David Jenson, Keila Collins
JourneyBirds began several years into our relationship. Both Keila and I had musical backgrounds, but neither was actively pursuing music at the time we met and began dating. We were asked to play a song at a family gathering one summer, and worked out a tune on the ukulele during a road trip up the Pacific coast. Read more>>
Kaitlin Lopez
My story started about 15 years ago when I took a high school photography class. I had always loved looking through old photos, playing around with cameras, and covering my walls with pictures of my friends and I. At age 17 I began working at a camera shop, developing film (I swear I am not that old) and selling cameras. Read more>>
Zeena Gregg
I’ve been interested in photography since I was a child. My dad took lots of photos of us growing up and put together a scrapbook of me that covers the first 10 years of my life. We moved a lot (from England to the Carribean, then to Nigeria, and then to California) so I loved looking through the scrapbook to help me remember all the places we had lived and traveled to. Read more>>
Chitrang Africawala
We had a film camera in the family when I was kid. I was always fascinated by what a camera can do. I would always take pictures when we would go out on a trip. I then moved to the states in my early 20’s. I got me a digital camera for our honeymoon and I was hooked. I started taking pictures all the time. Read more>>
Cheryl Polk
For as long as I can remember I always loved taking pictures! When I finally got a camera of my own (maybe high school), it went everywhere with me! I always loved getting to look back at photos and reliving each moment! But it was the birth of my daughter that really pushed me to the next level. At the beginning, I really just wanted to take better pictures of her. Read more>>
David Dahl
Everyone associated with Yargmetal has a serious love of Hard Rock and Metal. We wanted to share that love of music with as many people as possible. Online streaming obviously seemed like the best way to accomplish this. Yargmetal.com is an online radio station that we knew we could have a global reach. Read more>>
Whit Rigali, Sam Chereskin
Although we are opposites (Whit Rigali, with a background in bartending and Sam Chereskin an agricultural economist) we bonded over our passion for spirits. 4 years ago when we decided to open a distillery the state was buzzing with energy.California overtook France to become the 6th largest economy in the world. Read more>>
Dmitri Diakov
It all started back in 1980 in the capital of the former USSR, Moscow. I moved from Russia to America in 1991. I don’t remember much of those days but one thing is seared, the images of tanks on the city roads, going in opposite direction of us. Read more>>
Erika Givens
I grew up in Marin County with a fascination for drawing and building Lego cities. Focused on becoming an urban planner, I graduated UC Santa Barbara (Environmental Studies/Political Science) but the pull toward art eventually lead me to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Read more>>
Yasmin Von Banke
I realized I wanted to be a singer when I was 8 years old. I’m lucky enough to have hugely inspirational parents who have not only helped me in my respective field (My mother used to be a dancer and also did musicals and my dad is an incredibly talented musician) but also supportive and gave me guidance on how to navigate through this sometimes tricky industry. Read more>>
Heather Seignemartin
I grew up with strict religious parents who were guiding me down the path of being the ultimate wife and mother. I had an interest in photography, but it was simply a hobby for me until I met a guy my age who was already freelancing for his local newspaper and started dating and assisting him on his shoots. Read more>>
Lance Ayon
I have always been interested in creating ideas and starting small businesses. I entered the United States Air Force when I was 20 years old with a goal of becoming a dentist. I worked as a dental technician for 4 years active duty and 2 years reserve. Read more>>
Kaila Reeves
I was raised in Carlsbad and my grandma who owns Hoof Haven introduced me to riding at 2 years old, I’ve been doing it ever since! I currently do competitive show jumping with my 4 horses along with my 6 rescue Minis who I do trick demos, and occasionally some therapy sessions with! Read more>>
Robert Aragon
I’m a self taught artist and San Diego native. I began painting and drawing before I could form and verbalize sentences… so, creative expression is the essence of my being. Needless to say, my sensitive nature left me quite vulnerable to constant bullying during my schooling years. Read more>>
Tony Perez
Mission: To provide golf as a form of rehabilitation for returning combat injured men and women Veterans, suffering from severe physical and mental disabilities sustained in combat while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read more>>
Ashley Gabrielson
Growing up, I never really knew exactly what I wanted to do, but I was always the creative type. I played the piano, guitar, took dance lessons and I loved to draw. Photography was not something that came into my life until college. It was my Junior year of college, and I was getting ready to spend the summer in Barcelona. Read more>>
Robyn Simon – John
After graduating The Art Institute of California, San Diego with a Bachelors degree in graphic arts, I went off and worked a few office jobs doing marketing and graphic design including working at our family’s business. I struggled sitting at a desk everyday but I didn’t see that changing until a good friend of mine asked me to take maternity pictures for her. Read more>>
Marianela de la Hoz
My name is Marianela de la Hoz; I was born and raised in Mexico City. Ever since I can recall, I have always loved to draw and paint. With clarity, I can imagine myself as a little girl of maybe three years of age, depicting the themes I had just read about with my Grandfather. Read more>>
Rebecca Lindsay
When I was 8 years old, my creative counterpart – my dad – constructed a rustic dark room in our Elfin Forest home’s garage and taught me the magic of film photography and developing film onto prints. Fascination with photography is in my blood. I was part of my memories growing up. Read more>>
Richard Hawk
I was born in New York City. Fortunate smiled on me as I was able to grow up in a household where the life of the mind was prized. My mother was a librarian and my father a college professor and writer. My parents created a rich and lively environment for ‘understanding the human condition. Read more>>
Matthew Smith
I started Modmacro in 2010 when the economy was depressed. I figured if I could create a successful brand in that economy, things would get even easier as the economic climate improved. Before starting the company, I was the director of Venture 5, the web design division of an established software company in San Diego. Read more>>
Caylon Ellis
I honestly cannot recall what made me decide to go to massage school. I graduated from the University of California at Irvine just shy of a year and a half prior to starting massage school. Some life events sent me on a different journey than I was expecting. Read more>>
Daniella Manini
I came to California in 2004 from Lima, Peru. I wanted to work as an illustrator but considering I was an immigrant it wasn’t that easy for me the first couple months. I started doing a lot of baby sitting and random jobs like working for Chuao Chocolatier off their headquarters in Encinitas selling chocolate. Read more>>
Dana Powell
I moved from Springfield, MO when I was 23 years old to pursue my career in acting. I was actually following a boy (my now husband) thinking he was going to dump me as soon as he rescued me from my small town. I was working at a news station, editing the nighttime news, thinking that was a ‘realistic’ answer to the ‘dreams’ I had of pursuing acting. Read more>>
Kinda Arzon
My name is Kinda (pronounced like Linda). I am a Chicago girl living in sunny San Diego with my wonderful husband and 2 beautiful kids. I have a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Computer Science, and over 7 years experience working in IT Consulting, Project Management, Programming, Graphics and Web-Design for companies such as Abbott Laboratories, Hitachi Consulting, and AbtElectronics. Read more>>
Heather Middleton
As successful wedding photographers in the San Diego area we had been seeing photo booths popping up at many of the weddings we were photographing. We felt that with our experience in photography and the wedding and event industry that we could bring a photo booth experience to the San Diego area that was a fun VIP style experience for everyone, with quality photos. Read more>>
Leah Brodt
Wholesome Kitchen SD is a family-run, veteran-owned meal delivery company in San Diego County. Leah and James are two siblings that share their passion for fitness and nutrition. Being parents to toddlers, they understand the need for healthy, convenient meals that the whole family can enjoy. Read more>>
Shivam Kohls
I am passionate about helping women struggling with stress to get their life back. Because there was a time in my life when the shit hit the fan and the stress was so bad that I felt my life was unraveling and not worth living. I tried many different things to manage the stress and get my cortisol levels down enough so I could sleep. Read more>>
Tony DiLorenzo, Alisa DiLorenzo
We have been married for 21 years. The first 11 were challenging. We entered into marriage with over $50k in debt. Tony brought into our marriage a pornography addiction that had started when he was 12. In 2004, Alisa gave birth to our son, Andrew, at 18 weeks-he never even took a breath. Read more>>
