Meet the Designers: Lizzie Fortunato

We chatted with twin sisters Lizzie and Kathryn Fortunato, founders of Lizzie Fortunato, to learn more about their early creative days, the jewelers they admire, and their favorite parts about owning their own jewelry line.

Lizzie: I started making jewelry as a hobby in high school and a side hustle in college. I was always super creative, taking apart old denim jeans to make pillows for my mom, designing and sewing my high school prom dress, crafting whatever I could, whenever I could. In college (at Duke in the early 2000s), I was making jewelry from my dorm rooms and sorority girls/other students started to take notice; they'd stop by my room to ask to borrow or buy a piece. Without realizing it, that was the early foundation for the business.

Lizzie: I always knew I wanted to be in a creative position. I studied English and Art History in undergrad and actually went into Fashion PR upon graduation. I quickly realized that working in a corporate environment (especially in PR, which was very "outward facing") was not for me. Now that I've been a self-employed designer for close to 20 years, I can't imagine anything else.

Lizzie: We officially launched Lizzie Fortunato in 2008!

Lizzie: Oh wow, it's a world of difference, and that's an understatement. I launched the business in 2008 from our Lower East Side walk-up apartment. I was stringing necklaces from the sofa by myself, taking (very) small orders from individual customers or the occasional boutique and literally doing everything: buying the materials, making the necklaces, packing the boxes, and walking to the UPS store to ship things.

Fast forward 15+ years, and we have a team of 18 people and many more subcontractors who are contributing to all facets of the business to make the wheels turn: Design and Development, Production (both procurement of materials from around the globe and assembly of unique pieces both internationally and in our SoHo studio), Sales (Wholesale and E-commerce), and Brand (creating content, producing photoshoots, sending emails, and much more). I am so proud of what we've built (we are self-funded and never took outside investment) and how we "boot strapped" from just me and Kathryn handling everything to delegating to an amazing team with incredible boutique and retailer relationships around the world.

Despite how much has changed, we are also really proud that a lot has stayed the same: our principles of prioritizing slow, intentional production (and not over-producing); our emphasis on creating beautiful jewelry that sparks joy for our customer; and our commitment to championing our team and the community around us has stayed the same as we've grown over the years.

Lizzie: Sometimes it's hard not to get distracted by all the "noise" in the industry. I really focus on staying original and trying not to focus too much on what others are doing.

Lizzie: I love being able to tell stories with our jewelry, and we source unique materials from all over the world and create special relationships with vendors who are often also small, family owned businesses. I also love being able to "spark joy" for our customers.

Kathryn: Nothing is better than spotting someone in one of our designs!

Lizzie: We are really lucky that we have a strong network of jewelry designer friends and mentors. The community of designers in NYC and beyond is really supportive. It's always our goal to support and have strong rapports with our peer jewelers. I admire Ariana Boussard-Reifel not only for her designs but for being outspoken on her platform as a force for (social and political) change. I really like the brand Agmes and love meeting up with their founder for breakfast dates. Sara Beltran makes incredible pieces and even made my engagement ring. I've always admired Irene Neuwirth (who made Kathryn's engagement ring and who was an early fan of our handbags!).

Lizzie: It's always evolving but I wear my Tiny Turquoise & 14K strand every day strung with a piece of branch coral I found on the beach in Costa Brava.

Lizzie: I wear a thick gold band on my middle finger with a really cool sculptural pattern on it. It was actually my great-grandmother's wedding band but is exceptionally modern. I love it and get so many compliments on it. The women on my mom's side of the family were incredibly chic and I am proud to show a bit of my grandmother (and her mother's) style everyday.

Shop Lizzie Fortunato here.