The heart of our mission is to find the amazing souls that breathe life into our communities. In the recent weeks, we’ve had the privilege to connect with some incredible artists, creatives, entrepreneurs and rabble rousers and we can’t begin to express how impressed we are with the incredible group below. Check out our favorite stories from across the Voyage family.
Karis Miranda 
Dungeon Oddities is owned by husband and wife duo, Ivan and Karis Miranda. I (Karis) had been selling clothes online for about 10 years prior to getting into the oddities selling space. Read more>>
Ernest Owens 
I got my start in journalism as a college undergraduate at the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. I explored various forms of media — radio, newspaper, television, blogging, social media, everything — and learned a lot from mentors and internships. What made me stay in Philadelphia was my love of the city and the community I had fostered here. Read more>>
Todd Briggs 
# The Road to THRTL + GEARS: My Story It all started back at Black Bike Week 2013 in Myrtle Beach. I was out there rolling with my motorcycle club, Ghostface Ryderz MC, soaking in the energy, the machines, and the brotherhood. My club president pulled me aside and suggested I create a motorcycle streetwear clothing brand. Read more>>
Julian King 
I think the beautiful thing about my story is that I’ve never really known how to be just one thing. I was born and raised in Philadelphia, a city that has shaped so much of who I am, both as an artist and as a person. Read more>>
Kevin Wachtmann-Smoot 
My path to interior design wasn’t exactly a straight line. My background is actually in Industrial and Operations Engineering, and I spent the early part of my career working in consulting and market research. While that world taught me how to think strategically, solve complex problems, and really understand what people need, creativity and design were always pulling at me. Read more>>
Jen Fox 
I first picked up jewelry making to relieve stress after long days at my office job. By November 2013, my growing collection inspired me to launch an online shop. When I was laid off in 2016, I took it as a sign to transition my favorite hobby into a full-time pursuit, feeding the creative flame to see where it would take me. Read more>>
Ashley Novak 
My path here didn’t follow a typical script. I started Glam On Demand while also learning to live with lupus, and building a business alongside a chronic illness taught me early that I had to work smarter, not harder, or my body would make the decision for me. Eventually I took a corporate role with Benefit Cosmetics as and Account Manager, because of my diagnosis. Read more>>
Maureen Priest 
My journey began in 2004 with a passion for the practice of yoga and serving my community. Over the last two decades I’ve dedicated myself to becoming a destination for holistic evidence based practices. Today, our homestead and studio is a sanctuary for those seeking authentic connection—to the land, to community, and to themselves. My story is one of grit and determination. Read more>>
dr phil nicolaou 
I have been in the fitness industry since 1999 .Having worked at several health clubs at the time including Ballys Total Fitness, LA Fitness and Cardio Kinetics for a number of years as I went to college for my initial B.S. in Information Technology. Fitness for me was a side job, never meant to be a full time business. Read more>>
Mary Kate Fuller 
My path into functional nutrition was not completely linear, but looking back, there has always been a common thread: I have been fascinated by people, by health, and by understanding why we think, feel, and function the way we do. Read more>>
Christina Boyd 
Healing for the Soul: My Journey to Wholeness My journey with the Lord began when I was a little girl. I invited Jesus into my heart when I was around 8 years old, possessing a deep desire to have a relationship with Him even at that early age. However, I didn’t truly know how to walk in real relationship with Him until many years later. Read more>>
Katie Binetti 
I started my interior design business somewhat unexpectedly—from a duplex I purchased right out of college. I renovated one of the units, designed it from top to bottom, and turned it into an Airbnb. My goal was simply to create a beautiful, welcoming space for guests, but the response became the first indication that design could be much more than an interest for me. Read more>>
Alexis Rendina 
Ren & Co. Wedding and Event Planning began with planning weddings for friends. What started as helping a friend bring their wedding vision to life quickly turned into realizing just how much we loved being a part of these incredibly meaningful moments. Read more>>
Gabrielle Shelley 
Replicate started as a revelation in the living room in 2022, spending an evening with my roommates and all of our animals. I was looking for a way to start working for myself, and get out of the daily grind of realizing someone else’s dream. It all made sense. Read more>>
GARY MANN 
My story in upholstery really began by accident. In 2009, I enrolled at Wyotech to study business management and autobody. When my business management class became overbooked, the school offered students the opportunity to take the course in reverse order. While moving through the different programs, I happened to walk past the upholstery class. Read more>>
Dr. Candice Krout Dutko
Although I am healthy and fit now, I wasn’t always that way. At my heaviest, I was 220 pounds. When pregnant with my daughter, I had gestational diabetes (not to mention, much of my mother’s side of the family had diabetes). I knew something had to change, but could just never make it happen. Read more>>
Melissa Hallowell 
I come From a family of architects, engineers and builders, so i have always been around the process. I just had to find a way to merge my love for fine art with my a profession that allows me to create spaces. So the obvious was interior design. Read more>>
Lorraine Goodwin 
My name is Lorraine Goodwin and at 16 I made a decision that I will never regret- it has never let me down and has improved my life in every way… I decided to get healthy! Over the past 40 years I have been through many stresses and struggles and, thanks to my health, I was able to deal with them powerfully. Read more>>
Leon Cambridge 
Every creative journey has its turning points, and mine has been shaped by a lifelong dedication to discipline, physical expression, and storytelling. My path has unfolded through distinct chapters, anchored by resilience and personal transformation. Read more>>
Beverly Hague 
I learned to crochet in 2015 after I was watching a woman crocheting at the airport and commented that I had always wanted to learn. She gave me her bulky grey yarn & a plastic white N hook, said, “well here you go, now go on YouTube,” and walked away to her gate. I took that as a sign it was time to learn. Read more>>
Will McIntosh 
My path to becoming a golf coach has been anything but linear. I spent more than 15 years in corporate America, with a background in psychology, an Executive MBA, and experience in Big Five consulting and Wall Street. I’ve always been drawn to solving problems, teaching, coaching, and understanding how people think, behave, and make decisions. Then I lost my job. Read more>>
Kelly Unger 
Food, gardening and hospitality have always been my love language. The seeds of my culinary journey were planted in my childhood. Everyone in my very Slovak family cooked and had a garden. Attending Johnson & Wales University in Providence opened up my world viewpoint on cooking and my excellent education there ignited my curiosity about cuisine and culture. Read more>>
Starr The Songstress 
My name is Starr, and I’m a 27-year-old singer-songwriter, born and raised in Philadelphia. My musical background is rooted in classical, jazz, R&B, and gospel, which have each played a significant role in shaping me as an artist. I’m a firm believer in Jesus Christ, and my faith is deeply woven into who I am and the music I create. Read more>>
Irene Whitacre 
My passion for waxing and skincare began early on around the time I entered into the Cosmetology program at my technical high school back in 10th grade. Read more>>
Donna Doan
We are Patterson Farm Preservation, Inc., an organization formed by neighbors who were concerned about the future of our local municipal-owned farm. Read more>>
Matt Haber 
Hard to pin point exactly where my passion for antique and vintage goods came from specifically. I used to be fascinated by flea markets as a young kid. I eventually bought an old home that was originally built in the early 1800’s. And I use to repurpose old boxes for gifts, which led to someone telling me I should sell stuff like that. Read more>>
Jacintha Kruc 
I’ve really been doing some version of this work for most of my life. I grew up in New Mexico and Colorado, and I started painting scenery for community theaters when I was about 13. Read more>>
Kesha Butler 
The Vibe & The Vows began during one of the hardest transitions I’ve ever faced. I was 46, a mother of three grown children, and a recent empty nester. I wish I could say I handled that transition beautifully, but the truth is, I missed my children. I cried. I felt lost. Suddenly, it was just my husband and me at home. Read more>>
Gary Marshall 
I got my start as a line cook around 2009 to pay my way through college, bouncing around Pittsburgh kitchens until stepping into my first chef role at 24. After graduating, I went all-in on the industry with a single goal in mind: opening a space of my own. Read more>>
Alahji DáQuan 
I’m Alahji DáQuan, an independent hip-hop and R&B artist from New York City currently residing in between New York & Pennsylvania. I started out singing in my local church children’s choir then the adult Gospel Chorus. Although journaling since young, I began writing music and poetry in high school. I was taught poetry by my writing teacher Sarah Finley. Read more>>
Nigel Bond 
Looking back at it now, I realize my start in music was really just a chain of events that kept leading me deeper and deeper into music and the music industry. Nobody in my family was really into music like that. My mom doesn’t even listen to rap music. But I became obsessed with *106 & Park*. Read more>>
Kayla Volkert
I’m Dr. Kayla Volkert, an optometrist, and the owner of See La Vie Eyecare & Eyewear in Bryn Mawr. I grew up in Pennsylvania, studied life science at Penn State, and earned my optometry degree from the New England College of Optometry. I practiced in Charleston, South Carolina before returning to Pennsylvania and opening See La Vie in 2022. Read more>>
Pretty Late 
Pretty Late started with Rob Sacchetti and Mike Kneeland jamming for friends on a beach in Quincy. Our longtime friend Mike ‘MikeMike’ Young heard us playing, offered to add percussion, and wheeled his drums into Mike’s mom’s sweltering, poorly ventilated basement the next day, where we wrote most of our debut album, Better Late Than Never. Read more>>
Claire Starr 
From a Shared Dream to a Farm-to-Table Legacy In 2013, two young, passionate professionals, Pete and Claire Starr, made a bold decision: to step away from the predictability of corporate life and embark on a journey fueled by creativity, community, and a shared entrepreneurial spirit. Read more>>
