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 East Dallas’ gems below.
Talia and Michaela Willner
We got started doing weddings in 2016 – by doing the flowers and decor for Talia’s wedding. Nothing quite like the Maid of Honor and the Bride being responsible for all the wedding flowers when they’ve never dealt with flowers before in their life! (Definitely don’t do this. 10/10 don’t recommend…we learned the hard way and did nothing but work for the entire wedding day and didn’t get to enjoy it.) Anyway, after we pulled this wedding off. Read more>>
Vanessa Ray
I’m Vanessa and my six years old co-founder is Laila. Laila’s Luggage is a mommy and me travel duo set on making travel easier for kids (and their adult companions) by creating easy to carry travel activities for families on the go! Laila’s Luggage started as a way to encourage black families to explore the world together and also provide tips to parents traveling with kids. Diversity in family travel is something I strive to show Laila because as of now, it’s not mainstream. Read more>>
Austin Dillon
For a while, I just complained about the food production, Counter Culture Farms is my response to the degradation of American agriculture, soils, and health. The deeper you dig, the more you learn that the label is just another marketing technique. The only way to truly know what is in your food is to know the farmer and to know the land intimately. Read more>>
Genielin Nucal
I’m not sure what got me interested in art altogether but I did remember loving art classes that when it came to the age that you could choose extracurricular classes, I would always fit in an art class. Once I got into my last year of high school, I got into a class that was both media and digital art. That was my first time dabbling in digital art and cameras but very barely. Read more>>
