Featured Shop: Erica Elizabeth Designs

My name is Erica Elizabeth Koesler, and I make bridal accessories and headpieces. I work out of my home studio in Los Angeles, California. My shop is called Erica Elizabeth Designs.

I got my start working in the bridal industry while studying jewelry fabrication and fashion at Otis College of Art and Design. To help pay my way through school, I took a job in a local bridal shop making wedding accessories. After a few years, I opened my own business; its headquarters was the living room of my tiny duplex. I found success in wholesale – as the business expanded, I began selling to hundreds of bridal salons and major department stores across the U.S.

After 25 successful years in the wholesale business, I felt that my creative side was getting lost. I wanted to reimagine my brand by creating singular designs that focused on uncompromising craftsmanship and beauty, so I decided to leave the world of wholesale and go back to my roots. Now, I make everything by hand in my Los Angeles home studio, and I take great pride in that.

I find inspiration for my designs all around – from the lush foliage of my neighborhood to the women of ancient Rome. Each piece I design is truly a labor of love, handcrafted from the finest materials to couture-quality design standards.

I started my first business without computers or cell phones. Now I am designing for a generation of savvy young women that can go online and purchase anything they want. The world of bridal fashion today is wonderfully diverse, and Etsy has paved the way for designers like me to show their talents to the world. Etsy has helped me fall in love with my beloved career all over again.

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Maker and studio photographs by Briana Folkes of One Life Photography; product photography by Caroline Tran.