About

It may come as no surprise that the founder of Gwen Austin Studios is…well, Gwen Austin.  What very few people know, however, is that the company is not named after its founder.   The company was named in honor of the woman who shared her name, Gwen Austin’s grandmother, Gwen Austin.  During her childhood, the studio founder lived in the same home with her Grandmother.  

While Grandma was invited to Gwen’s playdates and Gwen (the younger) managed to crash more than a few of her grandparents’ ice cream dates, the one thing that stood true is that the two loved sharing their name across generations. To illustrate, when the then-ubiquitous Publishers Clearing House mailers arrived, Grandma would hand it to Gwen to open with the promise that they would split the million-dollar prize. They never did win the sweepstakes, but young Gwen promised that one day their shared name would be “Up in Lights”.

Hence, Gwen Austin Studios was named to keep that promise to her grandmother and to keep her legacy alive.