Hidden Gems: Local Businesses & Creatives You Should Know

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 our latest local gem features below.

Jude Buffum

I graduated in 2001 from the Tyler School of Art at Temple University, with a BFA in Graphic Arts and Design. After graduating, I began my career working alongside my former Tyler professor Paul Kepple at his studio Headcase Design, mostly designing award-winning books for Broadway shows like Wicked, Jersey Boys, and Avenue Q, and HBO shows like Deadwood and The Sopranos. Read more>>

Kelsey Llewellyn

I’ve been a Licensed Massage Therapist since 2015. My very first job was in a chiropractor’s office in New Holland, PA, where I was introduced to the Amish community as clients. That connection stuck with me. Over the following years I worked in chiropractic offices across the Lancaster and York areas and even with WellSpan when they had an employee massage therapy program. Read more>>

Heather Mclaughlin

I grew up with a strong appreciation for creativity, resilience, and reinvention. Over the years, my path has taken me through many different chapters — from raising a family and navigating major life changes to building a career in fashion, fitness, and television modeling. Read more>>

Diane Sharp-Nachsin

After college, I moved to Pittsburgh to dance with Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre resident Modern company, Mary Miller. I spent two years dancing in Pittsburgh before returning to Philadelphia to train on scholarship with PHILADANCO. After my time there, I had the pleasure of performing with several dance companies throughout Philadelphia and Maryland. During that time, I continued to choreograph and eventually launched my own company. Read more>>

Lauren Trout

I learned at a very early age how to survive be being quiet, being ‘good’, and not taking up too much space. Growing up in an abusive environment, my nervous system learned to constantly scan the room, read everyone else’s emotions, and walk on eggshells in order to feel safe. Read more>>

Sharise Nance

I’m a Pittsburgh native, licensed clinical social worker, speaker, entrepreneur, author, and founder of Vitamin C Healing, LLC and the SWAG Alliance Foundation. But my journey didn’t start with entrepreneurship—it started with a desire to help people heal. Early in my career, I worked in a variety of mental health and social service settings, supporting individuals and families navigating trauma, grief, crisis, and life transitions. Read more>>

Tom Valentine

For as long as I can remember, my life has been driven by a need to create. I spent years fully immersed in the art world as a professional visual artist. Developing a distinct ‘Street-Folk’ and pop-surrealist style, my work has always focused on taking familiar, nostalgic themes especially from 80s and 90s culture and transforming them into something bold, unexpected and entirely original. Read more>>

Tabby Malenchek

Four years ago, my life looked completely different. I was working waitress hours, surviving on caffeine, stress, and whatever tips made it through the week. Then one morning, I got the phone call that changed everything. My mom had suffered a massive stroke.Two weeks in a coma. No brain activity. Read more>>

Duke Rishell

I received my first power tool when I was about 9 or 10. My parents bought an old jigsaw at an auction but it didn’t have a bottom plate. So basically a motor and a blade..for a 10 year old! I built the bottom of a rocking chair but there wasn’t enough scrap lumber from our home remodel to finish the chair. Read more>>

Ahmed Elsayed

One80 Consultation’s story started with a simple belief: great businesses deserve to be seen. After spending more than 17 years working in business, marketing, operations, and consulting, I saw the same challenge over and over again. Small business owners were experts in their craft, but many struggled to tell their story online, generate consistent leads, or compete with larger companies that had bigger marketing budgets. Read more>>

Lisa Welch

Tall Pines is a family owned and operated distillery. Producing and bottling Moonshine, Whiskey, Rum, Bourbon and Amaretto. Located in the mountains of southern Pennsylvania the distillery property sits among a forest of Pine trees, and supports the rustic charm and character of the distillery itself. Read more>>

Derrick & Warren Clark

Belleville Market was born from a shared belief that retail could be something more than a transaction. Warren and I have always been drawn to the idea of creating places that bring people together, and we saw an opportunity to reimagine what a local retail experience could look like. Our journey to Easton wasn’t a direct one. Read more>>

Abbagale Nardelli

Progetto Collective came into fruition when our founder, Abbagale, pursued her lifelong passion for creating. After noticing that there were a group of businesses struggling with representation in many markets Progetto Collective was born on a single laptop with a dream and zero creative restraints. Progetto has grown into a full service agency with clients that have become friends. Read more>>

Joey Velez

I started in the financial field when I was 19 years old. The reason I got into it was because I wanted to help the Hispanic community get ahead financially. When I first started in my office, I was the only person who spoke Spanish. Read more>>

Jennifer Swanner

When my children were young, I dreamt of a safe and creative space for them to play and grow in their community. This was a dream I held onto for many years. When my children became adults, I finally had the time and resources to venture out and make this dream a reality for other families. Read more>>

Gustavo Olmedo

I’m Gustavo olmedo romero. From Oaxaca Mexican I’m 39 years old I came to America when I was 15 came here to make my American dream true as every immigrant. Read more>>

Samir Lakhani

Our story really starts with a single, unforgettable moment. In 2014, our founder Samir Lakhani was on a volunteer trip building fishponds in rural Cambodia when he witnessed a young mother bathing her infant with toxic laundry detergent. When he asked why, her answer stopped him cold: ‘Soap is too expensive.’ That moment revealed a paradox that was hard to ignore. Read more>>

Neville Gardner

moved from irelanf 1979 worked as engineer opened Donegal Square 1985 helped start celtic classic festival 1987 opened second shop in buck county bought our building 1996 opened Granny McCarthys tea room 1998 morphed tearoom to red stag pub 2013 Read more>>

Angelo Devenish

My name is Angelo Devenish I’ve been kidnapped, banked by my uncles , treated like trash by my sister and did not have a great childhood… imma be honest it was hard but I kept grinding and now I’m happy in life , I do boxing and now I’m in the best shape of my life 🦾. Read more>>

Autumn Walsh

What happens when you pair a full-service, state-of-the-art day spa with elite mental health therapy? Total bliss. We looked around the nation and noticed a glaring lack of truly holistic healing. Because let’s face it: stress and trauma stubbornly live in the body, and modern life is a lot. Read more>>

Dan Hannum

I have lived several different lives inside one lifetime. As a young man, I was a highly competitive athlete—a blue-chip athlete driven by intensity, discipline, and the desire to test myself against the world. Competition came naturally to me. I loved pushing limits, embracing discomfort, and chasing greatness. But underneath all of that drive was also a young man searching for identity, purpose, and meaning. Read more>>

Sam Wengert

Our family business was started by my father and grandfather in 1981 in an old dairy in central Pennsylvania ( Cleona). They built the business slowly throughout the years and eventually bought our current building in the the late 1980’s. We still own the original building but it’s strictly a warehouse now. Read more>>

Keywanda Ballard-Battle

Being a highly motivated solopreneur / independent contractor with 30+ years of corporate and independent contracting experience, BattlePlan Virtual is interested in partnering with you. Much of my ‘life’s work’ was performed at a high level [Management] in the travel industry [Airline]. Read more>>

Anthony Turco

7 years ago I was in a horrible auto accident which took me out of my life career as an HVAC Controls Tech and Pipefitter. While this accident brought me right to the edge of death, I am today now very grateful for the event. I was working a shutdown back in 2018 at a glass manufacturer. Read more>>

JT Loco

I have had a passion for music my whole entire life. I taught myself how to play guitar when I was 10, I picked up drums when I was 14 and I started making solo music in 2016 when I was 18 Read more>>

Jeff Woytovich

Here is a bio. Jeff Woytovich is the Founder, President, and CEO of the Children’s Alopecia Project (CAP), a national and international nonprofit serving children and families affected by alopecia. He founded CAP in 2004 after his daughter was diagnosed, creating a platform that focuses on building confidence, resilience, and community for children living with hair loss. Read more>>

Sharon Habanec

Southern Market is actually a really special project for us, because it ties directly back to Willow Valley Communities, a premier 55+ community, and our roots here in Lancaster. As the developer and operator, Willow Valley helped bring Southern Market to life. Read more>>

Chris Lauer

Waldo’s and Company started pretty informally. I (Chris Lauer) was lucky enough to be situated in a large warehouse space just a block from the center of town. The warehouse was a perfect art studio with high ceilings, big windows, a manual garage door, and of course, no heat. Read more>>

Charles and Susie Andrews

The Garden Gallery Established in 1976, The Garden Gallery, owned and operated by Charles and Susie Andrews, is Central Pennsylvania’s oldest and largest fine arts gallery. The Gallery represents a diverse collection of original art and objects ranging from vintage to contemporary, and from the curious to the divine. Featured artists include distinguished Pennsylvania historical artists such as Ira J. Deen and Esther M. Read more>>

Shalay Williams

As a nurse with 17 years of experience, I have always been passionate about bedside care. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I responded to a cardiac arrest involving a suspected COVID-19 patient. Despite everyone’s best efforts, the patient did not survive. The experience was heartbreaking and left me questioning my future in nursing. After the incident, I cried for 45 minutes. Read more>>

Michael Godlewksi

I’m originally from Wilkes-Barre PA , and stated a dishwasher at 15 and caught the kitchen bug so to speak. . Read more>>

Kaitlyn Unger

I started KTU Designs LLC with a love for creativity and helping people bring their ideas to life in a way that feels clear, beautiful, and purposeful. Read more>>

Quynh Nguyen

For a long time, I remember being told that I was too sensitive or too emotional. Over time, I began to believe it and tried to appear like I was ‘normal’. Read more>>

Tory Mather

Growing up, my family not super outdoorsy. When the pandemic hit in 2020, I was living in Orange County, CA in a 600 square foot apartment. I felt so claustrophobic and started taking my dog for walks away from our crowded apartment on trails in the area. Turns out…I was hiking?? Fast forward eight months and a move to Cleveland, Ohio. Read more>>

Anthony Cassara

During high school, I because fascinated with video production. I loved watching movies and wanted to learn how to make them myself. I have always been good with technology and computers, so it was natural for me to gain a deep understanding of how to work a camera. Read more>>

Jocelyn Lemus

I grew up in the small town of Oxford, Pennsylvania, and although I did not grow up with much, I truly believe that is where so much of my creativity began. As a kid, I was always outside with my friends, creating imaginary worlds out of almost nothing. Read more>>

Dean Harring

I grew up in Boston, the first of seven children. My parents were both artists (they met at Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston) so they frequently kept us occupied at home with drawing and painting lessons. Read more>>