Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Owens.
Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It’s a special story that truly evolved over the last 19 years. Throughout my childhood, Mom (Martha) has always been an expert at sewing. Her mother, Katherine, taught her and It’s just been a part of her since she was a child. And so, in 2003, as an empty nester, Mom decided to start a workroom in Camden creating custom draperies in the space above her garage. One sewing machine and a tabletop installed over a pool table were truly the beginning of it.
Five years and a few more machines and tables later, I (Ashley) joined her after college, Mom had taught me to sew as a child myself so jumping right in was second nature and we, along with my dad, Gordon, spent our days in our shop creating exceptionally well-made soft goods for the Midlands area. It was a pretty special thing working together as a family in the town I grew up in. Then one evening in 2011 while sitting around a table, the question was posed “We should sell pillows online?” Mom said ” How in the world would we do that?” and I fatefully said, “I’m going to figure it out.” Late that night while on a new to the world website called “Etsy” I created an account called “Martha & Ash”, a name we’d never used before. We populated some items the next day and they sold immediately. We were kind of shocked, to say the least. These were the early days of online shopping for anything that wasn’t from a big box store and there were a lot of limitations on what a small business could do online. This newfound concept of selling our products was quite mind-blowing to us, to say the least. But from that point on, we took our online shop by storm, creating a brand that reflected our own design styles of muted, classic, and clean products with our high standard of quality. Fast forward 11 years to now, we serve both the homeowner and the interior designer daily across the globe. Truly, we still pinch ourselves that we’ve come so far doing something we love together.
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?
There have absolutely been struggles. I can’t imagine anyone not having them, right? Small business ownership is not for the faint of heart, especially almost 20 years of it at this point. Neither I nor Mom had any prior experience owning a business and so we take everything day by day. When we don’t know the answer to something, we seek it out. Add in e-commerce, and well, you’ve got yourself a vortex of question marks. And a lot of trial and error. But bouncing thoughts off each other usually brings us to a good solution. And if it’s not, we pick ourselves back up and try, try again.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our family has always been one to work with our hands. It’s truly where we are happiest. We’re very detail-oriented people and that shows in the work that we do and the products that we make. It’s important to us that what we create for others is the best quality possible even on the larger scale that our shop has become. It was a challenge to maintain that but was non-negotiable for us. We’re really proud of that.
Our specialty is our classic and clean drapery panels. We make them order so they’re made to fit the customer’s space exactly. We offer our line of 27 linen colors making the fabric selection an easy process. We also offer the option to work with one’s own fabric instead or even just their own decorative trim. All of our draperies come standard with two lining choices (cotton or blackout) and then some added bells and whistles if they’d prefer. It’s really an easy process from start to finish which we truly strive to do: To take the difficulty out of the ordering process and help one feel confident in their order.
Ultimately, what we create for the customer will be a part of their home for years to come. That’s an important thing to us. We’ll be the backdrop of their daily lives and we really take that to heart.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
We hope that folks find interest in sewing again. Somewhere along the line, largely due to most of US manufacturing being moved overseas and factories closing, it became a dying art. Our hope is that through what we do and through training our team in our workshop, we keep it moving along to the next generations.
The shift in appreciation for quality handmade goods seems to continue to flourish in the design world. It’s an important thing. We hope it continues to be a focus for the sake of craftsmen even outside our own industry.
Contact Info:
- Email: info@marthaandash.com
- Website: www.marthaandash.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/marthaandash
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/marthaandash
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/marthaandash
Image Credits
Ashley Owens
