James Shull took up woodworking in a junior-high shop class, landing his first job at a stair company through a high-school co-op program. In 1996, he began installing railings as a subcontractor, and then started building stairs, working out of his garage. Today, he designs, builds, and installs all kinds of wooden stairs, specializing in circular stairs and traditional compound-curved rails, some with hand-carved fittings. His company, James Shull Custom Stairs, LLC, in New Fairfield, Conn., does all kinds of stair work, but specializes in high-end, one-off installations.