We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ashleigh Robinson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Ashleigh thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.
Hearing that you could have and would have died before your 40th birthday is hard to take. Had I not listened to my body and relentlessly persisted for an expert to listen, really listen to me; had I simply accepted the expertise of the specialists I saw, my life would be very different today. I am beyond grateful that my doctor was able to identify and remove cancer when he did.
The newfound sense of purpose, of living, of breathing, of how damn lucky I am to be alive, is exactly what I needed to stop making “one-day” excuses. Before those results, Type A was something that I toyed around with on the side. It was the “thing” all my friends and family said, “you should be doing that.” But, instead, I was choosing to waste away as a designer at companies where I was taken advantage of and undervalued. At a company that let me go two weeks before I received my biopsy results because “my illness was really affecting my performance.” The world has a funny way of pushing you to where you need to be.
Jobless, with a new, nothing to lose attitude, I did it. I made my website in one night. Within seven days I had my first cold market inquiry and they ended up hiring me a few weeks later. I started investing in myself, my business, and my dreams. Within three years I went full-time and hired my first intern.
Today, I have a brick-and-mortar letterpress studio with a private office and art studio and two part-time employees (plus myself full-time). I’ve adjusted our offerings, structure, and presence to truly reflect my values and core beliefs as an eco-feminist. The soul of our mission is why my events-based business is still afloat amid a crushing economic downturn and insane pandemic.
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?
Type A Studio is an eco-feminist design and letterpress studio, made up of a mighty and small team based out of Kingsville, Maryland. We offer bespoke design, letterpress printing, branding / rebranding, digital marketing campaigns, custom illustration, community workshops and more. Our mission is to create beautiful and sustainable design solutions that empower people and businesses to connect with their audience in a meaningful way. We believe that good design can change the world, and we’re committed to using our privilege and skills to make a positive impact.
Our customers are those who also describe their mission as feminist, eco-conscious, and contemporary. As the world becomes increasingly digitized, businesses must adapt their marketing strategies to stay competitive. Online platforms offer a unique opportunity to reach a global audience, but with so much noise, it can be difficult to stand out. That’s where we come in. Our team of experienced marketers will work with smallest brands to the biggest corporations to develop a cutting-edge digital marketing strategy tailored to their unique brand. We’ll create industry-leading email marketing and social media campaigns that capture attention and drive conversions. And we help build (or rebuild) a strong brand identity that reflects their mission and values. With our help, you can take your business to the next level.
We’re passionate about intentionally supporting women and children – they’re our future! Annually, Type A donates one percent of every purchase to a great non-profit fighting for women’s equality and rights. Our 2021 donation of $1080.00 went to Equality Now. This year we’re backing House of Ruth Maryland. They lead the fight to end violence against women and their children by confronting the attitudes, behaviors and systems that perpetuate it, and by providing victims with the services necessary to rebuild their lives safely and free of fear. We’re proud to support our community’s women and children.
We’re also proud to offer a wide selection of tree-free and environmentally friendly papers for all of our stationery products. We also pay to offset carbon on our shipments and our studio is 100% powered by clean energy!
This Fall, we’re launching our community workshop series! We’ll have letterpress, design, and art workshops tailored for families, date nights, and continued education. These are in-person events that will feature other local artists and small businesses while bringing together neighbors to create, commune and connect.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
These past two years have hit us hard:
PANDEMIC: causing events to be canceled and completely re-thought, shrunk, and tightly budgeted;
NEW MOTHERHOOD: In February 2020, right before nationwide lockdown, I had my baby (from an unplanned but welcomed pregnancy). I was left alone with my newborn and (unknowingly alcoholic) spouse.
ECONOMY: downturn causing clients to spend conservatively leaving my luxury offerings in the “nice-to-have” not “need-to-have” category.
CASH FLOW: My business went from a surge of inquiries and new clients to ZERO seemingly overnight. I’m still working with clients that originally hired me in 2019… that money has been LONG spent. So, I’m literally in a deficit. Without imminent financial support, I’ll have to cut my employee’s hours, pay, and possibly their entire job. It SUCKS. It’s hard to finally be in a place of clarity for where and how I want my business to go, AND not have the financial means to confidently proceed.
DEBT: My husband and I have completely wiped our savings and have resorted to asking for money from family and friends. Most recently we took out a second mortgage just to be able to pay down my high-interest credit cards and business loans that I maxed out just to stay afloat. I also sold my (paid-off) SUV in order to keep my employees paid.
MENTAL ILLNESS: All of these struggles led me into a deep depression. I’m clinically diagnosed with post-partum depression and anxiety as well as PMDD. I’m on prescription medications and natural supplements, however it still dramatically impacts my day-to-day. Initially, it took over six months for me to find a therapist that was in-network – I simply couldn’t afford any that were out-of-pocket. Today, two years into my diagnosis, I’m finally on a prescription plan that is helping, finally starting to feel like me again.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Being a small business owner, new mother, and wife while battling severe depression and PMDD is f*cking hard.
This time last year, I was totally overwhelmed. Instead of throwing in the towel, instead of letting the darkness win, I’ve spent an entire year finding and building an incredible support team, started using scalable and sustainable systems, and learning to practice my biz coach, @workwomb’s mantra, “Self-care IS biz-care.” -Abbi Miller
My talk therapist told me another saying that Capricorns (in particular) need reminding often, that “overnight success happens over ten years.” I laughed because Spring of 2023 will be my 8th year in business and has taken all this time to acknowledge all that I have accomplished instead of feeling like a constant failure.
Changing my mindset, especially in the midst of battling depression, was the result of consistent, arduous, rewarding, exhausting, exhilarating work. To everyone who has helped, mentored, taught, supported, believed in, and inspired me – I am truly grateful for you; thank you so, so much. 💖
Kind self bossing for a recovering perfectionist isn’t easy. But damn, it’s worth it. 🌻
Contact Info:
- Website: https://typeastudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/typea_studio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TypeAStudio/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/type-a-invitations
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashleighmeusel
- Other: https://www.pinterest.com/typea_studio/ https://vimeo.com/user141984438 https://www.tiktok.com/@typea_studio?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Image Credits
Shala Graham Photography