Erica Elizabeth Designs Wedding Accessories
I live and work in my highly personalized home studio in Los Angeles California and I am living my lifelong dream as a working artisan who makes a living from her craft. In a world of mass production, my current home studio continues to grow and flourish by staying true to a handmade design sensibility, paired with a commitment to uncompromising craftsmanship.
While attending Otis Parson, working on a degree in jewelry fabrication & fashion, I got a job in small bridal shop to help pay my way through college. While working at this shop I developed my skills making wedding accessories. I eventually left the shop & started my own small business in my tiny apartment selling my collections of headpieces wholesale to local bridal shops. I then moved into a much larger space and the once small business grew to a very healthy sizeable one that sold to 100s of bridal salons & department stores all over the US.
After 25 years I grew tired of the restrictions of wholesale manufacturing & longed to focus more on distinctive design created with hand detailed craftsmanship. I left my large business, which made me feel like my creative side had been completely lost, to reinvent myself all over again in a world of mass production.
My design inspiration is drawn from many sources, and the process continues to evolve from season to season. Embracing the design aesthetic personified by craftsmen in centuries past, my collection harks back to the lush creations of a bygone era. My head ornaments are crafted with multiple layers of delicate metal florals, hand-fabricated flowers and leaves paired with softer organic materials. Every season my collections have different ideas based on new materials that I have acquired along with the natural evolution of past collections.
I started my business without computers or cell phones but now I am designing for a generation of savvy young women that can go online & purchase anything they want including their wedding accessories. They are smart & have a world of choices available to them. The world of bridal fashion today is wonderful & diverse and the internet has paved the way for talented designers that could have never entered bridal fashion due to the restrictions of the industry show off their talents to the world. I have embraced this change & have now fallen in love all over again with my beloved career.
Much of my day-to-day life is spent in my studio, which is an extension of my home & myself. When I am not happily hidden away in my lovely space, I enjoy working in my garden, making a mess in the kitchen & walking in the local hills of Los Angeles.
I am a vanilla lover & I like things nice!
With love,
Erica
