The Valley 7.19.2017

Lauren Ing

My vision was to provide EFFECTIVE, UNIQUE, PREMIUM, LUXURY skincare that was also natural, safe and non-toxic. I knew there was natural skincare out there and also luxury skincare, but nothing that provided both of these qualifications in a way that didn’t feel like a sacrifice of one or the other. I want women to feel that they are making their skin more beautiful, youthful, radiant but without sacrificing peace of mind and health. I am like many of you, I, too, struggled with terrible skin. Read more>>

Kristine Payaslyan and Arthur Khatchatrian

Ever since I was young, I always wanted to be a graphic designer. I had a passion for turning ideas and concepts into art. In 2008, my cousin asked me to help her create her wedding invitation, with my graphic design background, I decided why not let’s give it a shot. I enjoyed the whole process from concept to creation, but most of all, I loved the look on my cousin’s face when she saw the final product. I knew from that moment, this is what I wanted to do. Read more>>

Ashley Pollard

Ever since I was young, I’ve had a passion for anything artistic. Whether it was drawing, designing, decorating or anything crafty. At a young age, my mother put me into modeling for about eight years and during that time I was mesmerized by the artistic process that went into photography and creating that perfect picture. So even as a young girl I would dress my younger siblings, cousins and friends up and do fashion photo sessions with my grandma’s camera. It wasn’t until after a paralegal degree, marriage and three children that I finally got my first, what I like to call “big kid camera” that I decided to take a leap and start taking photos professionally. Read more>>

Michael Lynch

I grew up on a farm in Ireland and from an early age, I knew that my passion was creativity. I always loved drawing and crafts. When my mother was finished reading through her magazines, she would give them to me. I would flick through each page and study each picture. Whenever a picture caught my eye I would cut it out and place it in an old biscuit tin. Later I would browse through all the pictures I collected and study them in detail. Sometimes I would try to recreate them using charcoal because I could blend in the lights and dark. I was drawn to color and light. Read more>>

Chuck Norman

I moved to Los Angeles from Ohio after my college basketball career was over, I dove in head first into the world of bodybuilding. After a couple of years of running one of the biggest R&B clubs in Los Angeles and competing in bodybuilding, I began my career in stunts and movies and television. My career in stunts was cut short after twelve years, due to a leg injury I switched careers back to fitness industry as a full-time fitness coach. I then began my current company Get Fit with Chuck. Read more>>

Justin Berrington

I moved to L.A. from Albuquerque in 2011 after finishing my AAS for computer animation. My plan was to work in movies and television. But out of nowhere a friend offered to get me a job working for the tech company he was at. Initially I was creating 3D models of clothing for them for an augmented reality app they were developing. After a couple of months, we found that what we were trying to create just wasn’t possible with the current state of technology. So we switched gears to using photos. All of a sudden, I was a photographer with little to no photography skills. Read more>>

Kurtis Fujita

Growing up near Los Angeles, I was a fan of comic books, video games, Japanese Animation, and Kung Fu movies. It enthralled me to watch the adventures of the various heroes depicted in each genre as they encountered challenges, developed super human powers, and saved the day. This led me to attend Art College in San Francisco where I was studying illustration and animation. During that time, I began to study the Martial Arts of Hung Gar Kung Fu and Tai Chi in San Francisco Chinatown, under the renowned Grand Master, Y.C. Wong. Read more>>

Timothy Craig and Andrey Vasilyev

Timothy Craig studied acting and script analysis personally with Stella Adler at her New York City conservatory through the NYU Undergraduate Drama Program in New York City for three years and headed her conservatory voice and speech program for an additional six years. His professional acting credits include roles in regional and summer stock theater, Off- and Off-Off-Broadway, industrials and many national, network commercials. It was also during this time that he studied acting and directing for two years with Evgeny Lanskoy, a master teacher and recent émigré from the Soviet Union, and learned the revolutionary, model-based updating of the Stanislavski System of Acting by Pyotr Ershov. Read more>>

Wade Trimmer

After wrapping up an architectural apprenticeship 24 years ago, I was in Westwood waiting in line to see a movie. A young girl approached me and asked me more food. I was confused and thought she was lost – she was so young. She let me know that she wasn’t lost but that she was in fact, homeless. She introduced herself as, Angel, and told me she was 12 years old. I was shocked and decided to take her out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. We sat outside and she told me about being kicked out of her home by her step father. At the time, I didn’t know what to do for her or what I could do for her. Read more>>

Patrice Curedale

Known as one of LA’s top sources for vintage, Topanga Vintage Market has been junking along for 5 years on the LA flea market circuit. The open air market, which we founded in 2012, is seen as a social gathering for sellers and shoppers to come together for a special love of vintage and antique treasures. When we launched we knew we were entering a very competitive industry, with other LA markets having been around for decades. But after our very first show, we knew we had found a sweet spot. Read more>>

Chad Suggs

I’ve always enjoyed photography, but mainly it was something I did when going on vacation or exploring around the city I lived in. I love to travel and explore all that the world has to offer to learn new customs and cultures and capture that on camera. I’ve owned various point and shoot cameras as well as film cameras over the years, but when I purchased my first DSLR camera about 6 years ago I really began shooting almost every day and realized how much I continued to love photography. Read more>>

Ryan Jordan

My journey to open a nanny agency truly began when a family I tutored for nicknamed me, “The Educated Nanny.” What lead me to that paradigm shift in life dates back to twenty years ago. Let’s time travel back to 1996 when I was in high school. I was teaching children how to swim and babysitting for many local families in Wisconsin. I was an adventurous girl, and decided to move to England my senior year. Read more>>

Lovine and Kat Gopez

Our family has been involved in the auto parts business for the better part of 4 decades. I am part of the second generation, dealing with increasingly competitive online businesses that challenge our brick and mortar stores that have serviced the community for decades. As a result, our family sought to diversify by splitting our 15,000 sq./ft. warehouse and building out an almost 6,000 sq./ft. laundromat. I am fortunate that our family entrusted me and my wife Kat to make most of the decisions in building out the laundromat, and also all the details that come along with operating it. Read more>>

Dr. Thomas Polucki

I used to believe that drugs and surgery were the answer to any health concern. At 16, after three surgeries and five ongoing prescription medications I discovered chiropractic. After three months of chiropractic care I was off all prescription medications and in the past 34 years I have not even needed an aspirin. About ten years ago my wife and I consulted our family doctor about starting a family. Read more>>

Macaully Shields

My mom and I once looked for a place to board our cat and weren’t comfortable with any of our options in Los Angeles. So when I graduated from Johns Hopkins last year we opened Cateau Marmont. We designed and built an oasis for cats. We don’t have cages, we have large walk in bungalows. Everything we do is for the comfort and wellbeing of our guests. We get to know their personalities and care for them individually. We make it a point to try and bond with every kitty. We believe it’s that philosophy that has made Cateau Marmont the best cat hotel in all of Los Angeles. Read more>>

Mitchel Wu

I currently live in Valencia with my wife and daughter. I am the owner of Mitchel Wu Toy Photography and am a full-time toy photographer. I create images for various toy companies, including Mattel. I have a degree in illustration and have always been focused on creativity throughout my career. I worked at the Walt Disney Company for 6 years, and later had had creative collaborations with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Lucasfilm and Cirque Du Soleil. Read more>>

Janet Barnett

I went from high school straight into art school, with no real plan about what to do. But taking a photography course changed the game for me. I realized that you could get the end result so much quicker with photography than with drawing or painting, and that’s the direction I went in. After graduating from Art Center in the late 80’s, I
started shooting all of the bands playing on the Sunset Strip, which was a pretty wild time. I also assisted other photographers who were shooting entertainment clients in Los Angeles, from music acts to television stars. Read more>>

Kristin Lee

Surprisingly I’m not one of those photographers that has always had a camera hanging from my neck. I always enjoyed the simple point and shoot cameras as a kid, and my first real experience with photography was in high school. I have a background in business with my Associates from Moorpark College and continued on to get my Bachelor of Fine Arts in Professional Photography from Brooks Institute. After Brooks, I was a little lost in how I was going to make it in the industry, I worked for a photography agent and furthered my knowledge in the business of photography. Read more>>

Fran Montano

I started this Acting School and theater nearly 30 years ago and I am the owner and Artistic Director. We are, located in the NoHo Arts District, and are one of the longest running small, intimate theaters and Acting Schools in the Los Angeles area. I started this business to create a “home” for aspiring and working actors. The business not only includes classes and training, but personal coaching, career planning, networking, showcasing, and regular performing. My students range from beginning actors, accomplished actors who work regularly in film, television, and stage, movie stars, as well as numerous working directors and writers. Read more>>

reading to learn. Read more>>

Natalie Tate

Case Manager, Concierge for Home Care Services Santa Clarita at the age of 52 my story follows as an individual who has thrived and worked in the Santa Clarita Valley and surrounding areas for years, growing up as a teenager working in medical offices (Valencia Pediatrics), pharmacy/medical equipment, (Valencia Pharmacy/Saugus Drugs, now currently PPG Pharmacy Group), research & surgery microscope sales (Max Erb Instrument Co & Edge Scientific Instrument Corporation) and as always a people person. Read more>>

Nina Myles

I entered the beauty industry in 1982. Within 5 years, I opened my first salon at 25. After 3 years I moved to a new location. We quickly became known for being an outstanding teaching salon so we never had to look for new talent as we always had a waiting list of new professionals who wanted to join our team. We grew from a 1500 sq. ft. building to a 3000 sq. ft. building within 5 years, going from $150 thousand a year to over $1,000,000 in sales within 7 years. During that time, I was an educator for Redken teaching both product knowledge and techniques and business building skills as well. Read more>>

Yvonne Hanson

Yvonne (Allbee) Hanson started Bow-Wows & Meows in 2000, with a mission of matching adoptable shelter animals with potential families. Knowing the joy that her own rescued pets (at that time) Bear & Sam brought, Yvonne felt the community would support a pet fair if they knew how many great animals needed homes…and she was right. Over 2,300 L.A. County shelter animals have been adopted as a result of Bow-Wows & Meows over the last 16 pet fairs! Creating a unique opportunity for shelter pets to be given a different, more “happy” venue to get the exposure they deserve while the community can come, bring their own pets to show off and meet over 70 pet related vendors of pet supplies and services, Education, entertainment, Super Raffle, Fun Dog Show and even a low-cost vaccine clinic on site. Read more>>