Sometimes it feels as if every single person in Brooklyn is quietly making something, somewhere, in some lonely room. While this is probably not the case, we were lucky enough to be invited into the studios of four of our favorite local designers who are definitely making great things.

Inside the Designer’s Studio from BROOKLYN MAGAZINE on Vimeo.

Ryan Greer started making T-shirts while still at Cooper Union, but it’s his handmade leather bags that have really taken off, at locations like the Brooklyn Flea and Brooklyn Museum. Engineered under the name Flux Productions in a loft space that was once a Fort Greene candy factory, Ryan’s creations—from bike bags to briefcases—are crafted from cork, felt and, of course, leather.

Landing in Brooklyn by way of New Zealand, Kelly Reid has a talent for making handmade leather purses and belts that look, well, not handmade. Details like soft leather, diagonal zippers, and reinforced leather corners create a vintage-inspired look, with just the right hint of hand-stitched artisanal Williamsburg.

Ellen Van Dusen is just the type of designer Anthropologie was looking to include as part of its Made In Kind line of local threads: she’s edgy, creative, and fun (her Boston terrier pup Snips is the design studio mascot). Though recently set up in her new studio space, Ellen has been working out of her apartment for the past few years on contemporary-art-inspired textiles for use in her own clothing designs—and the results are wonderful.

We have a weakness for Aaron Ruff’s hidden-treasure approach to jewelry, though as his work takes off across the country, his one-of-a-kind engagement rings, each designed around a hand-picked stone, are becoming a lot easier to find. And if you must know, Digby and Iona are two sleepy Nova Scotia fishing villages, obviously...