Vanessa Valiente
I have a bachelor of arts in costume design for television, theatre, and film. I began my career as a costumer for television shows in 2006 working with up and comers like Joe Manganiello, and old school celebrities like Bo Derek and Morgan Fairchild, among others. In between shows, I began styling commercials and editorials, and acquired my first private client as a personal stylist in 2007. That year, I also started my now popular fashion blog, V-Style. Read more>>
Anthony Ordway, Megan Ordway
We started making going away gifts for Marines on our 5th floor balcony. Our first handmade item was a small American flag made from oak. That was in 2016. Since then we have upgraded to a small shop and have not stopped making custom orders. There has been many learning curves. Logistics has been a great undertaking. Always reducing cost to become as efficient as possible equal savings for our customers. Read more>>
Jane LaFazio
When I was a child, I would visit my father once a month, at his apartment in San Francisco, (my parents were divorced) and not only would he take me to museums, plays, and craft fairs (and to Haight Asbury!) he encouraged my creativity by making things. In his kitchen, he had a card table set up, laden with treasures like glitter and pipe cleaners and crepe paper. We would work there together, during my visits. Read more>>
Steven Shyne
Red Dress Parties are popular in many cities, including Portland, Sacramento and Chicago, and thanks to a small group of passionate, fun-loving friends, as of just a few years ago San Diego is no stranger to its very own Red Dress Party. The event is a night of music and dancing mixed with charity and fun, where all attendees – and we mean everyone – are required to wear a red dress, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. Read more>>
Miguel Rodriguez
I moved to San Diego from Baltimore back in 2009. The loneliness of any long move can be oppressive, so I decided to start a podcast as a means of connecting with people. The podcast focused on my love of cinema in general, and genre cinema in particular. I have worked for and programmed film events for many years, as well as been a regular attendee at a number of film festivals. Read more>>
Devin Gneiting
After having spent almost a decade traveling the world leading luxury cycling vacations, it was hard to figure out what to do next. i played around with a few jobs but nothing was quite the right fit. Justin and I began brainstorming….ie; sitting around with a couple of beers. I believe it was Justin who proposed the question. Who doesn’t like grilled cheese? That was the question that got us really moving. Read more>>
Joel Plys
After a date in Chicago in 1998, I realized that I really enjoyed Swing Dancing. So much so that I made a full-time self employment career jump in 1999 starting Get Hep Swing Ltd in Cleveland, OH. Moved to San Diego in 2002 where 2PlySwing Productions was created to run large dance events and travel the globe to teach. After 32 US States and 13 countries I decided to shift my focus to more local SD endeavors starting Swing Dancing San Diego officially in 2012 although I had been in SD for 10 years helping all other local venues. Read more>>
Jon Osio
I initially began working at the Japanese Friendship Garden (JFG) as part of the facility staff two years ago helping with the maintenance of the newly opened lower garden expansion. I eventually expressed interest in becoming more involved with the exhibitions as I was planning to apply to graduate school for visual arts. Read more>>
Maria Flores, Jesus Flores
We are a homeschooling family of 7, and for years we have been going from one place to another enjoying amazing educational field trips all over San Diego. We soon realized there were many families around town who were also looking for opportunities to get together with other homeschoolers and participate in outside-the-box educational activities. Our program was designed to meet this, and many other homeschool families’ needs. Read more>>
