Jason Green was in his fifth year of studying towards an economics doctoral degree at the University of Colorado at Boulder when he hit a wall. “I realized I needed to be making things with my hands,” he explains. Although he’d never worked with wood, he was naturally attracted to it, and found a local furniture maker who offered classes in 2003. That led to an intensive 12-week course at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine. At that point, he says, “I knew I could do this for the rest of my life.”

Ed Edwards’ life can be described as a series of evolutions. He grew up surrounded by art—his father was a high school art teacher who introduced silk-screening and mosaic projects to the family—but there wasn’t a strong message to pursue it professionally.

That didn’t stop Edwards from enrolling in art classes while studying as an undergraduate or taking his first stained glass workshop in 1977.

Ali Dryer transformed herself into a handbag designer through a series of “happy accidents,” she says. The results of her labor are vibrant, playful mixes of color sewn into neat patterns that appear to be as complicated—and precise—as origami. Custom wood handles beg to be touched, and vintage buttons add a one-of-a-kind feel.