We recently connected with Ashley J. Hassard and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ashley thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and that was certainly the case with me.

Growing up I was so fortunate to have had such loving and supportive parents, family, and friends who really rallied around me to ensure I had this engaging and enriched childhood.

With multiple families, multiple homes, and multiple individuals all collectively looking out for me, I was exposed to so many sensational ways of being, traditions, religions, values, and more – and it was this collective upbringing that really allowed me to thrive in the unknown, hone my adaptability, appreciate diversity, and become comfortable with my own rather unconventional sense of identity.

With no real agenda for who I was going to be, I was encouraged from a young age to thrive in experience rather than achievement, and I really do believe that it was that core foundation that allowed me to become the full blown life-enthusiast I am today.

Ashley J., 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?

Hi, I’m Ashley and I’m a teacher, photographer, model, and the co-founder of Drawbox Inc., a design and fabrication company that specializes in creating fabricated assets for large scale brands.
Over these past couple of years I’ve been featured in national commercials, have shot for major name brands, have taught thousands of youth, and have facilitated builds for clients like: Four Seasons, Gucci, Loblaws, Absolut, TD, Shein, and more.

While life is pretty busy now, it hasn’t always been this way – my actual background is in leadership and social justice. With a Masters in Child Study and Education, and an Undergrad in Human Ecology and Sociology – I’ve spent a huge chunk of my life out of the public eye fundraising for local charities, volunteering as a youth mentor, teaching in inner-city classrooms, as well as participating in international service learning.

Some examples of my past endeavours have been teaching English in the Dominican Republic and Ghana, working with groups to build schools in Nicaragua, Peru, and India, digging goat pens in China, aiding in the opening of medical clinics in Costa Rica, and giving nation wide speaking tours across Canada talking to over 22,000 youth about the realities of hunger and the importance of food security.

I’ve also been lucky enough to represent Canada at the World Championships for Aesthetic Group Gymnastics, have been an Ambassador for World Kindness Day with Faze Magazine and UNESCO, and was blessed with the role of Youth Ambassador for impossible2Possible.

While all of these experiences have been absolutely phenomenal, the truth is though that 99% of all that I am and all that I do came about simply because I was willing to say “Yes!” and try something new.

Modeling was a favour to a friend, photography was filling in for a no show, motivational speaking was replying to a Facebook add, and Drawbox was my husband realizing there was a gap in the industry and me wanting to support him on his journey.

The biggest thread of all really has just been that I do whatever I can, as well as I can, for as long as I can – and I truthfully think that it’s because of that that I’ve been able to be as fortunate as I have been within all these industries – because people know that no matter what it is that I’m doing, I’m always going to give it 100%.

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

Having never really had a solid game plan myself as to where I was going in life I think it’s safe to say that my entire personal and professional journey has been one giant (and continual) pivot. Which, for someone who genuinely thrives in new experiences, has been such a gift.

That being said, there have definitely been a few major ones over the past few years that haven’t been quite as easy.

I think I speak on behalf of all small business owners when I say the pandemic really threw us for a loop.

For those like us at Drawbox who had just started to sink their teeth into an industry, a pandemic full of lockdowns, industry changes, shortages, and unprecedented restrictions definitely didn’t make life easy.

The cost of materials went up exponentially, resources were scarce, staff shortages were everywhere, lockdowns were happening, projects went on pause and no one knew if society, let alone the industry as a whole, would ever even recover.

When the pandemic hit everything we knew about the experiential marketing world changed, and with it, so had to our creative approaches to it all.

From an industry that was initially designed to bring people together, we were all of a sudden having to shift gears (and goals) completely to try and keep people apart.

Rather than dwell on the past or worry about the future, we leaned hard into what was at that time our current reality and fabricated patios for restaurants and hotels, created dividers for vendors, and embraced outdoor floral installations in the hopes of not only keeping our own small business alive, but also allowing our clients to thrive.

As luck would have it it actually worked, and we managed to expand our offerings in a whole new direction.

Thankfully the industry as we knew it bounced back completely, so we were able to go back to focusing on the fabricated marketing assets we were more familiar with, but we’ve been able to take the lessons (and skills) learned from that experience, and apply it to many of the projects we now design daily, expanding our offerings and increasing our overall value.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think the biggest thing that really sets us apart within our market is that when people work with us they know that they’re not just getting an incredible product, but they’re getting to work with incredible people too.

Yes, skill is definitely important, but here at Drawbox we believe that character counts for just as much also.

Our team is built up of sensationally talented individuals who are as kind as they are brilliant, who radiate integrity and share an unparalleled work ethic in all that they do.

Considered a family first and company second, we strive to make sure everyone feels included, heard, respected, and valued – and that goes for everyone we work with at every level of production.

From the clients we collaborate with to the members of our internal team, we’ve been really intentional about surrounding ourselves with good people who love not only what they do, but who they do it with, and, as a result, have really thrived creating not just a professional niche within the industry, but a community one too.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ashleyhassard.com | www.drawbox.ca | www.shotbynyks.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehassard/ https://www.instagram.com/drawboxdesign/ https://www.instagram.com/shotbynyks/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drawboxdesign
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-j-hassard https://www.linkedin.com/company/drawbox-inc./