We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ashley Bliss. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ashley below.

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

In 1998 at Southwest Missouri University as a freshman, I was in my first black and white photography class shooting 35 mm film. I was learning how to shoot without a flash. Ziggy Marley came to our college to do an outdoor show and I brought my camera and took photos in some not so great weather I remember. When I was developing this print another photo student asked to buy a copy of it off me. This confirmed to me that this photo was special, I sold him a print and I signed, framed and hung up another print up of it at the house I was living in. One of my friends, Matthew, really liked the photo and this was around the time that I realized I wanted to spread my photos out to people, so I started giving alot of my photos away to friends to have. I apparently said to him, you can have this photo, but I might want it back one day. I had it professionally framed from Michaels, so I was invested in this one print I loved. So I gave it to Matthew and honestly forgot about it. Around 20 years later Matthew finds me on Facebook and reminds me he has the pic and asks me if I would like it back. I told him if he didn’t mind, I would love to have it back, that photo was such a strong memory for me from my early studies in photography. Matthew sends it promptly and insists on paying for the cost of shipping. He said he just wanted to check and see if I wanted it. This photo now proudly hangs in my home and returning it to me is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for me.

Ashley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Since graduating college some of the artistic jobs I’ve held are: working the desk at a Waikiki surf spot for surf pics, working for a photography company where I took pics of concerts and kids sporting teams in Oahu, Hawai’i, I also learned how to assist and shoot weddings while living in Hawai’i. I had a full page column of photos for a year and a half in the Vail Daily newspaper in Colorado every Monday, it was called “In the Moment by Ashley Bliss and it was my pride and joy at that time. Every week I tried hard to show a variety of life in the Vail Valley through my photos. Two summers in Vail were spent working at a white water rafting company as their photo manager taking pictures of people hitting rapids on the rivers and then selling them the photos you know they wanted to buy. I have done numerous photo shoots over the years, it seems once people get to become friends with me, if they are in need of a photographer they will ask me and I love that, that they trust me with their special moments. About six years ago a friend inspired me to start going back to school and I did and it was the smartest decision I ever made for myself. I fell in love with graphic and web design so I loved school, I gave it my all.

I feel as though every job I’ve had along the way to where I am now was crucial and a stepping stone and had a purpose to serve for me. Two years ago I started taking on free lance design clients, a restaurant in Del Mar, California and an international construction company. Even though I have a full time job I still retain these two clients which is challenging in terms of my free time but so far so great. While having all these jobs over the years I have always worked in the restaurant industry as a server then bartender. Working in the hospitality industry enabled me to learn and use softs skills, how to read and react to people, and how to provide good service to my guests. My big goal for myself was to transition slowly out of the restaurant industry and work full time in the creative arts industry and I have now done that and I am so incredibly grateful for accomplishing my goal. I believe that education, hard work and determination paid off for me.

I ‘m a creative who earned a BFA in Fine Art Photography in the darkroom, and then years later an AA in Graphic Design and Web Design. Currently, I work full time at a private country club in Rancho Santa Fe, CA. At my job I create all the printed collateral: menus, brochures, posters, flyers etc. as well as create a monthly 24 page newsletter for the club. Photography is a huge part of my job as well, taking photos of member events, the club and golf course, and laying out spreads with our photos, which is so perfect for me. My job also requires me to maintain and constantly update the club’s website. I have been there about a year and a half now and I am just trying to continue sharpen all my all skills as much as I can everyday. I was the employee of the month in February 2024 and the employee of the first quarter of 2024, which made me so happy. Recently, I created a 40 page pdf that was a renovation brochure that the club had professionally printed and mailed to every member. I believe that this brochure aided in the passing of a multi-million dollar renovation for the club. I love my job, the people I work with and love learning more about design, photography, marketing and branding.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I do have a particular goal for my creative journey. I would love to be remembered for my work, and in numerous mediums. I want my fine art photos of all the National Parks we visited to be seen by people for years to come in a museum as a collective show. Currently, we are going to visit our 54/63 National Park in late September, we started visiting National Parks in 2016. I would like some of my graphic design work to be recognized by my peers as great design one day. One of my bucket list items is have a huge studio that I can do numerous types of art in. I want to be a Creative Director for a great company one day and have them trust me to maintain, grow and flourish their brand.

Any advice for managing a team?

My advice is to always maintain optimism and lead with being a kind, rational and fair leader.
Also, if you see that someone is busy and you aren’t, help them out. What I learned from being a manager in a restaurant for 9 years is that it boils down to the golden rule, treat others as you would want to be treated.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ashleybliss.com
• Instagram: blisscalifornialover, ashblissdesign
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashley.bliss.77
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleyblissdesign/details/experience/

Image Credits

All of these are my photos.