We recently connected with Ashley Fortune and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ashley, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
The journey to Letter your Life Designs began around June of 2013 (after being gifted a crafting machine December of 2012). I can remember sitting in the room that held my six foot table, washer and dryer while I came up with a name. I have always been one who enjoyed creating and more importantly gifting home made crafts to loved ones. This all began after having many friends suggest I begin created and selling my creations. My number one seller at the time was an 11×14 floating frame created with vinyl and all of a baby’s stats (weddings were close behind) but my oh my how it has transformed over the years. But back to the name as I want to share how I got here. Our lives are filled with words and those words are created from letters….whether through letters written to friends, quotes of inspiration we read or the love story in a book we cannot put down. So, I wanted to “Letter your life” and with that came unique and custom designs. From there it was all the ups and downs of life as well as the business. Looking for ways to make custom designs work to opening an Etsy shop only to quickly close it in panic thinking I had failed (FYI – fail = first attempt in learning; a key phrase I learned later in life). I had moved cross country on my own (moved back), married, had a child and divorced but the love for my business and creating always remained.
Enter March of 2022, when I feel everything changed; for the better. I continued seeing ads for a CO2 laser that intrigued me and caught my eye. It was one of those things that continued popping up and I didn’t know why yet I knew enough the universe is always sending us signs. During a conversation with my best friend she, as always, gave her full support and said “go for it!” I purchased the laser, all in and my business forever changed in the best way possible. From there I began creating and quickly feel in love with the medium, acrylic. I was in love with all the vibrant colors and quickly began creating business signs (for offices to 23″ sold keys for realtors) baby milestone discs to custom ornaments. I was LOVING my business again. That’s when the thought (that had previously been there before came back) could I make this my full time job.
Fast forward to 2023 and the wheels began turning. I felt more than ever that I no longer aligned with corporate and after taking many other risks in my life on myself, I felt this would be the largest yet most rewarding. Within 9 months I had begun working on myself more internally in order to prepare for this large task at hand but on the way the wheels kept turning and my soul kept yelling. My son and I had moved into a new home and I saw a shop for rent. Now, my first thought was to purchase the next laser and all I needed was some space to rent in order to fit it. Little did I know I would open a 1,200 sq shop that also has retail space. Now, the shop is located at 326 N Washington Street in North Attleboro where people can come from all over and connect on their design but don’t worry, we still ship all over the US!
The biggest piece I take away from this journey (as well as my personal), any risks I have ever taken on myself, have ALWAYS worked out. May this be the sign someone else needs to read to be reminded to do what sets your soul on fire!
Ashley, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Letter your Life Designs was created when I was gifted a Cricut. A crafting machine that allowed me to make t-shirts, custom vinyl designs, cups and more. A machine that I feel many laser owners once began on. For nine years I went through the ups and downs of promoting, creating and building clientele. Then I had my son and everything was placed on the back burner. It wasn’t until March 2022 that I began seeing ads for a laser machine and that’s where everything shifted.
I purchased that laser and took a massive risk that paid off quickly and I felt a shift from within as well as in my business. It was a humbling reminder that everything happens for a reason and when we are ready. I quickly dove into creating and saw a new side of myself that I hadn’t seen before – I wasn’t afraid to create (even if that meant failing at it). My soul felt like it had been ignited again and my business was moving in a new and incredible direction!
After spending a year of creating and seeing that success, my wheels began turning and in February 2024 I chose to leave behind the corporate world and take on my business full time.
I am beyond grateful to be a business owner within the community of North Attleboro, MA. I have a space where I can create all of my online and local orders as everything is produced onsite and handmade by me. I often tell people I am Etsy at your doorstep. My vision for this business (locally or in the US) was to create connections and make sure my customers feel connected to the person behind their signs. We make keychains out of acrylic, business signs (that are as small as 4×6 for QR code signs and up to 48×24″ ones that are displayed behind cash registers). We are constantly evolving and working on new ideas. Each and every day there is growth, new techniques and ideas coming to life!
We recently got into tumbler engraving, client gifting and more! We are always evolving and working on creating more – you will need to follow along for our next big idea!
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
Being able to bring visions to life! Whether they come from my own mind or my customers, nothing gets the juices flowing more than having a vision that is started from scratch and brought into a 3D masterpiece.
For me, working with my hands and bringing a design to life is therapeutic in so many different ways.
Another rewarding aspect is the amount of people I get the amazing opportunity to connect with!
Have you ever had to pivot?
When I divorced, it allowed me to take an honest look at my life and understand where and why I wasn’t happy. Through the divorce it brought up every insecurity from all of my relationships. This period in my life has shown me the importance of going from within and making my internal world happy first. Through meditation, therapy and a life coach I have received guidance to look back on different experiences to remember how I felt and how I feel about them today.
Being able to take a step back and look at repeating patterns to discover how we can make a change is important. For example, I would receive a compliment on an order I created or a great game I had in soccer. But my internal dialogue would tell me otherwise as I never felt I deserved the compliment or believed in myself enough to think I am meant to be here. The impactful moments in our lives is what can shift life for the better. And as a single mom, it’s important that I pass along to my son at a young age the importance in talking well to ourselves and believing in our capabilities. Especially through failures as the best thing I have learned in recent years, fail = first attempt in learning.
I am grateful for where I am today and the experiences along the way. So, if there’s any advice I could give to anyone out there.
1. Be unapologetically you – the people that are meant to be in your life will and it will create a positive experience
2. Be grateful for every moment in your life; good or bad – these moments are what shape us, teach us and allow us to grow
3. Don’t stop believing in yourself – talk kindly to yourself and speak to someone that can guide you through these experiences
I am thankful to be in a place where I am not afraid to “fail” anymore because without those moments, I block myself from creating a new product for my customers. Life is not perfect but it is meant to be lived. I am grateful to have started learning this around the age of 36 as I have so much more life ahead of me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://letteryourlifedesigns.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letteryourlifedesigns
- Facebook: Letter your Life Designs
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-fortune-568b0511/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LetteryourLifeDesigns
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LetterYourLifeDesign
Image Credits
Noli French (@Frenchsfotos)