The worth of work

Kevin Baker of Bon Air has been working with his hands since he was a child, from helping an uncle install roofing shingles at age 7 to helping build his first treehouse at 11. Now Baker, 40, is known as the Bon Air Craftsman, building custom treehouses and carving wood sculptures in addition to home renovations and other building projects. He also makes primitive tools, such as bows, arrows and arrowheads, out of natural materials. From a young age, "the idea of the old ways intrigued me," he said.

Jim Mitchell, 54, has a fondness for bikes. He spent his childhood in Mexico City where heavy traffic made cycling dangerous, so his parents would take him to a bike park to ride. "I couldn't wait to go. I loved it." Now Mitchell is sharing his love of cycling with a new generation by building handmade bicycles for a local youth bike team. Mitchell saw the team as the perfect opportunity to pursue his dream of making custom frames, and his donations mean the young riders won't have to purchase expensive bikes that they quickly outgrow.

Ideas come to DJ Williams at all times of the day. When he's out and gets an idea, he calls his own phone and sings on his voice mail so when he returns home he can start making his music. Williams, 27, was born in Plainfield, N.J., but grew up South Richmond. His love of music developed early — he started playing piano when he was 4. Since then he's played the drums, bass, guitar and clarinet. He travels the U.S. and beyond playing music. "It is an absolute blessing for me to travel around and share my music."

Lucretia Jones, 32, didn't like dresses as a child. Her mother made clothing, including dresses for her daughter. "She'd get me in them long enough to take a picture and then I wanted to change." Jones said her tastes have changed since childhood. She now makes original and reconstructed clothing, including dresses, along with natural skin-care products, incense, oils and herbs, and sells them in her Richmond store, House of Lukaya. "I like working with what I have," Jones said, crediting her mother's early influence. "She gave me fabric and said do whatever you want to do with it. She knew I didn't like instructions. She knew I just needed to figure it out as best I could."

Mario Dawson dreams about cakes. The 31-year-old from El Salvador learned the skill from his mother. In May, he left the construction business he ran with his brother to explore his passion for decorating cakes at La Sabrosita Bakery in Chesterfield County. Dawson said he dreams about cakes as he sleeps, and starts his day imagining the details of his next creation. "I love to make a cake and make people happy. It is something that fills my life."

Bird Cox first saw hoop dancing at an art festival in Nevada, and immediately knew she had to learn the art. Cox, 29, found a hoop-dancing class in Charlottesville, eventually making hoops for the instructor in exchange for the lessons. "They ended up looking really pretty," she said of the hoops. "As I got better at my own hoop-dancing skills I started teaching other people how to hoop dance." She now makes her own hoops, which she sells at craft fairs and festivals, and teaches hoop-dancing classes at Byrd Park. Cox also performs at Gallery 5, private parties and clubs.