Wed Altered Issue 1

A
s a New York designer, I know
I can always count on Alyson
for great talk about fashion,
marketing, and all things
bridal Her line debuted during
October Bridal Week at The London
last year and she’s been growing
steadily ever since. She took the
time to answer our interview
questions for us.
You're based in Brooklyn, NY, tell
me a little about what sets your
city apart?
Being based in Brooklyn has many
perks. Because it is so close to
Manhattan, sourcing new materials
is extremely easy. There are so many
suppliers in Brooklyn too, which
gives me more options than if I lived
back home in Pennsylvania.
Another perk I love is that there’s a
ton of resources that help expand
my business- for example, there are
unlimited options for classes (such
as jewelry making/metalsmithing -
which is something I’m looking
into!). In my opinion, Brooklyn has a
lot more heart than Manhattan
when dealing with independent
designers and artists. There is a
huge supportive
community in
Brooklyn that really
helps to expand
growth
and
knowledge of the
industry itself in many
different aspects. Plus
Brooklyn doesn’t have
that stuck up/closed off
vibe that Manhattan
can have and it really
helps open up your
creativity.
What led to you
starting your line?
What's your bridal
origin story?
What originally started
my line was my sister
getting married and
my mother telling me I
should make veils for a
living (while I was still in college). I
made my sister a beautiful feather
bird cage veil and created a full line
of bird cage veils and traditional
veils around that. After graduation
and moving to NYC for my first
fashion 9-5, I decided that I didn’t
want to get “stuck” at a job that was
making meaningless items. It was
at that moment I relaunched my
bridal line to create heirlooms, both
bespoke and in for my own
collection.
What's the inspiration behind your
most recent collection?
My 2018 collection was mainly
inspired by my own wedding. The
theme was an “industrial secret
garden” which I translated into my
collection by using natural
elements (both organic and
manmade) mixed with various
metal geometric components.
Why do you love what you do?
I absolutely love knowing that what
I create is going to be worn on one
of the most important days of their
life. It’s such a great feeling to make
something so special that is also an
heirloom that can be passed down.
Quick Details:
Price range - WS $25-$350 , Retail at
2.2 mark up $55-$770
Production/quality details -
Production takes 90-120 days from
order date. Each component is
hand picked and inspected to make
sure the quality is top-notch both
before and after the product is
assembled.
Staff/team? - One woman team
with occasional office help
3 words to describe your brand vibe
- Unconventional, Bohemian, Bold
3 words to describe your bride -
Daring, Unique, alternative
Bridal only or other kinds of lines-
Mainly bridal BUT I strongly believe
a lot of my products can be worn
long after the wedding day.
How do you spread the work
around when things
get really busy? Do
you have a team, an
intern, outsource
social media? Do it all
yourself?
When things get
REALLY busy, I start by
prioritizing what needs
to be done first, then I
create a loose schedule
to plan out what days
will handle certain
tasks. I usually do
everything myself but
recently I hired an
intern (and will
continue to do so) to
help with website
content, social media,
and other “secretarial”
tasks. It has helped A
LOT and it lets me
concentrate on what’s
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