(FORTUNE Small Business) – Judith Weber Tea Set, $180; tray $96 When not designing dinnerware for Dansk or presiding over the studio space she rents to other artists in New Rochelle, N.Y., Judith Weber, 64, creates functional ceramic art. A stay-at-home mom for 15 years, Weber turned her pottery hobby into a full-blown career in 1978. Her latest designs, found in museum shops and galleries, include teapots hand-cast by pouring liquefied clay into molds. Colors change with the fashion: While her bestseller is fire-engine red, Weber's newest hue, shown here, is khaki. judithweber.com

Vitreluxe Glass Works bowl and vase, $400 each As with all his work, Lynn Read's new line of red glass vessels was inspired by Italy's historical glass museums. Read, 34, entered the Maryland Institute College of Art as a painter but was determined to work in a more tactile medium. After apprenticing with Italian glass blowers for two years, he set up his Portland, Ore., shop in 2001. There he creates fixtures for architects and design studios, as well as his own art, sold at museum stores. vitreluxe.com

Lollia Bubble Bath, $30 After Margot Elena graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, she opened a soap store. Today it serves as a laboratory for her luxury soap company based in Littleton, Colo. Elena's products appeared on Oprah late last year and today can be found at more than 5,000 boutiques across the U.S., including Anthropologie. Her newest line, Breathe, departs from her previous selection of fruit scents with peony and white lily extracts. lollialife.com

MARKA Vincent Voyager bag, $495 When Stanford Business School graduates Molly Nelson and Katherine Walker Buxton, both 31, formed a handbag startup last year, they designed and named their bags with their ex-boyfriends in mind. That's why the canvas-and-leather Vincent, for example, is designed to be sturdy with a soft interior. Made of light, stain-resistant fabrics, with padded straps that minimize back pain, and optional removable foam sleeves for laptops, MARKA bags received a nice bit of validation last year when the mother of one ex-boyfriend snapped up the tote named for her son. markaonline.com

Lavana Shurtliff Necklace, $620 The daughter of a traditional jeweler, Lavana Shurtliff, 38, based in Mount Pleasant, Mich., decided to set herself apart from others in the trade by making lampwork glass beads. The process of lampworking involves cutting sheets of colored glass, melting the shards around a steel rod, and passing the glass through a flame until it melts into smooth or bumpy shapes. Lavana's latest necklace pairs the lampwork beads with semiprecious amethysts, aquamarines, blue topaz, and lemon quartz. lavana.com