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.
Nicole Miller
My name is Nicole Miller, I’m originally from West Des Moines, Iowa. I moved to Nashville after high school to attend Belmont, where I went to school for a year before dropping out and pursuing music full time. I was a singer/songwriter full time for years; working on songs for other artists and putting out my own EP ‘Lonely On the Weekend’. Read more>>
Maggy Wheeler
I grew up taking pictures of everything. My dad was an incredible hobbyist photographer. When I was about 13 he gave me his old Nikon film camera that he used for everything. We went on photo taking adventures regularly. Once the film was used we would then take the film to get developed and he would give me feedback on the prints. Read more>>
Bradleigh Tsironis
When Covid hit and wiped my calendar clean, I found the time to do something I’d been wanting to try for a long time — watercolor painting. I started painting Bible verses and inspirational quotes to send to people who were feeling anxious, and soon people were placing custom orders. Read more>>
Satya Faye
My journey as an artist has really been a journey of remembering myself. I’ve always been deeply drawn to creating, to nature, to adornment, and to the little bits of magic hidden in everyday life. Leela.Devi grew from all of those pieces of me. What began as creating with my hands slowly became something much bigger.. Read more>>
Koya Bell
So much has changed since my first feature in 2022. At the time, I was navigating life as a newly self-published children’s book author and full-time entrepreneur after stepping away from a career in healthcare. Since then, life has taken me in directions I honestly didn’t expect, but I’m grateful for every part of the journey. Read more>>
Eve Greenberg
My relationship with photography was first born when I was thirteen during a photography elective in Hawaii. Living there, I would have my mom take me on long drives so I could photograph the natural landscaping in all its natural glory and beautiful lighting. Read more>>
Amy Hoskins
I am a visual artist and writer creating with disabilities from my home studio in Nashville. I grew up in Georgia. I was born in 1964. I experienced a lot of trauma growing up that affects me to this day. I have art therapy, gardening, and I teach a garden class one day a week to K-4th grade after school students. Read more>>
Heidi Espey
My passion for skincare really began with my own skin. Throughout high school and college, I struggled with severe acne, so I understand firsthand how much your skin can affect the way you feel about yourself. After college, I joined the military and was stationed overseas, but my interest in skincare never left me. Read more>>
Ellie Stein
Before I even went to college, I knew that interior design was the path I wanted to take. I interned for an amazing interior designer that I grew up next to in Birmingham, AL, in high school, and I never looked back. I went to Auburn University, and my major was basically decided for me at that point… Interior Design wasn’t even a question. Read more>>
Janet Petrell
My journey into using zipper teeth as paint, began in 1979, as a challenge in 4-H to recycle a common household item at would be thrown away after it’s intended use was fulfilled. Read more>>
Taylor Shuck
I got started as a banjo player when I was 10 because my father wanted to learn the instrument. It turns out I was pretty good at it, and I kept it up pretty much constantly ever since. Read more>>
Hayley Mckay
I’ve always sang since I can remember. My first professional stage performance was when I was 9yrs old and I was selected to play a young Marylin Monroe at Her Majesty’s theatre in London’s west end. My Mum was a well respected hair stylist in London at the time and I remember her doing my hair and making my dress. Read more>>
Lucas Hoge
I grew up in a tiny town in Nebraska with a population of about 44 people, so music and the outdoors were both a huge part of my life from the very beginning. I grew up hunting, fishing, working hard, playing music, and dreaming about things that probably seemed pretty far away from a little Nebraska town. Eventually, those dreams brought me to Nashville. Read more>>
Jennifer Haston
I’m a quilter. I have a deep love for making. I follow my curiosity for figuring out how to turn one thing into another thing. My parents stressed the importance of taking care of yourself. This included skills like sewing, cooking, and growing things. My father grew up on a farm in Arkansas. At night the family came together and helped to make quilts. Read more>>
Gabby Culpepper
It’s quite interesting looking back and seeing where it was always just a part of my DNA. Home videos will show you that I demanded to hold the camera documenting life. As I got into high school, I saved up enough money for my very first DSLR, and I began planning sessions with my best friend in our local flower fields. Read more>>
Prisca Mojica Rodriguez
I was born in Nicaragua but raised in Miami. I attended elementary schools and into college there. Once I graduated Florida International University I left. Since then I have lived in Nashville, Tennessee. The bulk of my work revolves around democratizing knowledge. Read more>>
Polly Windham
It took 20 years after leaving Kansas to finally return, buy a mini farm, start my independent record label, Prairie Gold Records, and start building a community. I left Kansas at 18 years old to pursue music, film, fashion design, touring, and unexpectedly joined the Army band. I lived in Hollywood, Nashville, Virginia Beach and performed in every continental state in the USA. Read more>>
Tania Smith
My journey has really been about following what fascinated me and trusting where it led. I was born in Tasmania, Australia, and from a very young age I knew I wanted to be a musician. That dream took me around the world as a professional keyboard player and singer. Read more>>
Christen Ball
My origin story with music began before I could talk! My mom is a classical pianist/organist, and she would sing to me as a baby. I would try to sing melodies back to her…even before I could form words. Interestingly, years and years later…melodies come to me easier than lyrics! Read more>>
Alexandros Darsinos
My story takes many turns. In my youth, I was an avid artist, but also a soccer player. During my high school years, I left the US to pursue soccer in Europe and see where that path could take me. When that chapter of my life eventually ran its course, I returned to the US to focus on university, and more specifically, architecture and design. Read more>>
Kayley Nell Walker
Music has always been a constant in my life. As a kid with an overactive imagination, I would always make up songs to entertain my elementary school friends. I loved the feeling of singing and creating stories to make other people happy. That passion carried on throughout high school as I sang in church, Show-Choir and local talent shows. Read more>>
Skip Black
I started playing guitar at the age of ten. I was very curious about how songs were made more so than anything else so at about 14 I dove into songwriting. Read more>>
Bryn Colodny
We met in our first semester of college, at Berklee College of Music in 2017, where we bonded over our shared love of songwriting. Through living together throughout the rest of college, our friendship grew. During COVID, we wrote our first song together, not thinking it would land us where we are. Read more>>
Chris Long
I began playing music when I was about twelve, learning from my dad. He was a performing musician and I had been around it my whole life. It wasn’t long before I was performing with bands, which I did through high school and college. We cut our first independent album in 1999.. Read more>>
Cash Daniels
My conservation journey really began when I was seven years old with something most people probably wouldn’t think twice about—a plastic straw on the beach. I remember seeing it and wondering where it would end up if no one picked it up. That small moment sparked my curiosity, and when I got home, I started researching pollution and eventually the Tennessee River. Read more>>
Jessica Samborski
This gives the story a much stronger heart. Here’s the polished version, keeping your personality and the “boom—we had a business” energy: I started my business almost completely by accident. After going through a divorce, I took a small part-time job at a somewhat janky wallpaper store in Santa Monica. Read more>>
Kelsey Muse
Moving from Oklahoma to Nashville, TN in 2003, I began pursuing my music career with the help of my father, who had a musical background. I’ve achieved TV credits, song placement and songwriting awards starting in my young teens. Read more>>
Kelsey Sanderson
My sister and I started TN Sisters Explore in May 2026 as a fun way to share the places and experiences we were already enjoying around Tennessee. We’re both moms, so we especially love finding coffee shops, restaurants, small businesses, unique experiences, and family-friendly places that feel worth getting out of the house for. Read more>>
Gary Da Konnect
My journey into videography honestly started by accident. I was just shooting content for my sister-in-law, SuGnasty, when an opportunity came up that completely changed the direction of my life. A videographer had canceled on a fraternity event, and they asked me if I was a videographer. I probably should’ve been honest and said I was just getting started… but instead, I said yes. Read more>>
Tam Nguyen
I’m Tam, 37, and beauty has been my life’s work — but it started as survival. I came to the U.S. from Vietnam in my early 20s with my family, and I got my first job just three days after landing. Read more>>
Rebecca Norris DiNapoli
Growing up as the daughter of a Methodist minister and a school teacher, Rebecca’s journey began at Central Methodist University in Missouri, where she attended on a business, music, and volleyball scholarship. Music has always been a significant part of her life. Read more>>
Annie Minogue
I grew up in a musical family—my father, Terry Cashman, was a songwriter, recording artist, and producer—so music was always part of my world. My sister and cousin are also musicians. I’ve been singing, writing and performing for as long as I can remember, and honestly, I never really considered doing anything else. Read more>>
Sydney Lemmons
I feel like my story is a little funny if you know me personally. In high school, I was sort of ‘volun-told’ to be in my school’s FFA chapter because I was taking the agriculture classes because freshman Sydney wanted to be vet. Read more>>
Ben Garnett
I grew up in Arlington, Texas. I started on piano and switched to guitar when I was around 12, then spent the next few years deep in the instrumental rock worlds of Eric Johnson, Joe Satriani, and Steve Vai. My cousin Andy Timmons lived about an hour up Highway 121 and is one of the most accomplished guitarists in that world. Read more>>
Manny EnFuego
Being a kid from Upstate New York, I practically grew up performing from a very early age. Whether it was Christmas plays or the kids church choir, I was involved somehow and grew comfortable being on stage. Read more>>
Juanita Copeland
I came to Nashville in 1990. Worked at Mercury Records until January 1995. Worked on the projects from their 2 biggest artists to-date, Billy Ray Cyrus and Shania Twain. I started ast receptionist (which is what almost all female employees did back in 1990) and was quickly promoted to business affairs. Read more>>
Debbie LeRoy
The Long Way Around: How a Science Major Found Her Calling in the Beauty of the Old Debbie Mathews — Debbie Mathews Antiques & Designs, Nashville, TN Some people know exactly what they are meant to do from the time they are very young. I was one of those people — I just didn’t know it at the time. Read more>>
