South Bay 7.24.2017

Meryll Montano

Ayurveda, the ancient medical system of India, attracts a particular individual who seeks meaning and relief from their pain & suffering. In 2011, I began my personal search for wholeness + well being after a beloved relative passed from diabetes. At the time, I was living an unhealthy lifestyle: smoking and drinking excessively, battling bulimia nervosa, & eating lots of meat and fast food. – In other words, I was a mess inside and out and I was longing for a sign or whisper of direction to walk a different path. I knew that if I continued this lifestyle my life would very well end earlier than I intended and I would miss out on seeing my niece and nephew grow up. Read more>>

Alicia Fraser-Stanley

My journey as a photographer began back in high school as a photographer for a community service club. I particularly fell in love with photographing mothers and their babies at a local women’s shelter. Having been told since the age of 12 that I would never be able to become a mother myself, I fell in love with photographing babies and being able to document life’s most amazing miracle. While most teenagers are busy sneaking out of the house to go on dates and go to parties, I was busy sneaking my dad’s professional film camera out of the house. I even won several awards in print competitions for my photography in those first few years. I was inspired by Anne Geddes, but advised at the time by school guidance counselors that a career as a baby photographer wasn’t an advisable career path! Read more>>

Erin Brownstone

My family has been making home decor products in LA for 30 years and I have worked in textiles and printing for much of my career. Because of that background, I took on a DIY project of making the table linens for our wedding. The table linens came out beautifully, and when I couldn’t find linens I liked to add to our registry that matched our house, I knew we were really onto something. So my new husband and I decided to try and turn that DIY project into a business. Like me, my husband grew up in a family business. In fact, his grandfather used to manufacture furniture in Los Angeles. Read more>>

Lindsay Wiggins

I’m a wife, a mom of two adorable little ones, a runner, a nature lover, and an event planner and designer. I always dreamed of being in a creative field and doing something that had meaning behind it. I wanted to make people feel special and do something that would make a difference in their lives. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family surrounded by creative and beautiful spaces. It set up the perfect foundation for what I wanted to do with my life, and what I know best—creating meaningful spaces and events and building lasting relationships with my wonderful clients. I received a BA in Communications from UCSB, and from there, I received my second degree in Interior Design, fusing a strong foundation for creating events and working with people. Read more>>

Zondra Wilson

Blu Skin Care was created after years of being asked what I used on my skin. My family is from the South and my mom and aunt would tell me stories about how they couldn’t afford expensive skin care products and how they used natural ingredients like Olive and Coconut Oils. I noticed that their skin was so soft and smooth and had very few (if any) wrinkles. So, I tried using some of these ingredients and haven’t looked back. Having worked as a model for dozens of companies like Merz, Best Buy and Revlon, I know what it takes to stay young looking and to maintain great looking skin, so I eventually decided to launch a USDA certified organic skin care line. “Blu” manufacturers the only American-made USDA certified organic powdered facial cleanser sold in the United States. Read more>>

Iesha Caldwell

At the age of 15, I was forced as a teenager to do hair on my auntie about five days out of the week. Not knowing this was the start of me developing my niche in the world. From that age until now I have developed my skill and changed women’s self esteem by just adding a little hair to their lives. At the age of 18, I did my very 1st install and the finish look was flat, secure and flawless. With no knowledge of the technique, I executed the desired look like a pro. At that moment, I realized the skill that I posses was not only a skill but a talent as well as a gift. I travel all over the United States installing extensions on all hair textures and lengths. Read more>>

Geoffrey Giglio

I wanted to do something to help a sport and kids. To do something a different way to help all kids regardless of financial status, I went through personal and family struggles and the loss of my best friend and it sort of set this in motion. About a year and a half ago I started I believe and then 8 months ago, I had a substantial brain stem stroke. We have grown from about 20-30 boys to over 100 in the last year. I really have a lot I want to do but have found it very difficult with the stroke, and the resistance from the local lacrosse heads of state who seem opposed to anything that does not bring in my opinion way to over the top financial gain, I also am having trouble finding the kind of coaches I want to set the example we are trying to set for the boys. Read more>>

Misi Tagaloa

Tafesilafa’i started as a conversation in the Samoan community about creating safe spaces for the youth. One of our leaders was mourning the fact that gangs were recruiting her sister’s kids faster than confirmation classes at church. So in the fall of 1996 a call went out to local Samoan churches to see if any would like to do something about this trend among young people and Tafesilafa’i was born. Since then we have expanded the call to include other Pacific Islander faith communities and we are looking forward to expanding the table for everyone. This year’s theme “When We Are Family” lifts up the basic fundamental organizing unit in the Samoan community: Aiga – Family. Read more>>

Lee Van Dusen

My Father and I started this company from the ground up. He Founded us on the east coast in NJ 2001. I have since started several Franchises most recent one’s are in Orange County and LA County. The Lint Man has saved 10’s of 1000’s from dryer fires that would otherwise destroy your home or place of business. Family owned and operated dependable work for an exceptional price! “Love your family dearly call The Lint Man yearly”. In this business it’s always challenging! Not a lot of people even know you should have this done. I have seen misery, devastation, finical hardships and loss of life all because of Lint. Public safety is our main mission. Read more>>

Renee Quarles

Shades of Afrika Began in 1992 and by 1994 we opened our doors in Downtown Long Beach, giving our first location 16 years. It Started with as few as 6 to 8 book titles, incense, bath soap & shampoos. Welcoming in the local artisans of everything from jewelry designs, ceramics and even offering a children’s class of the arts each week we found lots of families willing to teach their skills to our youth… The kids learned that they too could create something others would buy at a good profit to them… Our staff at the time was just 2 persons. Shades gave poetry reading’s, lectures and Yoga stretch & breath weekly… as it does even now… Read more>>

Deidre and James Norville

James and Deidre Norville have a background of over 25 years of being pillars within the inner cities of Los Angeles. James born and raised in Compton California, recently retired after 27 years of service with the Threat Interdiction Unit for the largest law enforcement agency in the world.  James also served as a Trainer and an Instructor in the Academy for aspiring professionals. As for Deidre, she was born on the East Coast, but her family moved to Carson California when she was 13 years old. In 1999, she earned a Master’s degree (MSW) and has work that spans more than 15 years of service with DCFS, Managing Homeless Shelters, Domestic Violence Programs. She has remained on faculty for the past 7 years with USC’s Suzanne-Dwork School of social work training future generations of Master Level students (MSW’s) to serve some of our Nation’s most vulnerable populations. Read more>>

Erin Taylor

Events TaylorMade was officially formed in 2009 after assisting a young bride create her dream wedding on a shoestring budget. My husband and I talked and thought it would be so nice to have a basic set of rental items that ALL couples could afford to rent. What began as chocolate brown linens, gold charger plates and a variety of vases (easily stored in garage) quickly grew into an inventory of more than 30 colors of linens, dinner service for 400 in three styles and hundreds of decor pieces! We offer flat rate packages as well as individual rentals and have taken the same philosophy and applied it to our floral department providing fresh florals for a fraction of the price most retail florists charge! Read more>>

Alan Santana

I founded No Teen Riders in 2016 after I saw a need to try and educate teenage drivers here in California and across the country after my cousin was tragically killed along with two of his high school classmates on an early Saturday morning on the roads of Kentucky. No Teen Riders is a nonprofit that has created a license plate frame as well as decals for the rear window and bumper of the car. It is a program designed to bring awareness and hopefully curtail the tragic deaths that happen each and every day here in America. Six to eight teens will lose their lives while riding in a vehicle being driven by a teenager with a provisional driver’s license. There are laws all across the country that prohibit teenagers from transporting friends or even riding in a vehicle being driven by them while holding a provisional driver’s license. Read more>>

Paul Rivera

It all started with music. I was just barely out of high school and I was in a band. I had just gotten fired from a book store for making personal calls at work. (I was young and stupid) The band was my life. I didn’t care about anything else. We use to make flyers by cutting magazines up and pasting them to a sheet of paper then photo copying. So in my mind the next logical step was go work at Kinko’s and get the hook up (for the band). I was driven and eager to learn everything I could so I could make the coolest flyers. I hung out with the graphics department guys on lunch, soaking up everything I could. One of them hooked me up with a copy of a photoshop trial disc. Back then it was easy to just back date your computer so your 30 day free trial lasted forever if you kept your computer thinking it was in the same month. Read more>>