Vasko Sotirov

While in his 20s, Vasko Sotirov, a trained chef, was working at Lido 84, a restaurant in northern Italy often cited as one of the best in the world. “It was amazing,” he says, but the hours were crushing, and he left for another cooking job that gave him more time for friends, family, and a new hobby, woodworking. He taught himself by building furniture and “making many, many mistakes.” Now a full-time woodworker in Bergamo, Italy, he says, “I’m fully in love with the craft and the endless learning hiding in the smallest details.”