When I was in college one of my favorite classes was History of Science. The way my professor introduced a discussion about the Inquisition was showing Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part One. To this day I cannot hear about that subject without singing in my head “The Inquisition, what a thrill. The Inquisition, don’t get killed!”

I went to school to be a painter and ended up finding power tools- loved it! I guess that’s a good description of how my creative life has gone ever since. I’m interested in so many things: painting, sewing, building, writing. It seems that each time I try something new I love it. Problem or positive? I’ll leave that for you to decide.

The art of writing words and letters in an interesting way has been an interest of mine since I can remember. In grade school I would watch Christina write her name in bubble letters along with any other word or phrase on whatever surface was in front of her. She wrote quickly and with a certain ease that captured my interest. While I would struggle to make each letter perfect, it seemed that they just spewed out of her. I had to write like that. So began my obsession with words and how they were written. I began studying calligraphy books and fonts from computer Print Shop programs (ha ha remember those?!).

After I graduated with my BFA in sculpture I got a job as a recruiter for that art college. Part of my job was developing relationships with the high school students I met around the country and subsequently get them interested in attending my school. One of the ways we did that was through writing postcards. But the challenge was- How do you get a high school senior (and art student) to WANT to read your letter when they are being inundated with mail from tons of other schools. My solution- write them something that makes them want to read it. My hand writing by this point had turned into a whimsical style where the letters weaved in an out of each other and the lines of paragraphs followed no formal rule. It worked! I has applicants calling to talk about the postcards I wrote them! One time I even received a letter from a student who wasn’t even an applicant. They had seen my postcard in their friends room and wrote me to ask if I’d write them a letter too! I laughed and wrote them back. At some point a lovely woman called the college in seek of a non-traditional calligrapher. She wanted a whimsical writing for the addressing of her daughters Bat Mitzvah. I was recommended, and AshB calligraphy was born.

Zoom forward several years and I got married and became a high school art teacher. One of my responsibilities at the school was head costumer for the two shows the fine art department put on each year. As the spring musical tends to boast almost 50 actors and sometimes in upwards of 300 costumes, this is no small task. I quickly saw the positives in my learning my way around a sewing machine (more than simple lines I already knew how to do). Around that time I was also enjoying the products of a certain cotton quilted purse and tote maker who shall remain nameless. I had several bags, my mom-in-law had several bags and so did my sis-in-law. My niece, however, had no bags or luggage of her own. I saw this as a problem that I had to rectify asap. You see, she was a ballet dancer (age 4ish at the time) and it was customary for the girls to have luggage sets for their costumes and such. So Maddy of course needed a set of her own too! -very big deal- When I began to seek out this perfect luggage set, I became frustrated because everything I found was not cute enough, to grown up looking, or to cheap looking. Then it came to me- I sew! (like for 2 months at this time) I can make it! I then switched gears and began my search for fabrics and patterns. I found what I though to be the perfect stuff and began sewing. I did not have a machine that embroidered so I sewed those parts by hand. I made three pieces: a duffle bag, a cosmetic bag, and a hanging garment bag. They turned out pretty good for a first timer and everyone loved them. And so began AshB bags.

It wasn’t long before I made Mothers Day totes for my mom, my mom-in-law, and my sis-in-law. This time I had the embroideries done by machine!

Since then I have been working on my detailing skills making bags and pillows and dresses for whatever occasion I could make an excuse for which to make something most awesome. I’m Ashley Burns, founding artist of AshB design and this blog is my journey through beginning a small business. I’ll also put fingertips to keypad (pen to paper haha) to attempt to let you in on the methods and the madness that go on in my brain as I make and create my work. Thanks for reading and coming with me on the ride!

AshB