The Valley 7.24.2017

Oxana Navrotskaya

We started Feel Good Desserts to join the Vegan Health movement. We wanted to prove Vegan food is not only for Runway Models, but also for health-oriented people in general. Would you rather eat a Vegan French Macarons like ours? They contain No artificial colors and flavors, Soy, Gluten or Refined Sugar or Animal by products and are 100% Cruelty Free. Would you feel better having 450 calories of healthy Raw Superfoods-based Vegan Mousse Cake or 1,200 calories of regular Cheesecake? The choice is yours. All of our recipes are unique and has been created by us by month and month of taste testing. Read more>>

Tannaz Santos

I went to school for graphic design but I always had a passion for photography. I started to take pictures when I was really young, I used to ask all the families and friends to model for me, I loved developing their pictures and see their faces. When I moved from Iran to US, I went to Pasadena collage and studied Photography and decided to do photography as a side job. I was doing all kinds of photography like Products, Head shots, kids and babies. After awhile I decided to specialize in newborn photography and I started my new business as Photos By Tannaz. I love newborns and I enjoy every moment that I spend with them to perfect all the little details. Read more>>

Maggie Keegan Gross

In 2009, I started a part-time portrait photography business while working as an attorney. I had spent most of the previous year out of work. I was a new attorney right when the recession hit and firms were not hiring. But I used that time to be with my new baby daughter and work on my family photography skills while looking for work. I’d been an amateur photographer with professional aspirations since high school, but somehow, I’d ended up an attorney instead. Being out of work turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Although I eventually found another job, I started to have friends and family ask me to take their portraits. And because I knew better than to work for free, I decided to start what I thought would be a “small part-time business” that would help support my hobby (camera gear is expensive!). I learned quickly that running a business is not a part-time job! Read more>>

Michelle Morris

I started my mobile massage business in 2012, while I was still employed with the State of California. I knew in my heart it was time for me to walk out on my own, but I was also fearful of not having a steady income. After networking with others seasoned massage therapists. I decided it was time for me let my government employment go completely. To my surprise, I wasn’t scared, I was excited to start this new career path. As a single parent, I always focused on the big picture. I celebrated the big and the small achievements. Every time a client called and booked an event, my confidence grew. I knew I had found my passion. Read more>>

Cody Cordova

Well it all started in a well-known city, aka the capital, of California called Sacramento. The City of Tree’s as it once was famously called before they changed the iconic water tower in the city to now say “Sacramento: America’s Farm to Fork Capital.” Albeit I enjoy the push towards the organic whole foods approach to diet, the City of Tree’s will forever be my hometown where I grew up. I happened to grow up on the east side of Sacramento in a city called Rancho Cordova. There used to be a thriving Military Airbase there until it shut down, forcing many families to leave, however many families could not afford to just uproot their lives and go. This ripple effect made Rancho Cordova a little more ghetto than it used to be back in the 60’s and 70’s. Read more>>

Carly Pepin

I grew up in Los Angeles and have lived here most of my life! About 5 years ago I hit a massive wall, I had a successful career in the photography industry, I owned my own home, had the car, the cash, the clothes, but not the happiness. I was wildly miserable! I completely blamed Los Angeles it’s stereotypes, so, I figured the best option would be for me to move. And then I decided better yet, how about I get as far away as possible and move to Australia 🙂 So I got there, it was beautiful, magical and everything I had imagined and more. Except…. I was still miserable, even more so in Oz. That’s when I first realized that every piece of dissatisfaction in my life, every challenging person and experience wasn’t a result of where I was, but who I was. Read more>>

Angel Bousquet

It all started as a hobby. I had a camera so I started taking pictures. One day I decided to shoot models and little by little I started getting better at shooting people and now this is all I do for a living. I love it! No it’s been very difficult and I still is there are many ups and downs and I have to do many types of portraiture to be able to make a living of this. Having said that, this is all I ever want to do with my life so it’s very worth it. Right now I’m a bit of a generalist so I take everything I can but on my most personal work, the work that I associate with my brand I like to work with dark moody subjects while making it look elegant and sexy. Read more>>

Tim Bean

My wife and I have six kids. This required a lot of trips to photo studios like Sears, JC Penney and The Picture People over the years. We had owned many “point and shoot” cameras to capture candid photos as they were growing up, but those never really allowed us to get really great shots. In 2010, we had a discussion about purchasing a “real” camera to try and get some really great shots. We decided to invest in an entry level DSLR. Once we got it home, I had to try and figure out how to get the most out of it! So off to YouTube I went in search of tutorial videos……I was HOOKED! I found myself spending hundreds of hours learning about composition, lighting, contrast, depth of field…. the whole spectrum. Each week, I would try a new type of shot. It was fun and addicting! Read more>>

David Rountree

David Rountree is co-owner LA Acting Studios, which is a professional on-camera acting class. Rountree began as a full-time actor, but began working his way to the other side of the camera. He has produced five completed feature films, four of which, he directed. He has also written 5 feature film scripts, which were all bought and completed and has directed nearly 30 commercials. Rountree’s latest two films, 108 Stitches and CUT! which he wrote, produced and directed, both had theatrical releases and CUT! was picked by MRankings.com (Movie Rankings) as one of the TOP 5 HORROR FILMS of 2014. Read more>>

Loren Chadima

As a kid, I always wanted to act, but my teachers always asked me to be the Director. This started in 4th grade. I auditioned for Dorothy in the “Wizard of Oz” and they asked me to be the student director and then in 7th grade I wanted to be Hellen Keller, but I was asked to direct. In high school, I auditioned and was asked to direct and choreograph the musicals. So by college, all I wanted to do was to direct – which was my major at UC San Diego. For graduate school, I went to Trinity Repertory Conservatory in Providence Rhode Island. I wanted a practical conservatory setting which was aligned with a working professional theatre and that’s what I got. Read more>>

Marcilla Hayslett

I started Latres in 2011 in historic core of downtown Los Angeles. At the time DTLA was up and coming with small unique boutiques, eclectic restaurants, and a vibrant community. I felt that there was a void in Los Angeles for a unique intimate apparel store as we often see in New York. A lingerie that sales designer, quality, moderate-high end lingerie that women don’t find in department stores or your average Victoria Secret. Unlike Victoria Secret, LATRES is a retail store that sell brands from all over the world and even designers based in Los Angeles. Latres was created to have a space where women can feel comfortable while inside, something of their own. I wanted to create a shopping experience to embrace being a woman. Read more>>

Shella Jivita

First, I was working in a waste management company for about a year. Later, I decided to open my own company because I already had adequate experience. So I started the company with my spouses help. For the first few months it was hard because we had several issues. But I kept trying and working harder to make the business run better. Now slowly but surely my business is growing. Nothing is impossible, you just need to put little effort to achieve it and don’t be afraid to start something new. Some customer doesn’t want to pay. They already ordered but when we reached there, they canceled it. Read more>>

Ligaya Kelly

It started with my daughter who is an animal lover. She decided at five she wanted to be a veterinarian. Fast forward ten years to 2011. My husband and I were both looking for more work. I was an independent bookkeeper and he had a carpet cleaning business. I found an ad on Craigslist for “a mature couple to manage a dog boarding facility. Must not be afraid of the dark. I asked my husband and kids what they thought. They all agreed we should look into it and about a month later we moved from a house in a neighborhood to a ranch on a mountain top. We put in three very hard but very rewarding years before approaching the owner about selling. Read more>>

Ashley Gelfound

I accidentally fell into the role of Wedding & Event Planner, as my background is really in the Performing Arts. I have a BA in English & Theatre with a Minor in Dance from Cal. State University, Northridge, and I have an MA in Performance Studies from New York University. I had planned on going for the PhD, in order to teach at a university but had a rude awakening during my last semester at NYU which forced me to take a different path. The year I graduated from NYU was the same year I got married. I graduated in May 2011 and was married that July. That same year was my husband’s second year of law school. So after we were married I did not have much time to job search, I had to go with the first thing that fell in my lap which happened to be working in the Travel Department at Guitar Center’s corporate headquarters. Read more>>

Ari Mc Intyre

Candle by Ari starting at the turn of the new century back in 1999. I had always been a very sensitive person when was a child my family use my sense of smell to check if the food was spoiling. I also could feel what other people were feeling and I thought that was normal. My grandmother and I have a very telepathic connection. I thought everyone could her what she was thinking. She explained to me later what I had was give and one day God would show me what to do with it. It was only normal for me to go into Spiritual Coaching. Anyway back in 1999, I have few clients that need to get center and I could feel their nervous energy and wanted to help ground them. Read more>>