Local Jewelry Designer Wows New York Fashion Week
Grace Phillips
Ashland Beacon
New York Fashion Week is one of the most coveted and exiting weeks for a designer. For Addison Fisher, it was the week of a lifetime. Addison is the owner of Addison Gwyn Designs, a line of handmade clay jewelry. The story behind the designs is quite remarkable. She never thought of starting a business or even where it might lead until the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Addison shared, “I had seen a video online of a woman playing with polymer clay. I thought it looked like a good way to keep my mind and my hands busy since everybody was stuck inside, and it was a rough time. I actually started out by making figurines for my family members.” From there, she began making a few pieces of jewelry for friends and family; they seemed to enjoy them. Addison continued, “I decided after a while to try my luck at a vendor show, and it has just grown from there.”
Over time, Addison has refined her craft and aesthetic. Addison described the process, “When I first started, I didn’t really have a style. I just played around with color and a lot of things, but I have found that nature really sparks my creativity. I take a lot of my inspiration from trees or mushrooms.” She explained how the cottagecore trends shape a lot of her designs. Cottagecore celebrates a simpler time in life, the beauty of nature and the purity of outdoors.
For over ten years, Addison had worked part-time for Pure International Pageant System. She had no idea this part-time job would provide the chance of a lifetime for her new business. Pure International was invited to go to New York Fashion Week, and the owner of the pageant system along with the owner of Art and Beauty Magazine reached out to Addison and asked her to create a collection of her clay jewelry for one of their shows this year.
Her collection included earrings, necklaces, bracelets, & hair pieces completely made of clay. “I wanted them to fit the whole Cottagecore theme as I mentioned before that’s where I get inspiration, so all of my items had something to do with mushrooms.” Addison explained, “I sell these little mushroom figurines with little eyes and butt cracks…they are one of my best sellers…especially on Tik Tok. I wanted to incorporate these into my collection, so I made sure every piece had some sort of mushroom showing in it.”
Addison’s mom and grandmother were able to accompany her on the trip to New York, making it even more special. When asked to describe her experience, Addison’s voice grew excited and her eyes lit up. “Oh my gosh! It was amazing! I was able to setup and sell my jewelry outside the rooms where they were having the fashion shows. This opened my designs to a whole new customer base. But the actual show…I have never experienced anything like that before. I was in charge of my show. I was able to be backstage with the models, line them up in the order I wanted them, and at the end of the show I was able to walk the runway with them.” This will not be the last time that Addison Gwyn Designs are seen on the runway at New York Fashion Week…she has already been invited back for the February show.
Addison will be very busy working on the new collection for the February show but not too busy to continue to create new pieces for local shows. “I like to be unique…I’ve always said I’m kinda weird, and I like to show that through my jewelry.” Addison laughed and went on, “One of my favorite pieces I’ve done is gummy worm earrings. I used a fine sand to give it the look of a real gummy worm.”
Special orders are no problem for her. “I like a challenge. The more unique it is, the more excited I get about the challenge. My hardest one so far is a pair of Kitchenaid Mixer earrings that was less than two inches long. They were so cute!”
Addison Gwyn Designs may have started as a distraction for all that was wrong during the pandemic of 2020 but for Addison Fisher, it is now a thriving business and company that will remain for years to come. You can contact Addison through her Facebook page at Addison Gwyn Designs or by calling 606.694.5945.