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 Mid Wilshire’s gems below.
Paris Giraud
La Morte XII was born on October 13th, 2013 out of the necessity to be able to communicate to the world event that transpired through our encounters within the Void, from then on it has become a repository for philosophical ideas involving the occult arts. We seek our truth via our interactions within æther. Read more>>
Craig Juda
My business partner (Leonard Chung) and I were both in finance for 20 years and saw a void in the fitness market. We both wanted to work out with our children but couldn’t find a studio/gym that allowed or welcomed youth. So we left our careers to start WOLA,- group fitness for both youth and adults. Read more>>
Mikki Paek
I’ve been making art almost my entire life, but really took a transition of 5 years and another year of focused hard work and a little, lot of luck to be here today as an artist. During that last year, I put together the Koreatown Map Project through the Art of Freelance program. But to be honest, the inspiration for this community art project started many years ago, when I was a child. Read more>>
Manny Jay
My resume includes assisting legendary costume designer, and fashion stylist Patricia Field. Since relocating to Los Angeles, I’ve developed my own signature styling aesthetic “youthful chic, effortlessly glam”, I’m also currently the “Fashion Marketing Editor” at Galore Magazine and have contributed to more than 11 covers over the course of a year. Read more>>
Marcus Eriksen
Before the public was talking about ocean plastics, before the mythology of garbage patches entered our consciousness, I had been to Midway Atoll with 14 students to learn about seabird ecology. Instead, we spent a week pulling plastic waste out of the chests of dead birds. It was life-changing. Read more>>
Thomas Robertson
My story in sound started at Webster University in my home town of St. Louis. While I was studying graphic design at the time, I started taking audio classes just for fun. I liked it so much that after a couple of semesters I ended up making more progress towards an audio major than I did towards my art major. Read more>>
Ulysses Morazan and Ernesto Chapa
It all began obsessing over LGBT couples on YouTube. We used to sit at home and watch videos on the internet about people we identified with. Their stories were unlike what we saw on television, and they hit closer to home. One day, after a few glasses of wine, we decided-what the hell- we should share our story as well. Read more>>
Ben (Roswell) Salk
I fell in love with music listening to Duke Ellington and Bill Evans CDs on my walkman in middle school here in LA. It meant no one wanted to share an ear of my headphones in class, but I kind of liked having this little world of music that I could escape to alone. Read more>>
Larry Williams
My personal history plays a huge part in the brand. There are so many trying and negative experiences from my childhood to young adult years that God brought me through and blessed me. As a young man who had no real identity, a mom on drugs, no consistent place to call home, gangs, drugs, jail & surviving the streets I want to share how to overcome the past. Read more>>
Yvonne Wolf
I was born on a ship to immigrant children-of-Holocaust parents on their way to Montreal, Canada. My first languages were Romanian and Hungarian, and I learned English and French when I started attending school. My earliest childhood memories are of me coordinating tea parties for my Barbies and stuffed animals and pretending to be a McDonald’s server! Read more>>
