A trained architect, Nicole Fichera built a new career when her fun accessories gained traction this past summer on Instagram. “I started making things as a way of healing from a different kind of workaholic life,” says Fichera, who spent time developing District Hall and working on the city’s Innovation District initiative before her laser-cut earrings ended up in local boutiques like Ouimillie and the Hourglass pop-up she founded with designer Erin Robertson. Now, she finds her architecture background is useful when dreaming up handbags. “You definitely learn how to make things, how to be very precise with drawings and fabrication. It’s really been a merging of those two worlds,” she says, adding that even as a student she gravitated toward plastic to make models while her peers worked in cardboard and wood. “I’ve always been really satisfied with how the material feels and how it cuts and how the light reflects off of it.” This spring, nail the acrylic look with three styles sporting glitter and marble textures, from a hard candy-inspired sculptural shape (pictured) to a reimagined “grandma vintage purse” and another featuring interlocking geometric mesh a la Paco Rabanne. Hold your own when the line, starting at $175, launches next month.


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