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 downtown’s gems below.
Rashawn Colton
My name is Rashawn ‘RA-SHWN’ Colton, born and raised in Niagara Falls, NY. I am a Singer, Songwriter in the music lane, but a Senior Video Producer, Shooter and Editor on the visual side. I have always been connected with music and visuals for as long as I can remember. Read more>>
Jomo Morgan
My name Jomo Morgan I’m from Atlanta, Georgia, but based in LA & Arizona. I started taking pictures around 2013 after I stopped playing basketball (Senior Year High School). I attended a Toro Y Moi concert in Atlanta and I had brought my camera and I was able to just come as close I wanted because I had it. Read more>>
Henry MacLean
Me and my musical partner Dylan Grossman started making music under the name Maryanne Bold in 2017 when I was finishing school at Emerson College. We made one song that people responded to… that gave us energy to keep creating. Read more>>
Mel Douglas
I started my journey with yoga in Crenshaw in 2017. My practice began with weekend Vinyasa classes at a women’s gym and online videos. Although I’d tried yoga before and hadn’t connected with it, something about the energy and environment there shifted my view. Read more>>
Mangal Suvarnan
I’m Mangal Suvarnan, an Indian- origin music producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, avid gamer, and spider- hater. I was born in Saudi Arabia and grew up in Dubai, and have been an LA resident since January 2019. In 2017, I was one of the only six artists to produce an official remix for Rihanna’s Billboard-topping song. Read more>>
FILOSOFI
I started as a little kid in Maryland wanting to be a cartoonist. I would draw a lot in notebooks and on worksheets in school. Growing up in the early 2000’s, I got pretty adept at using the computer and surfing the internet, so by the time I was in middle school. Read more>>
Ryan Rosenblum
I was born and raised in LA, which definitely is a highly unique environment to grow up in to say the least. At a minimum, I’ve been immersed in the world of cinema for my entire life, with environmental and family ties to the industry. My grandfather, a prominent entertainment industry figure. Read more>>
Will Buck
I grew up in Hydes, MD, a very small farming community on the east coast – population 470. You had to pull your weight and most of the time help out with the family business. Very few people played musical instruments and absolutely no one was pursuing it professionally. Read more>>
Tim De La Motte
I started doing improv comedy in New York City at the UCB Theatre in 2008 after a couple of years of anxiety attacks, oddly enough performing in front of people felt like the only cure for them at the time. I took classes for about a year and a half always with one eye on film or TV. Read more>>
Precious DelaCruz
It all happened so fast to be completely honest. I really didn’t expect to end up in the creative world the way I did. I first had my foot in the fashion world working at Jeffrey Campbell as an intern then being hired as an E-Commerce Merchandiser. I thought to myself, “Yeah, I can see myself doing this for a while.” Read more>>
Roman Bejarano
Growing up my family gave me a HUGE musical archive (In the form of Cassettes and CD’s) We were a Mexican-American family with a broad love of hobbies, and broad choice of music throughout the house… My parents gave me oldies such as Brenton woods, Smokey Robinson. Read more>>
Meghan and Caitlin Foley
We are a sister singer/songwriter duo originally from the suburbs of Chicago. From an early age, we both were enchanted by music. I started playing guitar at the age of ten and played at my first open mic night at age 12, I think I sang two of my original songs and “Colors of the Wind” from Pocahontas. Read more>>
Michael Osborne
After many years of repression, I came out of the closet at 33 years old. Once I embraced my gayness I found that I was able to listen to my instincts and spend more of my time at play. I started to create as I used to when I was a kid. I began writing and soon after made my first short film. Read more>>
Jerry Whiting
Seven years ago I co-founded LeBlanc CNE with my son Coleman. We specialize in hemp & cannabis genetics, product development, research and education. I write a monthly hemp column [www.LeBlancCNE.com/NWLeaf], I have a podcast [www.LeBlancCNE.com/podcast]. Read more>>
Jarvis “Juice Judah” Dow
It started at a young age. I used to listen to my father rap around the house. He was a local and talented rapper in our area. My mother also influenced my love for music. She would listen to all the old school and 90’s R&B music. These were my first introductions to the world of music. Read more>>
Alanni Garnet
Alanni Garnet is a professional print, runway, and commercial model in the heart of Los Angeles, California. With an interest in modeling at such a young age, that every interest soon turned into passion when she decided to launch her career at age 15 by attending a modeling and acting school. Read more>>
Sue Fearless
As a Domestic Violence Survivor our CEO, Sue Fearless, founded Fearless Women, a Women EmPOWERed Organization to Uplift, Inspire, Empower and help Women heal from trauma. We, as the Board of Directors, have set out on a journey to bring together women and coach them on how to adopt a positive mindset. Read more>>
Reine Paradis
I was born in the South West of France in 1989. I moved to LA in 2012. I instantly felt very inspired by my new surroundings and this is when I started working on my first photo series “Jungle” which I exhibited for the first time in 2016 in LA. Since then I had multiple exhibitions in the US and in Europe. Read more>
Fredaysha Fluker
I’ve been rapping since I was about 11 years old. I’m from a very small town in Alabama and there wasn’t really much to do, so I kind of found out that rapping was my thing. I would freestyle at school every day at lunch and on three ways with my friends, I even started writing poetry. Read more>>
Tess Trotter
Since a young age, I found myself in the middle of two worlds: education and the arts. While education was a priority in my family, my mom was also committed to exposing me and my siblings to various creative activities at a young age. Read more>>
Ermahn Oduro-Kwarten
“I got started with music at a very young age. My dad started a church when I was seven years old and began sending me to a couple piano teachers to get me up and going to provide music for the services. I naturally caught on to everything, learning to play whatever I heard. Read more>>
Baby and Vicky Estrojohn
Baby and Estrojohn were roommates who’d half-learned a Le Tigre cover to play at a drag pageant in 2015. Vicky Jean Mochi, the winner that evening, asked them to learn a Misfits cover to accompany her live-sung victory lap the next month. Read more>>
Daniel Pollack
Born in Miami, FL I moved to Venezuela with my Mom at five years old and came back to the states when I was about 11 or 12. Now with my mom’s acting career declining and her not managing her money properly I did endure some ridiculous circumstances along with my baby sister at the time. Read more>>
Paulo Macedo
I am Brazilian and I live in Los Angeles for over 11 years. My history in photography started because of my father being a photographer and I always collected magazines and cards. I have always been very curious and besides photographer I am skateboarder so since the 12 years. Read more>>
