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.
Kacie Bryant
The journey of LOCAL started back in 2017. Kacie and Tara had a mission of connecting the businesses in Clarksville with the local community by telling their stories through a page on Facebook and Instagram. Originally known as Clarksville Marketplace, popularity for the page quickly increased and the fun began. Read more>>
MAXX DBLX
MAXX DBLX is an East Nashville based artist, born and raised in the Music City. With roots in the local creative music scene, he began with a love for the arts early. Cultivated by all the sounds that make Nashville unique. MAXX debuted his music in 2020 with my first single titled ‘HIGH’. Read more>>
Kierra Agee
I am a creative, bubbly, caring, adventurous, and courageous individual who has grown through both challenges and self-discovery. As a child, I experienced bullying that deeply impacted my mental health and shaped how I viewed—and struggled to love—myself. For years, it was an ongoing battle to accept even the smallest parts of who I was. Over time, I found healing through self-expression. Read more>>
Samantha McCrary
When I was 6 years old my granny put her mother’s sewing machine in front of me and since then that’s all I ever wanted to do. It started my passion for clothes and seamstress work. Read more>>
Courtney Gatewood
The initial two chapters of my narrative are challenging yet crucial for understanding my identity and the journey that shaped who I am today. My upbringing was tumultuous. Read more>>
Paul Collins
I am a teacher trying to get my students to trust their own voices in order to make their own art, and a parent of kids whose beliefs differ from mine, and for whom I want the benefit of public libraries that contain the wisdom of the multitude. I am also an artist who has made large painted books for the last decade. Read more>>
Grace Smith
I started my jewelry-making journey back in August of 2024. My sister was a Dungeon Master for her group of friends, and she had created this entire fantasy world that I thought was beautiful. Knowing her birthday was in September, I randomly pulled up a YouTube video on circlet making, and thus began my tumultuous journey. Read more>>
Keona Gwinn
If you walked through my story, it would begin in the South by a family that poured love, faith, and resilience into me from the very beginning. My mother and father taught me strength through their sacrifices, and my older sister was one of my earliest role models. Read more>>
Francisco J Cabrera
I came to the United States when I was 13 years old with a simple goal: to work hard and build a better future. I started from the ground up, working as a dishwasher after school, learning discipline, responsibility, and the value of consistency. Read more>>
Craig Parman
I was actually an electrician for 25 years, and I found i had a passion for BBQ and started competing with a team, Boars Night Out. I wanted to open a BBQ business so i started a food trailer, and was also doing some catering, still a full time electrician. Read more>>
Octavius Davis
Thizzle Depot started from a deep appreciation for vintage clothing—not just as fashion, but as cultural history. I had been collecting for years before deciding to build a brand around it. Early on, I noticed most people approached vintage one of two ways: either as cheap resale or as surface-level nostalgia. Read more>>
Lindsay Loftis
I think I’ve always had a heart for wanting to know more of someone’s story and help others whether that was to be there to listen, support, or advocate. I have a background in social work, working with diverse population in community health, the school system, and the foster care system. Read more>>
Bobby Smith
Starting at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center (what a place to learn the ropes), then being part of the reopening of the The Hermitage Hotel after its historic renovation—that alone is a career highlight most people never get. And opening not one but two Cambria Hotel Nashville Downtown properties as Director of Sales & Marketing? Read more>>
Tom Ritchie
It’s funny looking back, because my path to Nashville wasn’t exactly a straight line. I grew up in Yorkshire (UK), rooted in a mix of Scottish and English heritage, and I think that’s where the ‘rebel’ in me started. Read more>>
Rachel Shiffrin
The why I started Escapely is simple: I’m an escape room junkie. I’ve played hundreds (maybe thousands) of rooms, including many by myself! Apparently after four back-to-back escape rooms, some people are ready to do something else. (I can’t offer an explanation, just reporting facts.) I’ve also tried a lot of the scavenger hunt activities out there, but none of them quite hit the mark. Read more>>
Grace Good
I’m a Nashville-based modern circus performer specializing in fire, aerial, and hula hoop performance for arena-scale live events, including halftime shows across the country. My path into this world has been anything but traditional. I first picked up a hula hoop in college just for fun, and something about it immediately clicked. Read more>>
Lauren Teel
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I could sing before I could talk, and by age 3, I was already making up songs and begging my mom for piano lessons. At 4 years old, a piano teacher finally took a chance on me, and that was the beginning of a lifelong pursuit. Read more>>
Devi Wolf
I’ve been seeing and speaking to spirit since I was a toddler. I’d always had ‘ghost friends’ and my loved ones who have crossed over communicated with me all the time. But I always thought that mediums were frauds because I could always take all the details that they were calling out for the audience. Read more>>
Jaimee Tennant
My photography journey began in 2021, right in the middle of COVID. I was in that strange in between phase after graduating, just trying to figure out life, work, and what came next. At the time, I was living in Savannah, Georgia, and went to visit my sister in Virginia. Read more>>
Ed Pettersen
I got very lucky. I had a solid job in corporate America in New York City and was just messing around songwriting in my free time when I met Scott Kempner of the Del Lords and Dictators at the local gym. We became pals and aa few years later roommates. Read more>>
Lawrence Smathers
Joined the US Navy as a Aviation Structural Mechanic April 1998. Worked on H-60 helicopters for the Navy till 2012. Stationed on the West Coast, Japan, Guam, & the East Coast. Switched to the US Air Force and worked on C-5 Galaxy cargo plane and KC-135 in flight refuelers until retirement in April 2018 with 20 years of service. Read more>>
Fabled FarmStay
We didn’t set out to start a farmstay — we set out to help animals. Fabled Farm Rescue & Sanctuary grew from simply saying “yes” when animals needed somewhere to go, especially the ones that didn’t have many options — seniors, medical cases, and those coming from difficult situations. Read more>>
Justin de Graaf
I moved to Nashville to chase music full time after years of writing, performing, and touring, but Party Down honestly started in a pretty funny and very real way. It came out of me getting married. I had played in wedding bands back in Toronto, so I figured booking a great band for my own wedding would be pretty straightforward. Read more>>
Anna Laboy
I started my cleaning business when I was 25 during a time in my life where I was really trying to figure things out and build something for myself. I knew I didn’t want to follow a traditional path or work for someone else long-term—I wanted to create something of my own, even if I had to start small. Read more>>
Daquan Beck
My name is Daquan I was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in Atlanta,GA. I attended Tennessee State University where I majored in Mass Communications with a concentration in Journalism and Broadcasting. I graduated in 2018 and started my media journey creating my own podcast during the pandemic. Read more>>
Dr. Carla D. Fulmore
Over the past 25+ years, I’ve built a career in marketing that spans B2B, strategic, and enterprise-level environments, including work within Fortune 500 organizations. My experience includes market research, direct marketing, and large-scale marketing strategy focused on helping organizations understand their audiences, strengthen their positioning, and drive measurable business outcomes. Read more>>
Kendra Love
I started doing nails in 2013. I’ve always had interest in art but never knew where to place my talent. One day, I had a friend that asked if I could try to do an acrylic set on her. So me being curious if I’m able, we went to Walmart an grabbed a Kiss Acrylic kit for $15 & I got to work. Read more>>
Sam Payne
I am a vector-based illustrator, variant comic book cover artist and pinup artist based in Nashville, TN who draws inspiration from comics and pop culture with a focus to vintage pinup art. I graduated from Nossi College of Art sometime back in the dark ages and pretty much immediately entered the world of print media as a designer and art directer. Read more>>
Suzie Kennedy
I started my musical journey when I was about 4 years old with piano lessons. From there, I grew up writing my own music, and have always been drawn to lyric-driven artists and storytelling. Read more>>
Lucie Tiger
I grew up in Australia and always knew I wanted to do music, but I don’t think I fully understood what that meant until I actually started chasing it properly. I was writing songs, playing shows, figuring things out as I went, and at a certain point, I realized if I was serious about this, I needed to put myself in the middle of it. Read more>>
Angela Redden
Some of my earliest memories are of hiding in the boxwood shrubs at the edge of our yard, completely lost in a book. My elementary school librarian introduced me to series like Henry Huggins, Romona Quimby, and the Wizard of Oz. I could spend hours completely immersed in those stories while hiding from the rest of the world. Read more>>
MERJ
Rob Foglia (guitar) met Mel Flores (drums) at a jam session a couple of years ago, then crossed paths with him again last summer at the same jam, this time also meeting Eddie Cartagena (bass). Around that period, Rob had connected with Jordan Frederick (tenor sax) at the Nashville Jazz Workshop. When the four of them got in a room together, it clicked immediately. Read more>>
