We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashley Watson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, appreciate you joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I’ve always always always had this dream of starting a clothing brand. I was raised by a mom who worked in fashion as a sales rep, so I was constantly surrounded by beautiful clothes and many conversations surrounding them. I knew this was a dream of mine but I never found myself at the right moment to finally pursue it until this year, when I had just moved back home from New York City to San Diego. I had been living this big glamorous adventurous life, but lsitened to the still small voice that told me it was time to come home. That’s when I knew it was the perfect time to start Darlington. The idea for Darlington came from my realization that I was absolutely enamored by quilted garments, but only a few brands were really making them (I now know why, but we will get to that) so I took it upon myself to start there. I made a few by hand, although I am not an experiences seamstress, to get a sense of what it would take and the pattern i wanted to use. I then hired som fabulous and experienced seamstresses via Upwork to sew the first official coats for Darlington as a test. I wanted to see if this was a product that would resonate, so we launched with the first 5 coats. I quickly learned that the cost of these garments, which was set by how much it cost to actually make them and for us to make enough of a margin to continue to build, was too high for today’s consumers. Customers commented that they loved the coats, but the feedback was that they were simply too expensive. So we pivoted. I decided we would launch next with a pair of pants that looked good on everyone, had never really been done in this way before, and that people could only find at Darlington.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a multifaceted person with perhaps too many passions. I currently work full-time as a Marketing Manager at an alcohol brand while pursuing my business, Darlington, content creation on the side. I have always loved witnessing the process of a brand being built from scratch, and have always wanted to be a part of that process. This is why I got into marketing and why I work full-time in Brand Marketing currently. I also wanted to take this passion for brand building a step further and create something of my own, something I believed in, with which I could use my skills and experience to bring something new and exciting to life. Darlington is a small-batch clothing label that creates clothes that are Pinterest-worthy, that you feel good in, and that will last you for years and years and years. We are just beginning the process of building Darlington, and we have so so many exciting things in the pipeline. I can’t wait to continue to share my love for making clothing that people feel beautiful in with you!

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My business partner is my incredible mom, who raised me all by herself for most of my childhood. My mom and I have always said “It’s me and you against the world,” and she has truly been my rock through all of life’s ups and downs. She was the obvious choice for my business partner. My mom has over 30 years of experience in the fashion industry, starting at Nordstrom at the age of 18 and spending over 21 years with them before starting a company of her own, representing labels and serving as their sales representative. Her and I have always dreamed of starting something together, and when the opportunity finally presented itself, we jumped at it

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

We had to pivot the moment we realized that the garments we initially launched with, however beautiful, were simply to expensive for our target clientele. We wanted to create something of quality that is also accessible, so we pivoted our second drop to consist of garments that were more affording to make and therefore that we could sell at a more accessible pricepoint, which is the lien you see n our website today!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://shopdarlington.net
• Instagram: @shopdarlingotn
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/shopdarlington/about/?viewAsMember=true