Ashley designs and makes a variety of products using hand-lettering and original illustrations. Right now she is focused more on screen-printed projects which include cards that feature fun, whimsical, neon, and brightly coloured artwork! (“I am *such* a fan of neon ink!”)

What’s your favourite scent?

I have a lot of allergies so many scents give me issues, but I’m a huge fan of peppermint and find it very calming!

What inspires you to create?

Nature is a huge inspiration for me, including the unpredictability that comes with it.

I’ve been experimenting a lot with ice dyeing – a surface design process involving lots of ice and dyes that adhere to natural fibers with cold water. There is a huge amount of unpredictability that comes with it, and you need to wait for the ice to fully melt before you see what has happened to your fabric (usually around 12 hours). The shapes the pigments make from the ice melting through the fabric are SO neat and not like anything else I’ve come across! This has been inspiring me a lot lately and making me think about ways I might incorporate more of this type of “unpredictability” in some of my other design techniques!

How did you get started as a Maker?

I’ve been a maker for as long as I remember, I’m sure which was strongly inspired by my mother who is always coming up with new crafty or sewing projects! I love learning new techniques and experimenting with the possibilities.

When I was elementary school age, I even did a few craft shows and used to give lessons to my classmates on how to do various crafts during recess and lunch hour to raise money for the Humane Society – my nickname for a while in elementary was “The Craft Lady” even though I was just a kid (lol).

What has your most exciting experience as a Maker been so far?

Definitely coming across people that are using or wearing my designs has been super exciting!

But I would say that every time someone buys something I’ve made is the most exciting thing overall – I don’t think that feeling will ever change :) I am always very thankful for the support and excited that someone likes my artwork enough to purchase it!

What is one piece of advice would you give to new makers?

Running a small business is a lot of work at times, and in ways that can sometimes start pulling you further and further from the actual creative process. Make sure you’re setting aside time for yourself to just be joyful and make art away from the technical business activities as well!

Check out more of Ashley’s work on Instagram or her website.

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