and that’s important to me God and family first. Read more>>
Elizabeth Lamberth
My journey with photography began in 2021, when I purchased my first real digital camera. I had a one-year-old and was pregnant with my second, and I was obsessed with taking photos of my daughter! The cell phone just wasn’t cutting it, haha. Once I got my hands on the camera, I fell in love with learning all the ins and outs of photography. Read more>>
July Peguero
I started shortly after I moved from my hometown in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to Tarrytown, New York, in October 2003. I realized how difficult it was to adapt to a new country, with a new language and a totally different way to go about everything. And at 21 years old, I didn’t have any money or connections, not even a college education. Read more>>
Sofia Myers
My story began during my senior year at Tennessee Tech, where I was studying civil engineering. I had told myself if I was going to get a job I’d only work in fields that sparked genuine curiosity — and coffee was one of them. Read more>>
Matt Hudson
I started my career at Fox a couple of years out of college, where I worked as an advertising executive for nearly a decade. During that time, I gained a front-row seat to the evolution of media and saw firsthand how rapidly the advertising landscape was changing. Traditional media was becoming less dominant, digital platforms were exploding, and audiences’ attention was becoming increasingly fragmented. Read more>>
Kaliana Chrisman
I was raised by my grandparents who did a lot of traveling so I made it to a lot of places super early on in life which put this permanent travel bug into me. The more I traveled, the more I wanted to see and experience. Read more>>
Karis and Ruby Anderson and Vaughn
We’re Ruby and Karis — two best friends who have been baking side-by-side for as long as we can remember. Our cupcake journey began when we were just 8 years old, full of big dreams and even bigger imaginations. Read more>>
The Wanderings
What started as just another co-write quickly became something more. A duet that felt bigger than either of us. The next night, we played our song live at The Bluebird Café. The moment our voices met, something clicked. It was electric, effortless. That night, The Wanderings were born. Read more>>
Hollie Stockdale
The pivot into fuller doula work came during the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2020. I saw friends and family struggling, especially with breastfeeding and postpartum support, in part because medical professionals were constrained by distancing, fear, etc. I began by helping close friends and family with postpartum and breastfeeding questions. Read more>>
Elisabeth Constantin
The fact that my company, ABREO, has come to support Fortune-ranked corporations with some of the most high-profile C-suite exits in the country is somewhat ironic when you think about how my own American career journey started. I moved from Germany to the U.S. 13 years ago with nothing but a suitcase, my university diplomas, and less than five thousand dollars in the bank. Read more>>
Sam & Jess Gilbert
Jess and I moved our family to Hendersonville from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 2006, where I accepted positions at both Hendersonville High School (as an ELA teacher) and Historic Rock Castle. We moved into the caretakers house on Rock Castle’s property in 2007, and Jess began working at Rock Castle shortly thereafter. Read more>>
Gregory (Greg) Smith
I got my bar results on my wedding day, October 15, 1988. I was so excited about getting married that I didn’t care if I passed the bar exam…at least not on my wedding day. Upon completing law school at the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama, I started working for a small firm in Clarksville, Tennessee — just northwest of Nashville, but within the “Greater Nashville/Davidson County Area.” Read more>>
Christopher Armantrout
I met my wife in Arizona, and we have been married for the past 2.5 years. We just had our first new born 1 month ago and are excited to see our little one grow. Hollywood has nothing on how God wrote our story – covering over 100,000 miles between the west and east coast over about a year period. Read more>>
Kimberly Best
For years, I worked as an ICU and emergency department nurse, navigating life-and-death situations daily. The service, intensity, and immediate impact drew me in, but eventually, the suffering that people endured led to burnout. Read more>>
Kim Wheeler
I first became a notary over 20 years ago when I was a middle school bookkeeper. I wanted to help out staff and parents. Then 8 years ago I had a few life changes including a job change and a divorce. Being a single female making my way in the world was really hard. This is when I started doing more notary work. Read more>>
