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.
Daisy Chavers
I’ve always created in some form or another. I lost my hairdressing career when I tore my rotator cuff in two places. My husband and daughter tattoo and they soon had me in the shop helping run things and inspired me to start drawing again. One thing led to another, and here I am tattooing too! I love that tattooing pushes my creativity and challenges me every day. I also love that I still get to have a close relationship with clients similar to when I was doing hair. I particularly love tattooing flowers, plants, and small creatures. We have a shop in Asheville, North Carolina but really got tired of the winters. Savannah grabbed our interest and stole our hearts. So, we’ve opened a shop in Savannah! I’m so excited to be here and look forward to new friendships. Read More>>
Dustin Herb
We are a skincare company treating the public with simple products like Goat Milk Soap and Lotions. We got into the industry through a shared experience that being bad skin. “Bad” meaning tough cases of acne and eczema. My case was so bad (especially with acne on my face) that I even feared leaving the house. In high school, I found myself on the end of a few bullies, and it didn’t get much better into adulthood. Like some teens/young adults, I found myself going to my doctor for treatment. In the end, I found myself on a harsh medication called Accutane, and though it helped with one issue, facial/body scarring became a new one. After being on the medication for nearly two years, I started to look for a different solution. That’s when a dermatologist recommended the use of “Goat milk-based products. I tried a few different kinds and loved the results. Though it didn’t cure it (and won’t), it helped manage it. Plus, the feel of a bar soap never felt so good! Read More>>
Taya Person
I’m a Minnesota-born illustrator and visual designer currently residing in Savannah, Georgia. Growing up, you would never find me without a pencil, tennis racket, or cello bow in my hand. No matter what I was doing, my creative side never hesitated to shine through. After earning my B.F.A in illustration with a minor in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art and Design, my passion for visual storytelling only deepened. Through my studies and travels, I’ve found a love for collaborating with other creatives and challenging the rules of design to reach new limits and possibilities. I aspire to continue exploring and pushing the agenda of illustration and design by adding visual interest to otherwise uninteresting things. Read More>>
Sam Daly
Subject to Change was formed by Savannah native Sam Daly in the fall of 2020. His band is based out of Milledgeville, Georgia. In the recent years, they have honed their talents and travel further and further from home with each week in pursuit of their craft. Read More>>
Julia Jarrett
Of course! So, my name is Julia; I’m originally from Florida, but spent most of my Childhood in Tennessee, just north of Nashville. There, I spent my formative years with my grandmother quilting, beading, scrapbooking, weaving, even making dolls out of sunny-d bottles and sewing them clothes or tiny cloth babies to hold. We made really anything we could get our hands on, especially in the realm of textiles, but I don’t think I recognized that was what we were doing until much later. My Grandmother was a former painter, aiming to be a fashion designer, turned neo-natal nurse, who also drew beautiful astrological charts and read the tarot. The metaphysical aspect of my life has definitely been generational and my grandmother and great-grandmother referring to our family as “pagan catholics”. Both artistically and throughout life, she has definitely continued to be my greatest influence. However, as I got older, I lost a bit of that whimsical creation, especially when my parents and I moved overseas for my high school years. Not long after, I began dabbling in the digital art space and teaching myself how to create fantasy and sci-fi compositions in programs like photoshop. My mom began self-publishing novels around the same time and asked me to create a series of book covers for her. From there, I got cover design jobs via word of mouth until I eventually started my own book cover design business. I worked primarily with independent authors and small publishers to design almost 300 book cover designs throughout my high school years and a little after. I was even able to take advantage of creating in the digital space and travel around eastern Europe for six months before coming home to enter art school. I spent my first year of community college in New Jersey trying everything I could within their design program. I took my first real drawing classes learned how to create digital 3D models. got my first real taste of what a graphic design education would look like, developed my own film for the first time, and ran a sticker business on the side to fund my day-to-day college life. Community college was an extremely important time for me to just try everything I could before I dove into any specific direction. Within a year I had found my way to SCAD in Savannah Ga, entering into their Motion Media program. I had started to grow tired of working specifically in graphic design and thought turning towards animated design might bring a bit of my excitement back. However, my first semester when I turned in an embroidered color wheel in my color theory class my professor pulled me aside and asked if I was sure about the major I had picked. He wasn’t sure that someone who was creating in the way that I was would be happy behind a computer screen. That I seemed more like a painter or a fibers person. I had felt so disconnected from my creative childhood at that point that both of those options came as a shock to me. I no longer believed I had the ability to create in that way, but within three months, I had visited SCAD’s Fiber’s open studio, and I was hooked. I switched my major immediately and began studying Fibers/ textiles. I loved everything the department had to offer from sewn sculpture to screen printing and weaving. I spent the remaining three years soaking up as much textile information as I could. Towards the end of my college career, I rented a space in a community art studio where I focused on screen printing for my personal brand, Venus Moon. This ended up being that place that I met Mia, my former business partner, and fellow textile artist. Together, we hosted the Savannah Night Market in 2019 as a way to grow our creative community and showcase artist all around the southeast. We eventually moved out of that studio space and began dreaming up something bigger. A space where we could have an art studio, support our community, and share the lifestyle and work of all those who inspire us. This led us the opening The Circle, an inclusive retail space in downtown Savannah that celebrated color and magic, hosted community events, and operated as our textile studio. There, I developed a love for home and hearth magic and carved out a beautiful divination practice for myself. While owning the circle, I found myself once again separated from my creativity due to the day-to-day operation of running a brick-and-mortar space and so much of my time being spent on the computer again. I began searching for a way back to physical creation that also included textile work, and I found my way to broom making. I made my first broom with my grandmother when I was ten for my mother’s wedding, so it felt like the perfect process to find myself drawn to. I began making brooms for the Circle as well as teaching quarterly broom-making classes to our customers. The Circle closed down in March of 2023, and I moved into my home studio, where I have been able to dive into and explore the craft of broom-making in a way that I never could have before. Today, I am doing many things! I am back to hosting the Savannah Night Market, which is happening at The Legion Ballroom on October 19th as well as our holiday market at the Thompson Hotel on December 3rd! I also spend my days searching for fallen branches around Savannah’s Eastside to craft into beautiful broom handles, weaving dried flowers into hand brooms, wholesaling handmade products to stores around the US, and screen printing divination cloths for my charm casting practice. I also offer tarot and charm casting readings weekly around Savannah. Read More>>
Miloni Shah
My journey began as an inexperienced youngster with no clear direction until I enrolled in a design school. As a child, I adored animated movies and TV shows, but I had no inkling that it could become a viable career. Throughout my schooling, I consistently gravitated toward visual learning, with a particular fondness for art as a subject. It wasn’t until after my 12th grade that I resolved to pursue a career in design. I embarked on my undergraduate studies in India at a design school, which offered me a glimpse into the design industry. Read More>>
Wesley Jones
I’m an Illustrator and Designer from Gainesville, Florida. I went to catholic school my whole life, which has long-lasting influences on my work today. I moved to Savannah to start studying illustration at SCAD in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the city was pretty much a ghost town. Last year, I worked as a graphic designer at Gold Rush Vinyl in Austin, Texas, where my work was featured on the Today Show. I’ve since begun doing freelance and working on my first graphic novel. Recently, my work was featured at the SCAD Atlanta campus in an exhibition of current student and alumni work. Currently, I live with my dog in Savannah, finishing up my degree and developing my illustration portfolio for my future clients. Read More>>
Anastacia Diaz
Thought the height of the pandemic, I needed a way to make money and save for my future college endeavors, so I decided that using my sewing skills, I could make fun and environmentally friendly masks that are reusable and came in different designs and colors! I began using YouTube to draft different-sized patterns for all different-sized heads. Read more>>
Debbie Lariviere of Middleton Elite Coaching
Bill Middleton and I launched Middleton Elite Coaching 5 years ago after an extensive career in real estate sales, building real estate teams, and launching and running national real estate sales firms. Our company originated from what we felt was a gap in the industry. Foundationally, we offer customized business and real estate coaching programs versus a one-size-fits-all approach. Read more>>
Mariana Gillen-Sanchez
Dyslexia hits close to home, and I am very passionate about it because I was diagnosed with dyslexia in 2nd grade and know firsthand how difficult it is to have learning problems associated with dyslexia. For me, my parents were very diligent in seeking input from experts in this area and searching out tools that would help me not only cope with my dyslexia but also thrive as I continued to learn instead of continuing to struggle. Read more>>
