Paul Joseph Stankard

[1] His high school transcripts showed him graduating near the bottom of his class, mistakenly assigned a low IQ score.

In the book, Stankard describes the pressure and stigma of being labeled a slow learner by an educational system that at the time was not aware of dyslexia.

Earlier memories of seeing the Blaschka flowers at Harvard University and being in contact with Whittemore inspired Stankard to start experimenting with making paperweights in 1969.

[3] Stankard, whose driving desire was to "be on the creative side and do what he loves", started producing glass paperweights in his utility room while working in the industry to support his growing family.

His floral designs were becoming more real-looking so many people mistakenly thought that he found a way to encase actual flowers in glass.