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From This Collection

Searching the world for hat manufacturers

Dec 12, 2024
This past spring, Eric Bauer bought the Turner Hat Company, but looming tariffs have thrown a wrench in his plans for the company in 2025.
Eric Bauer is an entrepeneur based in Seattle, Washington.
Courtesy Eric Bauer

It's never too late to change careers, even after retirement

Dec 11, 2024
At 55, Michelle McKenney Jones retired from a 31-year career in corporate human resources and is pursuing her passion for higher education.
Michelle McKenney Jones says her 31 years in corporate human resources gave her a skill set that she transferred to becoming a university professor.
Sky Nesher/Getty Images

This muralist took just about any position in building her career

Nov 25, 2024
Cindy Fletcher Holden would hang upside-down while painting on boats. Her work evolved to beautifying walls in homes and on public spaces.
As a sign painter, Fletcher Holden's signature was hanging upside-down to paint lettering on the side of boats. Now, she's a full-time muralist.
Courtesy Fletcher Holden

Alabama toy shop owners prepare for the holiday rush

Nov 22, 2024
Sisters Stevi Bell and Amanda Calhoun of Fantasy Island Toys, talk about their plans for the busiest shopping season of the year.
"It's the best job that I've ever had, and I do say that, like, multiple times a day," says Stevi Bell, left, about co-owning a toy store with her sister Amanda Calhoun.
Courtesy Stevi Bell

Violin maker crafts a strategy to deal with tariffs

Nov 20, 2024
With import charges looming, Wesley Rule, owner of Knoxville Fine Violins, is considering alternatives to Chinese-made instruments.
Wesley Rule is a luthier, or stringed-instrument craftsman.
Courtesy Wesley Rule

Neurodivergent actor juggles many roles, lives their passion

Nov 12, 2024
Eliana Marianes of Atlanta has 12 jobs, all related to acting. The creative life "brings out the best in me as a person and as an artist."
Eliana Marianes is an actor and artist based in Atlanta.
Courtesy Marianes

Hurricane Helene ruined her business, but she finds hope in community and a PB&J

Nov 1, 2024
Hannah Burnisky, owner of Cold Mountain Art Collective, talks about how the hurricane destroyed her business and how she plans to rebuild.
Hannah Burnisky stands in front of her business, Cold Mountain Art Collective, before the water receded.
Courtesy Hannah Burnisky

For public good, not for profit.

A singing career in opera burnt her out, but compassion fueled a new passion

Oct 29, 2024
Keriann Otaño felt isolation and economic insecurity as a singer, but an opera house official did her a good turn.
Fifteen years into Kerriann Otaño's opera career, her passion changed to working for artists behind the scenes.
Courtesy Meghan Newberry Photography

Three months into business, this arcade owner already has plans to open a second shop

Oct 25, 2024
Le-An Than, co-owner of Crane Games in Aurora, Colorado, says business has been "thriving" since they opened in this summer.
Crane Games opened in the summer of 2024. All the claw machines had to be imported from abroad, says co-owner Le-An Than.
Courtesy Le-An Than

These independent grocers are also struggling with high food prices

Oct 17, 2024
In the five years that Sam Newell and her husband have run Fruit Fair in Chicopee, Massachusetts, they haven't had a profitable year.
Sam Newell and her husband bought Fruit Fair grocery store in Chicopee, Massachusetts, in 2019.
Courtesy Sam Newell