Over the past few months we’ve reached out to members of the CanvasRebel community to dive deeper into their stories. We wanted to learn how they got to where they are today and we heard stories that will keep our inspiration cup full for a long time. Their stories, lessons and humor have lifted our spirits and we hope you’ll take a minute to check out the stories below.
Erin Oostra
I started my journey in the arts after studying Graphic Design in college. My career began in Seattle, where I had the opportunity to work with notable companies like Nordstrom, Picmonkey, and Shutterstock. During this time, I was also painting on the side, nurturing my passion for creating art that captures the essence of the natural world. Read More>>
Victoria Waddle
As a young adult, I participated in critique groups and took some creative writing classes, but I didn’t write seriously until I had established my life in other areas—as teacher, mother, caretaker, etc. So, in that sense, I may not be the example that people are looking for. But if anyone feels like they missed out and it’s too late to start, I am an example to them. I believe it’s never too late. If you feel called to a creative endeavor, try it out. If it doesn’t work, you’re no worse off than if you hadn’t tried it. Success just may be taking the journey. Read More>>
Chelsea Ohlemiller
I never envisioned myself as a writer or someone who would occupy the grief space. However, that all changed in 2017 when my mother passed away at the age of 57. Suddenly everything was different. I was different and so was the world around me.
To process my pain and the chaos that stirred inside my soul I started writing. I let every emotion and experience loose onto the page/screen, with the only hope to heal and to say the things I wanted to say, without making others uncomfortable. I learned quickly after my mother died that pain and heartbreak, especially when tied to death, makes people extremely uncomfortable. Read More>>
Arrezo Azim
My mission as a Positive Psychology relationship and dating coach is to empower individuals to build and sustain meaningful, fulfilling relationships while achieving personal growth and self-confidence. This mission is deeply meaningful to me, rooted in my own experiences and the transformations I’ve witnessed in my clients. I struggled in relationships, which affected my self-esteem and worldview, often feeling anxious, alone, and stuck. Navigating these complexities, especially while balancing professional success, fueled my passion to help others find harmony and fulfillment. Read More>>
Vishnupriya Thacker
A few years ago, I faced a health crisis where the accurate diagnosis for my ailment could not be obtained through Allopathic or General Medicine. In a desperate attempt to find a solution, I went back to my roots, turned to Ayurveda and fully healed myself using natural means.
This event ignited my curiosity for holistic health and I completed the cutting-edge Health Coach Training Program from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. It was, however, the ancient science of Ayurveda that fascinated me, and I trained to receive my Ayurvedic Nutrition Certification, while taking practical guidance from another Ayurvedic doctor [Ayurvedacharya] regarding the health issues faced in the U.S. Read More>>
Suless Burton
Long story short……GOD! I began performing in high school, college, and grammar school but took a long break to raise my children. Years later, my son and I made the decision to begin filming a movie. Sadly, my son died from an asthma attack, but I managed to fulfill our ambition by finishing our first film, “When Does it Stop.” The inspiration from that film pushed me to film my second film “HOPE Westside High” that was inspired by the 1988 film Lean on Me. Read More>>
Charon Darris
I grew up in Harlem during the 1980s, at the height of the community’s struggles with poverty and violence. Despite not being affluent, my parents, who firmly believed in the transformative power of education, made significant financial sacrifices to ensure that I had access to some of the city’s most prestigious middle and high schools. Even as a child, I was acutely aware of the potential impact this opportunity could have on my life. My parents’ sacrifices paid off, providing me with the educational foundation necessary to pursue higher education and lay the groundwork for a great career. I went on to attend and graduate with honors from Morehouse College, where I also studied abroad through Semester at Sea, visiting Japan, China, Vietnam, India, Cyprus, Egypt, Morocco, and Spain. Read More>>
Pamela K Walters
I started my brand PK BIJOUX because I wanted something fabulous and unique in the way of accessories. I was disappointed in the offerings from high end brands and that pushed me to see if I could do better. I had a very robust collection of rare vintage jewelry and in my frustration, I began dismantling pieces of my collections and re-built them into one-of-a-kind creations. What I do is called Assemblage which is French for Assemble. Basically, it means that I collect wonderful pieces from all over the world and from that massive collection I build new and unique jewelry and accessories. I have been fortunate to be shown on a regular basis in Vogue, Bazaar, L’Official and more. I also won an award in 2017 for Best Jewelry in an International film. Quite an honor. It was a great evening! Each piece has history and a story behind it. Read More>>
QPZ
I originally started out as a photographer back in 2017 interning at a Seattle Music Venue Neumos. I was at the time working 2 jobs as a Barista and a Line Cook and was growing frustrated from both places. I knew deep down I am a creative person and needed an opportunity to find a means of a way to express myself. When I was accepted the offer I took on as many shows as much I as I could for about 6 – 8 months before the internship ended. Read More>>
Sahra Brandt
It all started in Kindergarten…I was very particular about my clothes. I had a favorite pair of stirrup leggings and black and purple sweater that my mom would have to wash basically daily so I wouldn’t throw a fit. I loved clothes that made me feel a certain way. Flash forward just a bit; I’m in middle school, watching Lizzie McGuire on this tiny TV in my brother’s room and drawing outfits in my sketchpad that I think each character should wear. In high school, I still loved drawing outfits and expressing myself with my clothes. I started modeling, which was a great way to get free clothes and to play dress up. My senior project in high school was a fashion show I produced and designed all the clothes for with a fellow sartorially inclined friend. After graduating a year early I moved to NYC to pursue modeling, and then soon attended NYC’s prestigious LIM college where I studied fashion merchandising and minored in visual merchandising. Read More>>
Brian DeLong-Weismiller
In the autumn of 1996, I found myself utterly captivated by the on-screen chemistry of Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson in “Bed of Roses.” Sure, Christian Slater’s undeniable allure was a factor, but it was his enchanting chosen occupation that really hooked me—a man who delivered flowers, weaving love and joy into the lives of strangers. I mean, who wouldn’t fall for that? I practically expected him to show up at my door with a bouquet and a romantic monologue. Read More>>
Mansi Bhatia
My artistic journey has been a winding path, a delightful fusion of words and colors. As a child, I was drawn to watercolor painting, but as I grew older, I was encouraged to pursue more “practical” paths. Eventually, I found my way into journalism, where I could channel my love of storytelling. For two decades, I worked as a communications professional, in cushy jobs with a humdrum lifestyle. Read More>>
Chelsea Hickey
Art has always been an integral part of my life. From a young age, I was irresistibly drawn to all things creative, whether it was art class, filmmaking, designing board games, crafting, stop action animation, or sculpting. My passion for creativity naturally led me to pursue a BFA at art school. However, after graduating, I struggled to find a profession that offered both creative fulfillment and the financial stability I desired. Read More>>
Charliese Lewis
When I was in high school, my primary goal was to become a news anchor and a talk show host. I was ready to be the next Oprah Winfrey. When I was sixteen, two children I knew died in a house fire. It was very traumatizing. I realized that I did not have the composure to report bad news, especially when it related to children. So I sat that dream aside. I decided to attend Kentucky State University as an English major. I wanted to nurture that writing gift. English was as close to Journalism as I get at the time. When I looked at the curriculum requirements, I realized that there was only a four credit hours difference in an English major and an English/Education major. I rationalized that I could fall back on teaching if I ever needed to. When I did my student teaching assignment, it was not the best experience. I also did not like being confined to one room for such a long period of time. I loved teaching, but on my own terms. Read More>>
Thomas Crowe
It’s pretty straightforward. I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1994, lived there till my mid-twenties, until, in 2019, I moved out to Santa Fe to attend St. John’s College in hopes of finally completing my undergraduate degree. A number of factors—COVID among them—delayed my progress on that front and for financial reasons, I needed to leave St. John’s and attend the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. I chose to pursue a degree in Classical Studies, which wasn’t far off from the general liberal arts degree I would have gotten from St. John’s. The primary difference between the two is really one of focus. Classical Studies goes into the languages in-depth, principally Latin and Ancient Greek, while liberal arts, as it was taught up at St. John’s, uses language more as a means of appreciating the translations you’re working with in the seminar classes. Read More>>
Houston Smith
I was barely through my second trimester in chiropractic school when I seriously started questioning everything.
The exams were brutal, my palpation skills felt more like awkward pokes than diagnostic tools, and the constant stream of information and spinal pathways kept me up at night. I remember thinking, Maybe I’m not cut out for this. I’d always admired chiropractic from the outside—the philosophy, the hands-on care, the idea of helping people without drugs or surgery—but from the inside, it suddenly felt overwhelming. Read More>>
Alyssa Ratliff
I’ve asked plenty of family and friends to help support my business. As a photographer, starting up was the hard part. I needed a portfolio and something to display to potential clients. So, I brought in family and friends. My own little sisters are the stars of many of my first portfolio favorites. Read More>>
Wassem Moarsi
The best advice I’ve given—advice I live by in my own business—is something I picked up from Gary W. Keller’s The ONE Thing: Don’t try to be everything. Be the best at one thing.
Too often, I see businesses scatter their energy—coffee, brunch, cocktails, falafels, pizza, even tarot readings in the back. It’s a fast track to becoming forgettable. When you spread your attention everywhere, you dilute the quality of everything. Read More>>
Jonene Ford
The best advice I ever gave a client was this: follow the 90-10 principle. That means 90% of the foods you eat should support your health goals, and 10% should be for pure enjoyment. I remind clients that food isn’t just fuel, it’s also cultural, emotional, and social, and when we ignore that, it typically ends in disaster. Read More>>
Cheryl Samson Ramirez
The Pilipinx in Wellness podcast is a tiny, but mighty team of 7 members who all volunteer our time and energy for FREE for the success of a Filipino/Pilipinx health and wellness global resource hub and podcast. It was not always a team of 7 members. Read More>>
Nohtal Partansky
When I started building the team at Sorting Robotics, I knew I wanted to make a fast-paced company because I had just been working for four years at NASA, which was very bureaucratic and very slow. But one thing that NASA has, which is very unique and something I haven’t seen in any other company, is a purity towards relentlessly discovering the truth, being brutally honest with yourself and everyone around you, whether it’s on an emotional level or a technical level. And that’s what allows NASA to make things that leave this planet and soar through the stars, the fact that they look at the hard truth and address it head-on. So I wanted to build a team that could do that. Read More>>
Maddy Cauthen
My story starts in another country, and continues in Jackson Mississippi. I’m Canadian! I went to hair school in downtown Toronto. I worked at a major salon in the greater Toronto area and specialized in haircutting for 5 years. In that time I travelled the world a bit. On a trip to visit my best friend in Sydney, Australia, I ended up meeting my husband. We were in a long distance relationship for 3 years from Canada to Australia and in April 2021, I made the move to Jackson Mississippi. Why Jackson? My husband was born and raised there! In my first year and a half of living in America, I was going through the immigration process. In doing so, I was not allowed to work. For that year and a half, my few family and friends at the time, were my hair guinea pigs. I was doing their hair in my kitchen and they had to quite literally lay on my kitchen counter for me to wash their hair. once I finally received my work permit, I chose a small salon in Jackson to work at and build a clientele starting with 0 clients. Read More>>
Lorena Grewe
Tattooing, historically, has quite some issues with not just image, but also inclusion. Typically, it was white males who tattooed and others were occasionally included. The tattooing world is definitely changing and I hope I have done a little in my small world to help. I have taught many young women and minorities how to tattoo and be successful in this world; given them a chance when they may not have otherwise. The shop I have created is a shop full of strong, talented women! However, I also try to be inclusive with my clients and make sure they are comfortable and safe. We are nothing without our clients and we need to respect and listen to them and model our environment so that they wish to come back. Read More>>
Isaiah Mcswain
In December 2024, Zayam Design successfully generated 10 qualified leads for Jonathan Jackson Law Offices with a $600 Meta ad spend, resulting in 2 court cases.
Notably, this campaign coincided with the firm’s expansion into Oklahoma, where Zayam Design launched and managed digital ad placements. By leveraging our ad framework, we effectively targeted individuals who had recently experienced personal injuries from auto accidents. We ensured the ad placements launched after his weekly radio segment with a layer of psychographic targeting + triggers. Read More>>
ERIK JONES
I offered my Photography services to a company who produces Broadway Stage Plays. I shot 3 shows over a weekend. After seeing the results, they hired me as the in house Photographer. It’s been 4 years and things are going really well. The next Play is scheduled for September! Read More>>
Jamie Kerezsi
Yes, we absolutely take vacations – and we consider them essential, not optional. At The Kerezsi Real Estate Team, we’re a family-run business, originally founded by our mom, and now operated by three of the five sisters as licensed Realtors, with another sister serving as our conveyancer – the key liaison between our clients and the title companies. One thing we’ve mastered over the years is the art of vacationing without abandoning our business or our clients. Read More>>
Vivian Olodun
From the very beginning, a portion of Flourish Media’s earnings has been dedicated to our nonprofit arm, Behind The Leaf, a 501(c)(3) organization focused on investor readiness for women entrepreneurs.
Behind The Leaf was created to close the funding gap by equipping women with the tools, language, and confidence to attract capital. Through this nonprofit, we host workshops, mentorship programs, and the Flourish Media Conference—an annual event in Miami, Florida that has been running since 2016. It’s a space where women not only learn how to pitch but also connect directly with investors who are ready to fund them. Read More>>
Rebecca Barnes
Giving back isn’t just something I do on the side—it’s part of how I run my businesses every day. From Brides & Weddings to Prince William Living to Imagine, I’ve built a model where a portion of revenue is set aside to support the community, small businesses, and non-profits. Read More>>
Savannah Herr
If we were starting Saturday Sun Photo over again, the biggest shift we’d make is putting marketing first—specifically content marketing and SEO.
Like many photographers, we focused almost entirely on getting better at our craft in the early days—creating beautiful work, booking whoever came our way, and figuring it out as we went. But we learned the hard way that it doesn’t matter how talented you are if no one can find you. If we were starting today, we’d treat marketing as the most important part of running a successful business—not an afterthought. Read More>>
Kelly Barefoot
I would try to better understand there’s a large difference between creating tackle, turning them into products and just how to difficult it is to bring them to retail in a massive fishing industry as an independent brand.
Retail is a tough nut to crack, no matter how superior your product may be to other “mainstream” tackle. Read More>>
Kalia Flores
I personally manage my own social media. I created my business off of it and as of now like to keep it 100% true to myself! To me I love being able to post my content and have my clients find something relatable to it, it creates an icebreaker when they come in to get serviced because I show my true authentic self. If I ever get to the point of needing someone to manage it I will give up the freedom when I know it’ll benefit me rather than not. I say you’ll know when it’s right to have someone else manage it. Read More>>
Kristie Fellows
I have shelved a lot of self-care spending. Fortunately, I love wearing hats so the few and far between visits to the hair stylist these days aren’t a big deal. A much bigger deal was shelving working with a yoga therapist. Shelving the strength, balance, flexibility, relaxation, awareness and more that come from working with a skilled, knowledgable and caring professional felt self-defeating and yet financially necessary. Now the yoga therapist and I are offering yoga sessions in the wine lounge on Wednesday mornings. It’s been an all-around win but particularly for the people who come to Sitka to practice yoga. Read More>>
Nicole Mangum
Our company, Liberation’s Publishing House, is proudly family-owned—and that’s one of our greatest strengths. I love the idea of my children being part of the business because it creates a deeper sense of purpose and legacy. Our head illustrator, my daughter Brittany Deanes of Brittany World Studios, brings a vibrant, youthful perspective that helps us stay relevant in both storytelling and technology. Her creative input has elevated our brand in incredible ways. Read More>>
Dennis Alejo
One of the most unexpected challenges I faced with Instant Web Tools happened during a time of rapid growth. At first, getting clients was the hard part—but then, seemingly overnight, the challenge shifted to managing multiple projects at once. We had taken on several new clients excited to launch their websites and marketing campaigns, and suddenly we were juggling deadlines, communication, revisions, and technical issues—all at once. Read More>>
Christopher Kelson
What corporate America gets wrong in the music industry is that every artist should just focus on the music and never learn the actual business. The major music record labels take advantage of the ignorance of a brand new artist. In reality, each artist when signed to a record deal should be forced to go through a music business class provided by the label. That would be too much like right because the more the artist is not educated on the business, the labels can take advantage of the artist from an ownership standpoint. Read More>>
Hind Haidar
The thing I heard coming up in my industry was that I was in “the beauty industry”. In school I would get points taken off my grade for not wearing makeup. My instructors in Cosmetology School told us that by 35 we should certainly have money saved up for eyelid surgery because we would need it because it’s part of the job to look good. The industry peddles the idea that we are not enough so they can sell us the fix. I don’t buy that I’m in the beauty industry. I feel like I’m in “the confidence building industry”. Read More>>
Joella Hopkins
One thing I believe, that many in the branding and marketing industry might not fully agree with, is that you don’t need to be everywhere to make an impact, especially if it means diluting your message or disconnecting from your roots. In our work at Branding Aloha, we lead with culture, not just strategy. And I’ve found that anchoring a brand in its cultural identity and values is far more powerful than following fleeting trends. Read More>>
Sinéad Kunz
In the modelling industry, there is a common misconception that you need to fit a specific body type to be successful. However, the truth is that only certain branches of modelling require specific body types. An example would be for runway modelling, regardless of bodyweight, the requirement is for a model to be at least 5′ 8″. Other than that, is basically open play! Read More>>
Damesha Craig
As the Founder of a recruiting and HR agency and a leadership coaching practice, I’ve had the privilege of planting seeds and working with early- and growth-stage startups, venture-backed tech firms, and executive teams who are navigating the evolving landscape of inclusive leadership. I’ve also seen what happens when inclusion is treated like a compliance box rather than a core value: burnout, attrition, distrust, and missed potential. Read More>>
Jalen Harvey
Growing up, I didn’t have many Indigenous role models in leadership positions to look up to. But I didn’t need to look far to find my hero—she was right at the heart of my family: my late-grandmother, Joyce Harvey.
My grandma had dreams of going to college and traveling beyond the boundaries of our community, but her health challenges kept those dreams just out of reach. Still, she never let that stop her from encouraging me. “Reach for the stars,” she would always say. Even though she couldn’t live out those dreams herself, she planted them in me. Read More>>
Shaunda Pearson
My hero is my mother because she taught me alot about respect, especially as a woman. She taught me how to be independent, to always have my own and never depend on anybody and that’s only piece of how she influenced my journey. She influenced my journey importantly by being very supportive and understanding and that what helps keeps me going on a daily basis. So, growing up I’ve always looked up to my mother and I grew up in a two parent household so i always been a daddy’s girl but my mother, I always watched her stood tall and carried on any battle while still being that loving, caring and supportive mother that she continues to be today. Read More>>