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.
Steven Smith
At eighteen, I began working full-time with my Uncle Frank. Unfortunately, during my time with him, my dad passed away, another uncle decided to leave the industry, and my grandfather sold his business in San Diego. As Frank’s health declined, I stepped up to take on more responsibility, and when he passed, I was the one who stepped in to maintain the business. Despite challenges, I worked hard to retain generational customers, keeping the legacy intact. Read more>>
Matt James
So I came home one summer, and I was like, I need to figure out a way to make some money. So I decided to kind of combine my two favorite things, which was working in Africa with the orphanage that I started, as well as turquoise jewelry. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been obsessed with turquoise. I don’t know why, it just like was in my DNA. I just loved it. So I wanted to learn how to silversmith and sell those rings. Read more>>
Sarah Barlow
Inspired, I explored how to work with businesses and learned from business attorneys that tax law was critical but challenging to master later. Despite my English literature background, I dove into tax classes, believing it would be one of many skillsets I would later use to help businesses create their impact. My first class was daunting—terms like “basis” and “depreciation” overwhelmed me—but in my second class, I discovered how tax policy incentivizes behaviors and drives business decisions. That “aha” moment showed me I could help business owners navigate tax complexity to reach their goals. Read more>>
Sam Ahmadi
My journey became more spiritual. These days, when I capture a mountain, a passing cloud, or a quiet street corner, I am not just documenting a place. I am trying to tune into something deeper. I think we all carry something unique inside, something we do not always know how to put into words, but we feel it deeply. And maybe by sharing my own exploration, I can inspire someone to start their own. Read more>>
Antionne Berry
I think the biggest struggle at first was confidence performing in front of others and being afraid of rejection but the more I did it the more comfortable I felt I still wrestle with confidence to this day another bump in the road is promoting ones itself. I’m not good at you know selling myself or boasting about myself. I’m a humble guy so it’s hard to be out there as far as promoting myself and my art. Read more>>
Briana Allred
Fast forward a few years, I met my husband—and one of the very first things he wanted to do was invest in real estate. Not just buy a home, but truly invest, build, and create something bigger. We dove right in. Our first townhouse quickly became a rental. Soon after, we moved into a stunning Parade of Homes property. We finished the basement ourselves and rented that out too. Eventually, we sold that home to a professional football player—and instead of slowing down, we only picked up the pace. Read more>>
ROSE Roots Over Stadiums And Erasure
As founders of ROSE, we recognized early on that this wasn’t just about a stadium — it was about protecting their communities from being priced out, pushed out, and silenced in the name of “progress.” United by a shared commitment to housing justice, cultural preservation, and resisting displacement, we began organizing to amplify the voices of long-time residents, small business owners, and unhoused neighbors. Read more>>
Haley Jean Scherbel
Hello! My name is Haley Jean and I am a 25 year-old content creator from Salt Lake City. My content focuses on lifestyle, beauty, and ASMR. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and refers to pleasurable and relaxing “tingly” sensations that occur in response to specific visual/auditorial stimuli. Most of my content is aimed at helping people unwind or fall asleep! I love to center my content around my interests and hobbies like makeup, cozy video games, and books. Read more>>
Dylan And Alexa Kirkland
We’ve always had an entrepreneurial itch and have wanted to serve our community. Both of us thought that the carpet cleaning industry is very saturated, yet still doesn’t quite meet the needs of customers. We’ve been dedicated to customer satisfaction since day one and have loved our journey. Read more>>
Kamilla Edwards
Back in 2019/2020 TikTok was growing quickly, and Covid 19 was spreading slowly. Like everyone else who was stuck at home, my friends and I also jumped onto the app. I had one friend in particular who joked that they knew the secret to going viral on TikTok and bet that they could go viral more often than the rest of us. Each of us started posting videos on our pages, but I took the competition a little too seriously. I learned a few tricks, posted 3 videos a day, and stuck to my niche. All I wanted to do was win a friendly bet, but, before I knew it, I was growing on my socials. Read more>>
Cosmic Fates Rock Band
Cosmic Fates rose from the ashes of Covid as a passion project of Ethan Luke Stenis, former touring musician turned technologist — out of Austin, Texas. After over a decade of playing in different ATX indie bands – most notably the Dirty Life & Times, and Tiger Blood, he put his music aside for a decade to raise a family. During that time I spent two years assisting primary care for his grandfather, going through that sandwich generation in his 30s. During this time, he also switch careers in technology in order to provide for his growing family and then moved his family across country to Utah. But just like many other couples, COVID exposed that his marriage had grown apart, leading to a long and slow divorce that finally resolved in early 2021, when semi-normalcy was breaching the horizon. Read more>>
Jenna Crandall
I pushed through and endured and never let go of that delusional thinking that I could be a successful wedding photographer! In 2025, I have now shot over 200 weddings all over Utah, California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Idaho, I have been featured in multiple online magazines as well as printed features with Utah Valley Bride and Utah Weddings Magazine. I never gave up, no matter how hard it got, and now I have a successful business that helps me provide for my family and build us a beautiful life. Read more>>
Nate Baldwin
I started playing music with a group before my 8th birthday. By the time I was 12 the world of music marketing fascinated me. I spent the following 25 years loving every aspect of being part of the music community; touring, running a venue, recording, etc. In the midst of it all I spent the whole time trying to “crack the code” on how to successfully market music on a DIY budget. FanBase.fm is a culmination of all that time and a doctorate in the musical school of hard knocks. Read more>>
Renée Mackin
My very first stage and microphone experience was as a 5 yr old singing Silent Night for the Holiday program in a small town. Our home was built in an (at the time) undeveloped forested area outside of Youngstown,Ohio. I love the outdoors and spent my childhood playing in those woods. I continued singing in any group I could find throughout elementary school. With the emotional changes that jr high brings, I began to channel those emotions through writing poetry, prose and song lyrics. Read more>>
Hadley Rampton
I entered the BFA program at the University of Utah in 1995. As I continued on in my studies, as wonderful as they were, I felt that I wanted to adventure beyond the world I knew (Utah) and gain exposure to knowledge and influence elsewhere. I decided to send myself to Florence, Italy. I spent spring semester of 1998 studying there, soaking in all that I could, in and outside of the classroom. By the time I returned home, my mind and concept of myself as an artist had grown and strengthened and I was ready to finish my senior year. Read more>>
Maglebys Catering
Like any business, we’ve had our fair share of challenges. One of the biggest came during the 2008 economic collapse, which hit the restaurant industry hard—including ours. It forced us to think beyond the four walls of our restaurant and reimagine how we could survive. Starting a new venture during such a difficult time wasn’t easy, but we saw an opportunity in catering. Even in tough times, life goes on—people still get married, have babies, and look for reasons to celebrate. Catering took off and ultimately became the lifeline that helped save the restaurant our family had poured 30 years of love and dedication into. Read more>>
Mark Bartlett
I went from being a lab rat in a world-class research institute to learning how to create products real people would use. That meant figuring out ingredient safety, dosage, and regulatory requirements. Navigating FDA and FTC compliance. Designing clinical studies. Learning manufacturing inside and out—SOPs, GMPs, quality systems—the works. Read more>>
Oscar Rodriguez
During this pursuit I worked full time as a chef in downtown Salt Lake City in order to sustain myself. At this point in my life I had aspirations of becoming an attorney and also worked as a law clerk at a small firm. In my work here I was able to first hand witness a number of business transactions and quickly developed a love for business. During my final year of college I decided to drop out and team up with my family to open a breakfast restaurant and combine my two passions, cooking and business. Since then we have been in business for over 5 years and have 2 locations with more on the way. Read more>>
Rachel Swan
In those early months of postpartum I started to envision my business being centered around my passions: women’s health, the lymphatic system, and the pregnancy and birth space. I filed a DBA and Lymphatic Works Company was born. I was now only offering manual lymphatic drainage sessions, focusing on providing education and hands on treatment to promote overall health and function. I never could have imagined ending up here, but I am so grateful for where I am and can truly say I LOVE the work I do. Read more>>
Chulada Hoopingarner
Starting my business from scratch was another big leap. I had no client base, no connections, and I had to build everything from the ground up — from branding to finding the right space, to educating people about holistic treatments they hadn’t heard of before. It was overwhelming at times, but my passion for natural beauty and helping others kept me going. Slowly, through word of mouth and genuine care for my clients, things started to grow. Now, I feel so grateful to do what I love and share something meaningful with my community. Read more>>
Shannon Ballinger
Eventually, I moved to Salt Lake City to pursue my Doctorate in Physical Therapy at the University of Utah. Since then, I’ve trained in a variety of elite rehab settings—from acute care and neurorehabilitation to sports medicine—gaining hands-on experience with everything from biomechanics and gait analysis to concussion and vestibular therapy. Along the way, I became certified in functional nutrition, movement mobility, biomechanics, and performance coaching. Read more>>
Addi Mooney
I started selling my sourdough to family and friends a bout 4 months into my journey and realized how fun it was to share my food with people! So I decided I wanted to have a little micro bakery! Hopefully one day I can have a full bakery of my own! Ruby Shay Bakery has been something I’m constantly looking forward to progressing! The name comes from my husky Ruby and Shay is my middle name. Ruby my parter in crime so it was only right to name my business after her! Read more>>
Cindy Albanese
Before founding Cindy Albanese Creative, I worked for a non-profit supporting women healing from abuse. That time impacted me deeply, and unlocked my desire to make supporting others an indispensable part of my future work. It has been an honor to continue that same drive within my design work. I still feel part of something bigger than myself, every time I help a women-owned business build the foundation to grow their reach and make a unique impact. My focus in on strategic brand design for health and wellness businesses. Read more>>
Jake Strack
Brady, a passionate collector of antiques and a true connoisseur of quality, has infused Cucina Toscana with a fresh spirit—honoring its rich past while ensuring it remains a cornerstone of Salt Lake City’s dining scene. His vision is simple yet powerful: to make Cucina Toscana a historic masterpiece, a place every visitor and local simply must experience. With a relentless focus on excellence and dependability, he continues to elevate the restaurant’s legacy to new heights. Read more>>
Ignacio Rosenberg
I started working for local vendors in Argentina, got a degree in acoustics, and then came to the US to study show production. After that degree I started working as a touring lighting technician and had the chance to work my way up the ranks to some pretty large tours: Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Def Leppard, etc. At a certain point I decided I didn’t want to live permanently on tour and started looking for design opportunities, as luck (or serendipity) would have it, I was invited to join the ranks of Lightswitch, which is a leading visual design firm, and within a few years I was made a Senior Director, which is where I stand today. Read more>>
MarLa Love
It has not always been a smooth road. Like most meaningful journeys, mine has been filled with highs and lows. As a mother and entrepreneur, balancing the demands of raising children in my own while building a business has stretched me in every way imaginable. There were seasons of financial uncertainty, moments of self-doubt, and times when the weight of it felt overwhelming. Read more>>
Heber Stanton
I invested in better gear, moved up from that GoPro to real cinema cameras, and even got invested in aerial videography. I had this new perspective on how I viewed locations and people. Fast forward a bit, and my passion led me around the world, telling visual stories of some of the most remote locations and cultures. I’ve heard multiple times that if you choose a career you love, you’ll never work a day in your life, and that’s why I’ve stuck with filmmaking. What started as a GoPro gift has turned into a real occupation—one that lets me portray the world through my eyes. It’s been quite a ride. And hopefully I’m just getting started. Read more>>
Lucy Segura
I distinctly remember at a very young age having an encouraging conversation with my dad. He wisely told me, “you can do anything you set your mind to”. I carry those words with me and it has become my mantra and is a driving force in my life. Starting a business is incredibly intimidating, but I truly believe that I can do anything I set my mind to. Even though Heavenly Bites is still a very young business, I’m excited and eager to see where it takes me and how much I will grow along the way. Read more>>
