Name: Lynn Medoff

Age: 41

Location: Portland, Ore.

Education: B.A. in English from University of Oregon

Job Title: Bridal Dress Designer

What She Does: Lynn designs ready-to-wear wedding dresses that are sophisticated, comfortable, and affordable (as in under $1,500) for her boutique, Lena Medoyeff Bridal. (Medoyeff is her Russian family’s original surname. Lena is the nickname given to her by her grandfather.) On a busy day you’ll find Lynn playing with her daughter Lola in the morning, spending the afternoon in her luxe, candy-colored boutique helping brides find the perfect dress, and sketching ideas in the evenings.

How She Got Her Gig: Lynn took the far-from-typical route to becoming a dress designer: a stint in the Peace Corps. While in rural Guatemala, she learned pattern making from a neighbor with a trundle sewing machine and serger (a partner in crime to the sewing machine, a serger cuts and finishes the edge of the cloth). Lynn never imagined she would become a bridal and special-occasion dress designer. “I wanted to start a business making something that could be sold in my community,” she says. But when she returned to the States, Lynn started making dresses. Soon people were clamoring for her simple, feminine designs in heart-stopping colors and fabrics. Brides love her sophisticated, well-priced attire that doesn’t require months of planning and hours of dress fittings. “I’ve sold several dresses to brides that were getting married the next week…or weekend!” she says.

Lifetime Subscription to Brides Magazine (Not!): Lynn doesn’t try too hard to keep up with fashion’s hits and misses. “I find all that stuff distracting. I don’t want to copy other designers.” Instead she melds her customer’s needs and wants with her inspiration, and strives to make truly beautiful dresses. The end result: a long, white, delicately beaded dress with just the right amount of cling and a blush-colored sash, or a stunning hand-painted strapless gown in the same Tiffany blue that your dreamy engagement ring arrived in. Could anything get more perfect?

This Job’s for You If: You enjoy working with people and have lots of patience—brides change their minds often and have an infinite number of questions. The upside? “It’s an honor to work with my customers and to be able to design something that makes someone feel happy on a very important day,” she says.