The Most Inspiring Stories in Utah

The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.

Susan Cissoko

I began to play with clay this summer after my second child was born. I was juggling motherhood and trying to figure out time for myself with two children. I had seen people played with clay online and I thought let me try it as a hobby. Read more>>

Robin Bigge

My journey started by accident. My father had an early Olympus digital camera that was collecting dust so I started to bring it with me when I’d go surfing with my friends. Usually, after a session, there would be some amazing sunsets. I would take those pictures, put them on my phone and edit them with this little app (at the time) called VSCO. Read more>>

Greg Westbrook

I’ve always had both a technical and an artistic side, although for much of my life the technical side was the one that became my career. Professionally, I’ve spent most of my career working in software and technology. At the same time, I served in the Utah Army National Guard, eventually retiring as a First Sergeant after a career in artillery. Read more>>

Lacy West

I am the founder and CEO of Laced Inc. our brands include, Laced Hair Extensions, Laced Hair Care, Laced Academy, Laced Hair Salon, and the Laced Hair Foundation, I grew up in a very small town in Southern Utah, and I knew pretty early on that I wanted to do hair. Read more>>

Jill Wagstaff

I’m a licensed brand partner for the company Lucky Locks. https://www.luckylocks.co Note: the brand stressed the use of ‘sparkle’ over the word ‘tinsel’ when referring to Lucky Locks. This business is unique in using high-quality silk strands, over cheap plastic tinsel that can be purchased anywhere. Read more>>

Hanna Harrison

Alex & Co. really started from a season of my life when I realized I wanted more freedom and more intention in the way I lived. As a single mom raising two boys while working full-time, life was always busy. Read more>>

breona wilson

My bakery journey actually started at church. I began bringing homemade treats to share, and before long, it became something people looked forward to every week. Baking quickly became something I was known for within my church community, and eventually, a friend encouraged me to take it a step further and open my own bakery. Read more>>

Blond

Most of our members had musical talents before we came together as a band. Ricky Wade our drummer and Jake Sparks our front man and rhythm guitar player met in high school in the year 2020. During that summer Connor Bliss joined the band on guitar and we started writing original music. Read more>>

Frank Bright

I’m a magician and mentalist based in Southern Utah and have been performing for more than a decade. I still remember my first magic kit. It was a fisher price one built to look like a traveling suitcase. I don’t have the original one but I’ve recently purchased one that holds a place of honor in my magic shop. Read more>>

Phaedra & Marticia Barraza

Black Collar Tattoo started in October 2024 as a hope to create a shop that is intentional and creative. Phaedra and Marticia Barraza wanted to have a small team with big dreams. To be surrounded by fellow artists who want to be good to their clients, have a passion for tattooing, and be apart of their community. Read more>>

Camille Easton

I’ve always loved cooking. My mom and my grandma were incredible in the kitchen, and I was the kid who turned the too-ripe bananas on the counter into banana bread before anyone could throw them out. When I had a family of my own, mealtime became sacred to me. Read more>>

Kiera Gregory

My love for photography began when I was a young girl. I was always the one with a camera in hand, documenting everyday moments, family vacations, and our travels. As a military family, we had the opportunity to live in several places around the world, and photography became my way of preserving those experiences and the memories we were making together. Read more>>

Jenny Simpkins

Massage therapy wasn’t a choice for me at first — it was survival. In 2009, fresh out of a divorce, I moved from Southern California to Utah as a single mom. I was working as a CNA at our local hospital, and when there wasn’t enough work to make ends meet, I enrolled in massage school to pick up extra income. Survival turned into passion. Read more>>

Mark Putscher

My journey has never followed a conventional path, but entrepreneurship, creativity, and bringing people together have been consistent threads throughout my life. Over the years, I have owned and helped build businesses in remarkably different industries. I owned bakeries, managed a rock band, operated a casino entertainment company, and helped launch a nightclub. Read more>>

Whitney Holman

I still remember growing up on the farm, hauling our own hay, milking cows, and doing all the odd farm chores. It’s something that our family has always done, and it was exciting to be a part of even as a child. As I grew and graduated High School, I decided to branch out from the world of farming and get a college degree. Read more>>

Ryan Grassley

My story with content marketing actually started with a motorcycle trip. Back in 2006, I rode from Utah down to the Panama Canal and back, and along the way I built a website where people could vote on which town or country I’d head to next. Read more>>

Elizabeth Drysdale

Elizabeth A. Drysdale won her first writing award at the age of seven and has followed it up with more awards, including the Bronze Quill for her novel, Out of Time, and 1st in the Olive Woolley Burt Awards in the category of YA First Chapters in the Quills League of Utah Writers Competition for her novel The Exile’s Promise. Read more>>

Mariah Maynes

I actually kind of fell into being an outdoor-focused writer, and I’m very happy it happened that way. I studied music at the University of Utah and had a budding songwriting career, but I ultimately decided the grind associated with building a career in commercial music wasn’t for me. Read more>>

Shawna Blaney

More than ten years ago, my life changed forever. I suffered three traumatic brain injuries in a short period of time, leaving me with severe neurological, physical, emotional, and autonomic challenges. In what felt like an instant, so much of the life I had known was gone. Yet even in the darkest moments, God never abandoned me. Read more>>

Anna Moore

My start is filled with many ups and downs, many unpleasant things that I think some people would be inspired by, and knowing I worked through them to where I am today feels truly amazing, even to myself, at times, but most are just too hard to share. I am the eldest of 4 daughters to our mother, Teri Hartman. Read more>>

Nicole Anderson

What I’m most proud of is creating resources that inspire curiosity across generations. Whether someone is reading with their child, planning a road trip, or standing at a scenic overlook, I want them to see more than a beautiful view; I want them to understand the stories that shaped it. I believe that’s what sets my work apart: I don’t just write about places; I help people form a deeper connection with them that lasts long after they leave. Read more>>

Laura Musbach Drake

the Basques, Scottish, and Peruvians. While the Festival has expanded greatly from its humble beginnings, the goals and objectives of the Festival remain the same—preserving the stories and history of sheep ranchers and herders, celebrating the rich cultures of the past and present, and entertaining and educating children and adults about the production of local food and fiber that have sustained local economies for generations. Read more>>