Sarah Fripp is all about sustainability in both her personal and her biz life, where she makes recycled metal into flat-edged earrings from her Eugene, Oregon, studio. When it comes to her kitchen scraps, she's fallen in love with turning compost fodder (especially avocado peels!) into fabric tints, which she uses to customize the bags she uses to package her creations. Aren't you dyeing to know how she does it? READ MORE

When Legier Biederman made the transition from teaching modern art and curatorial studies to developing her own jewelry line, she brought plenty of her PhD expertise to her pieces, which are all clean lines and earthy stones. Her designs are largely inspired by land art, an umbrella name for large, sustainable works made from earth that became popular in the sixties and seventies. Here, the dirt on four you really have to see. READ MORE

Shelly Harper's line of whimsical jewelry, Harp, is an extension of her colorful personal style. "I wear almost entirely vintage clothing. I'm very much inspired by the seventies, eighties, and nineties," she explains. Her other major influence? Street style, and not the blogger kind. "The most interesting inspiration I have are the people I see in Oakland every day. I think the most interesting designs come from folks who don't have a lot of resources, and they still look fly," Shelly adds. Here's a few of her tips of looking stop-and-stare worthy without spending a million bucks. READ MORE

When it comes to making dinner in the summertime, most of us can't bear the thought of standing in front of a hot stove for more than, oh, 12 minutes. So if you're in that camp (hi!), we've got the perfect solution - and no, it's not Uber Eats. Bekka Palmer, who coils all kinds of cool rope baskets and bags for her line Closed Mondays, has fine-tuned a pasta habit that comes together in less than 20 minutes and can be adapted to whatever freshness you've got hanging around. Plus: The leftovers are great served up cold. READ MORE

Somehow, squeezing in some fitness - or even just a meal - can be even tougher when you work for yourself, as Kelsey Lim knows well. But as a visual artist and jeweler designer, she's learned to balance her North Brooklyn days handling production tasks for her line Abel Objects with self-care and stellar lunches. If you have ever dreamed of living a non-9-to-5 lifestyle or just enjoy snooping around other people's routines - who doesn't? - read on. READ MORE