Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Perez And Jim Sweeney.
Hi Ashley Perez and Jim Sweeney, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
harlow is our art studio based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, run by the two of us—Ashley Perez and Jim Sweeney, a husband-and-wife creative team. We’ve always been makers in some form: Ashley’s a five-time published author of women’s fiction and romance, and Jim’s background spans music, game design, and woodworking.
Our journey into ceramics, painting, and digital design came from a need to reconnect with the tangible. We both work in tech (Ashley in marketing, Jim in engineering). And while we’re proud of the careers we’ve built and the life it afforded us (especially funding our art), we started to feel the creative itch that couldn’t be scratched by screens and spreadsheets.
There’s something about working in tech that can feel a little imaginary. You spend months building something, and once it’s launched, it disappears into the void. There’s no texture, no weight, no reminder of what you’ve built. There’s no autonomy or freedom to chase after your big ideas. With our art, there’s a physical presence to what we create. We can hold it in our hands, see it on shelves, or pour our favorite coffee into it for our morning routine. That tangibleness is what sparks a real sense of pride and connection. It’s what keeps us creating.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. harlow was born out of a real need to get our health in check—mentally, physically, emotionally. In 2021, we were both diagnosed with ADHD and PTSD. Around the same time, Ashley was also diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition that completely shifted how she had to move through the world.
At that point, our lives were spent behind screens—working full-time in tech by day, then spending mornings, nights, and weekends on our creative projects. It was exhausting in every sense. Eventually, we hit a wall. The constant screen time was taking a serious toll on our mental health, and sitting at a desk day in and day out was killing our bodies. We couldn’t put ourselves through that any longer, so stepped away from creating altogether. Losing that outlet was hard. For nearly two years, we were in this fog—grieving the version of ourselves we had to let go of, trying to understand how our brains worked, and figuring out what it meant to live a healthier, more sustainable life. We knew we needed a creative outlet, but we just didn’t know how to get it back without making it harder on ourselves.
Then in 2023, by pure chance, we found a nearby community studio offering ceramic classes. We signed up on a whim and it turned out to be exactly what we didn’t know we needed. Working with clay helped quiet our minds, reconnect us with our bodies, and bring creativity back into our lives in a totally new way. It felt playful and grounding. It gave us permission to explore again. And maybe most importantly, it helped us start to heal.
Since then, we’ve been building a creative life that actually supports our well-being. In under a year since being introduced to ceramics, we invested in our own kiln and built a home studio. A year and a half in, we landed our first gallery representation. It’s wild to think about how quickly things have grown, but it’s all rooted in something really personal. Art helped us come back to ourselves. It helped us unmask, embrace our neurodivergence unapologetically, and create from a place that feels honest and whole. Our art journey came from navigating unexpected curveballs, but we’re excited to see how we continue to push ourselves and grow. We’ve only scratched the surface.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
We’re multidisciplinary artists, but specialize in ceramics.
Ashley focuses on sculptural and functional pieces with soft, organic forms and fluid shapes. Her pieces are a mix of calming minimalism and punchy colorful accents. She usually starts with a plan, but somewhere along the way, the clay takes over. In her words, “the clay has its own opinion.” Rather than fight it, she leans in and lets the process guide her. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, learning to surrender that control has become one of the most rewarding parts of her practice. Her work often explores the beauty in imperfection and the magic that happens when you let go. Most of the time, the end result is better than what she’d imagined.
Jim draws a lot of his inspiration from the ocean. As a surfer, the water is a grounding force in his life, and you can see that influence show up in his coastal color palettes, textures, and shapes. His pieces often nod to the beach without being literal. It’s just enough to evoke that sense of calm and movement. At the same time, Jim’s also an engineer and lifelong tinkerer, which means he’s constantly experimenting with new techniques like raku, sgraffito, and carving. He brings a playful curiosity to the studio (or as Ashley likes to say, a “MythBusters” approach), always poking at new ideas to see what’s possible.
Together, we create one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect both who we are. We’re most proud of how our work feels like us in its honesty, its quirks, and its intentionality. What sets us apart is our willingness to be in the unknown, to keep learning, and to let the art evolve alongside us.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Our biggest advice? Just get out there. Join a community studio. Try a class. Show up to low-key artist meetups. Strike up a conversation with someone at a local market or gallery event. There are so many ways to connect. It doesn’t have to be formal or intimidating.
That said, we’re both semi-introverts, so we totally get how hard that can feel (especially when you’re early in your art journey and your imposter syndrome is loud). But once we started showing up, we found a genuinely supportive, welcoming community. Some of the best “networking” we’ve experienced hasn’t looked like networking at all. It’s been talking through an idea with a fellow artist, getting encouragement to try a new technique, or learning by watching someone work.
Mentorship doesn’t always come with a title or a formal relationship. Sometimes, it’s just about being in a safe environment with people who are figuring it out too and being open to learning from each other.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://harlow.studio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/harlowstudiochs
