please welcome ashley from ribbons & rickrack to the spotlight! here’s another fun shop to go check out for cute and handmade designs!! but first learn a little about her….

tell us a little bit about yourself:
I’m Ashley…I work in College Admissions and run Ribbons & Rickrack on the side with my mom.  I love graphic design, indie music, and traveling – my husband and I were lucky enough to travel to South Africa twice last year to visit his family!

what’s the story behind ribbons & rickrack?
For as long as I can remember my mom and I have wanted to own a monogramming machine and we finally decided to take the plunge last year!  We travel around to Holiday Markets in the Fall/Winter and recently opened our online shop. I love that the majority of our products are handmade – always a unique gift!

what inspires you?
Graphic Design!  If I could look at typefaces all day I would – each one is so unique and takes so much creativity.

what’s your favorite part about your business?
My favorite part is working with my mom!  We have always been really close and it has been so much fun to go on this adventure with her.

what’s the most challenging part?
We often have so many crazy ideas in our heads that sometimes we just have to take a step back and realize that we can’t do it all!  There are only so many hours in the day (and even harder when I work full time!)  and sometimes doing EVERYTHING that you really want to do just isn’t feasible.

any advice for others who want to start a business?
Don’t give up!  Starting a business is a lot of work and takes a ton of patience. Our products have gone through SO many revisions over the last year  – we don’t even offer half of the products that we originally started out with because things keep evolving and getting better.  We’ve learned to be patient and work through all the mistakes to get the best end result.

any special goals you have set?
For now, we are just trying to make it through our first full year of being open – we’ll see how things go! : )

just for fun: what’s something that most people don’t know about you?
In college I was a contestant on Wheel of Fortune – and not only did I win some money, but I also won a trip to Spain!  It was such a fun, once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget.

thanks ashley!!! such an awesome opportunity to work with your mom. keep up the great work!!
**ps. i totally watched that episode of wheel of fortune. small world. gotta support the tx school!! :)

peace and love
xox