Meet Alyssa Wamsley | Owner of Astral Vision Designs

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alyssa Wamsley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alyssa, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
As I entered my junior year of high school and really got to thinking about my future. Nothing really came to mind besides making clothing. At the time I had no experience, but thanks to music festivals I had been exposed to some amazing fashion. My 17 year old brain began collecting inspiration from the clothing I would see at festivals and I started trying it myself. At that time I was just cutting and braiding clothing, but as I graduated high school and began a degree in Fashion Design at my community college, the wheels really started turning. To be honest, the main reason I pursued this career is because I just have always known it was my calling. Fashion has always been incredibly important to me, even as a child, and it became so clear as I got older that my purpose is to make unique clothing that makes people happy. And as I have gotten better and better at sewing over the past 6 years, and met my husband and taught him how to sew along the way, its grown into something so beautiful my 17 year old self could have only dreamed of.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
We have pretty much paved our own unique path in the festival fashion world. I have a hard time finding words to describe my clothing, it just speaks for itself when you look at it. My goal has always been to never do what someone else is doing. Ever since I was a kid it was imperative that I stood out in a crowd. And with our clothing we do exactly that.

Also, our checkout is only open 2x a year for about 3-4 minutes. In that time, we receive hundreds and hundreds of orders, and we spend the next 6 or so months catching up. This is because everything is custom made to order. We don’t have stock, we don’t limit ourselves to certain sizing, so every order is made special for each person’s body. Obviously we could get a factory and pump out items, but truthfully I think our process really makes us special. It also really leans into the idea of slow fashion, as my amazing customers wait anywhere from 3-7 months for their items. We have developed a sustainable, love infused business that we are just so proud of.

Getting where I am today has been an evolutionary journey. One phase seamlessly flows into the next, like quitting my job when I was 19 to pursue sewing full time, meeting my husband in 2018, teaching him to sew, growing the shop, and eventually moving to Colorado in 2021 to have our own house with a massive sewing space. All funded by our art.😊

The main lesson I want the world to know, is to follow your heart. If you have a dream, its more possible than you think. Surrender the idea of failure and pour your soul into everything you do. People want to see things they have never seen before. So dig deep inside and make something one of a kind and fantastic no matter what you are doing. Then, success will follow.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to watercourse foods and all my favorite vegan spots like V Revolution, Fridas, City O city & more. Meow Wolf is a must see of course, that place is hands down my favorite building in the entire state. Frolicking in the mountains, rocky mountain national park and exploring the incredible natural beauty of Colorado. Checking out threyda to look at some art, going to 1UP to play games and drink, checking out the denver art museum! There is so much to do out here!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My husband! When we met back in 2018, my shop was just starting to take off. Once I taught him how to sew, and we were able to now have mens/unisex clothing, things just skyrocketed. Mike also built a giant laser last year that we use to cut fabric and he draws all my clothing patterns in to computer animated design (CAD) and has really allowed us to up our production in a way I could have never done myself. Truly could not have come this far without him.

Website: astralvisiondesigns.com

Instagram: instagram.com/astralvisiondesigns

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AstralVisionDesigns/