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.
Donica Strange-Reescano
For over 30 years, I have spent my life of leadership helping and serving others. After receiving Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior at age 14, I served in the church’s youth group. My service to others continued in my professional career as peer mentor and supervisor. I formerly served as a leader in a Christian based twelve step program. Most importantly I serve as the founder of the nonprofit organization Patricia Ann Strange Diamond Celebration. The program, named in my deceased mother’s honor, who overcame alcohol and drug addiction, celebrates women in recovery from alcohol and substance use disorders. Read more>>
April Figueroa
Starting our embroidery business has been a journey full of both challenges and rewarding moments. In the beginning, there were late nights, trial and error, and learning how to balance creativity with the demands of running a small business. With each order and every happy customer, we’ve grown more confident and proud of the work we do. The ups and downs have taught us resilience, patience, and the joy of doing something we truly love. Read more>>
Sarah Dugain
I have always been interested in the arts and have always known that I would be doing this for the rest of my life. I didn’t get into theatre until high school, where I got to explore the arts and realized that this is what I wanted to do. So, my career story started around junior year of high school when I found my passion for set design. I wanted to learn more about the field, but I didn’t have any mentor to help me out, so I decided to teach myself the craft. I graduated in 2019 and decided to go to Central Texas College in my hometown. Read more>>
Tiffany Fuller
When we moved into our current space, I was in grad school, juggling coursework while trying to create a strategic plan, design the store, and open our doors. Honestly, it felt like I was on a sinking ship most days. I launched Elle Mae Bridal with a dear friend who later stepped away to fulfill other responsibilities in her life, and that shift meant I was now owning and leading solo. While that’s given me the freedom to execute my own dreams, it wasn’t the story I had originally planned. Still, I fully trust that God is writing something even greater than I can see right now. Read more>>
Charles Hearne
Now, group runs in the military? Totally different story. Platoon and company runs were a blast — calling cadence, running in rhythm, moving as one unit. It was almost… fun! But solo running? Let’s just say I’ve never met that mythical “runner’s high” people rave about. I tried music, podcasts, scenic trails — nothing worked. I’d get distracted, lose interest, and suddenly be walking and wondering what’s for lunch. Read more>>
Ericka Garrison
My journey into branding and marketing started with my education—I earned my Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Middle Tennessee State University, where I also minored in Organizational Communication. That foundation helped me understand not just how to craft a message, but how to connect with audiences in meaningful ways. Read more>>
Vera Oyabure
Starting KarisMed from scratch was both exciting and overwhelming. I stepped away from a salaried position with steady hours and took a leap of faith into building something new — not just a clinic, but an entirely different model of care. Direct Primary Care (DPC) was still unfamiliar to many people in our area, so early on, a big part of my work involved educating the community on what we do and why it matters. I stayed focused on showing them the value of truly personalized care. Read more>>
Rich Levy
In 1995, poet Rich Levy was hired as the growing organization’s Executive Director, and since then he’s been leading what would become Houston’s premiere literary arts organization. A graduate of the renowned creative writing institution, the Iowa Writers Workshop, Rich found himself in Houston with his young family and fortunately found a career that would utilize his skills as a poet, his love of literature, and his unbounded energy for collaborating with others. Under his leadership and with the work and support of devoted colleagues on the Inprint staff and Board, Inprint has become an anchor and leading light in Houston’s literary arts community. Read more>>
Chinwe Njoku
It hasn’t always been a smooth road. Like most young entrepreneurs, I had to navigate a lot on my own. I had to figure out how to build a clientele from scratch every time I moved cities, all while managing the demands of being a full-time student and, at times, an employee. Balancing these three roles meant juggling schoolwork and work responsibilities alongside running my business. Balancing these three roles meant juggling schoolwork and work responsibilities alongside running my business. I literally did homework between clients, so much so that one client even helped me finish an assignment while I braided her hair, just so we could squeeze in her appointment by any means necessary. Read more>>
Tom Augenthaler
A formative part of my career was forged while I worked at HP. I worked in communications and marketing during that time. I left in 2009, but my connection to HP didn’t end with that change. While working at a strategic consultancy shortly after, I was tapped to help HP Enterprise launch its first influencer marketing program from scratch. At the time, “influencer marketing” in B2B was barely a whisper. In fact, there was no such term yet. Nor was there a working playbook or even a proven model. But I saw an opportunity to do something new, different, and effective. Read more>>
Gerson
I became interested in traveling at an early age. I used to visit my family back in El Salvador often and my dad used to always take us to explore the city, hiking, fishing, visit resorts & explore different beaches, that’s where I got my sense of adventure from. However, it became increasingly challenging to visit since I began working and attending college simultaneously right after high school. My passion for traveling led me to explore ways to visit my family more frequently and explore the world with greater freedom. In 2024, I decided to obtain my travel advisory license, and for the past year, I’ve been diligently building my business. Read more>>
April Finley
life’s many challenges. At the age of eight, I experienced the devastating loss of my father, taken from me by someone else’s hands. By 17, I had lost my mother to breast cancer, marking the beginning of a long road of resilience. As a teen mother, I struggled to find my footing, navigating feelings of abandonment and rejection, often seeking love in all the wrong places and falling into trauma-bonded relationships that left me in mental isolation. Read more>>
Roland Champaine
t definitely hasn’t been easy. I grew up always in and out of the studio—writing, recording, just trying to make something stick. Right before I finished college, I dropped my first mixtape. But looking back, I was really wrestling with figuring out who I was—not just as an artist, but as a person. I was chasing this version of myself I thought I had to be, making music I felt people wanted to hear instead of what was real to me. Read more>>
Jael Penn
What sets Dr. Penn Coaching apart is our spiritual foundation rooted in God’s design and the healing properties of the foods He created. We approach health through the lens of mind, body, and soul—respecting both the wisdom of natural medicine and the insights of traditional medical care. Our goal is not just to treat symptoms, but to uncover and address the root causes of imbalance so that healing can happen from the inside out. Read more>>
Zanyla Marshall
I took AV Production and Photojournalism classes in high school and eventually decided to pursue film. I chose film because I’ve always been indecisive about choosing just one path. Film allows me to explore multiple roles like writing, directing, editing, production design and that flexibility was perfect for someone like me who’s constantly evolving. Film is also a medium that blends all forms of art, which makes it even more exciting. Read more>>
Forrest Unfiltered
My first hustle was my entertainment business. I started with nothing but just raw drive and a vision. Over 20 years later, I became one of the top-paid and respected entertainers. Private events, celebrity shows, corporate takeovers—you name it. But that was just the surface. Behind the scenes, I was studying. Real estate, investing, psychology, crypto, marketing. I knew one stream of income wasn’t enough. I wanted freedom. So I built multiple businesses. Read more>>
Voy Collins
As a child in a third-world country, my survival was uncertain due to serious illness. By God’s grace, my family and I survived the brutal Khmer Rouge regime and were blessed with the opportunity to come to the United States. I grew up in Central Texas and eventually relocated with my family to the north side of Houston, where I now serve the Conroe and Montgomery areas. My youngest son attended the Montgomery school system, and I’ve dedicated my life to teaching—continuing that passion today by educating families about financial security and protection. Read more>>
Kevin Prufer
I managed to place my first book with a publisher while I was still a student. I don’t think the book is much good, but it helped me get a professorship at the University of Central Missouri, where I worked for years, helping to found Pleiades: Literature in Context, an international journal of poetry, fiction, and reviews. That magazine is still going strong, though I left it when I moved to Houston in 2010, for a professorship in the much vaunted University of Houston Creative Writing Program (where I had been denied admission as a graduate student, curiously enough). Read more>>
Logan Glenn
10-12 years ago I worked at a bbq restaurant in the midst of my Culinary career and have been in love with it since. Bbq has been a long time passion that I have been working on over the years at home. I eventually bought a large smoker and learned how to use it and would do some catering on the side then I joined the local farmers market to start building a brand name and getting the word out to the public. One thing led to another I left my old job, bought a bbq trailer from a friend at a discounted price and put tons of TLC into this trailer to bring it back to life next thing you know we open on my birthday last year and it’s been magic ever since. Doing what you love is the best feeling. Read more>>
Elle Mathis
L. Mathis Interiors is more than a design firm—it’s a creative collective. Our tagline, “We liven the space you live in,” is a reflection of that belief. We create spaces that are deeply personal and beautifully functional. In a world full of chaos, your home should be a sanctuary—a place that restores you, reflects you, and reminds you who you are. Read more>>
