Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Jennett.

Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.



I had freshly moved to the sleepy beachside town of San Clemente from the gritty San Fernando Valley and I was working as a registered nurse at a hospital nearly 100 miles away. I was a year into recovery from having 13 levels of my spine fused when a car struck me on the freeway, totaling my car and causing my life to flash before my eyes. My oldest son was 3, my youngest just a year-and-a-half behind him. In hindsight, you could say The Bee & The Fox was born out of the fresh scenery that comes with moving to a brand new town, a well-shaped perspective having spent weeks in the hospital and months in bed building back strength and really just wanting to be able to do the mundane things I now complain about having to do (but also recognize are a privilege to be able to do); like make dinner and put in a load of laundry. There was that restlessness in the air that comes from clean slates and new beginnings. And when I grew tired of not finding the kinds of tees that I wanted to put my boys in, I called Janet.

Janet was living in Utah at the time, balancing motherhood with freelance design work. This story would lack meaning and truth if I didn’t take a moment to lay out all that Janet is. My longtime road dog, my ride-or-die. My fellow world traveler. My friend who cried when I ran into the highway to photograph a truck driving by and the mere thought of me being struck by said truck brought her to tears. Though, it’s fair to say she always worries. I practically have to convince her that her shoes are on even when she can look down and see them. I can recall one fight in all our years of friendship and it was on a 24 hour bus ride, from India to Pakistan, in 2006 when there was civil unrest and machine guns being pointed at us at the check stops along the way. Never mind that the bus was so rickety that if you had loose teeth, chances are you’d lose them. It was hotter than hell, with windows down and dust blowing in; the smell of the chicken and goat droppings still lingering. And I don’t even remember what the fight was about. I only remember that we were tired, dirty, hungry, scared, and together. She now lives and works in Seattle, is a mother to three (including a set of twins) but remains my right hand woman.

We came up with our first 4 initial designs; they were simple and clean and without much (read: any) forethought, I opened up an Etsy shop. The rest, as they say, is history.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?

A friend once told me that the boat is always going to rock but the anchor will always hold. I’ve come to define smoothness by how well I’m anchored. The waters are always going to sway and the storms are always going to come. These days, I’m less interested in diving into the specific obstacles and more interested in acknowledging that there are always going to be obstacles. That’s business. Or maybe more, that’s life. I’ve found that learning to settle myself within the chaos is what determines how smooth things run.

All that to say, the struggles don’t end and include but are not limited to: navigating a divorce and then juggling single motherhood alongside work as a registered nurse and running my business, moving inventory out of my garage, deciding whether to invest in advertising or inventory, deciphering what to move off my plate and who to delegate to, asking for help, finding help, knowing when to quite my job as a nurse, juggling numerous balls that all feel like they’re made of glass, finding the time, finding the focus, and finding a good therapist.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?

The Bee & The Fox is a brand that’s deeply rooted in its values. The journey of the brand essentially follows my own journey through motherhood where I kind of lost parts of myself to feminism where I found some of those lost parts, through a desire to motivate change but to also slow down, get centered, and become more mindful. The Bee & The Fox is a brand that values justice, authenticity, and social change.

Our growth has given rise to our voice, which is not something we saw coming but are forever grateful for. We still recall the early days when we would post images to instagram of empowered mamas breastfeeding their babies and we watched in surprise how each time we would lose followers. It was a pattern that became evident through repetition and it allowed us to take the stand that we are a brand that not only supports breastfeeding but also believes in doing so in public. That we don’t agree with the sexualization society has placed on our breasts. And that if someone feels we one should cover up, then keep the nipple out and throw a blanket over their face instead. Sometimes you have to draw a hard line in the sand and we’re a company that’s okay doing that.

We continue to use our voice to support women; mothers, sisters, and daughters alike. Because we feel it’s our duty to do so with the platform we have.

It’s an honor to regularly donate to the American Association of University Woman (AAUW) who have been supporting the plight of women for over a century. We also continue to use our voice to support victims of natural disasters (all proceeds from our ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ tee were donated to the victims of the hurricanes in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico) as well as victims of injustice (we were able to raise over 11K to donate to RAICES in support of reuniting` immigrant children with their families).


We’re still learning.


There is humility in admitting that you don’t know what you don’t know. Making changes as we go is much the same as trying to change the tires on a moving bus. We’ve learned a lot along the way and have made changes accordingly; because we believe that when you know better, you do better. We’ll continue to make changes. There is so much good and beauty in evolution.

Any big plans?

I’m always looking to explore new areas and honor where my heart leads me. I’m always toying around with expanding beyond t-shirts and hope to do just that in the coming year.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thebeeandthefox.com
• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/thebeeandthefox

Image Credits

These are my own images.