We were lucky to catch up with Ashley Lasseigne recently and have shared our conversation below.

Ashley, looking forward to hearing all of your stories 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?

While creating art for some is easy, selling is HARD. Hello there, I am Ashley Lasseigne, owner of Ashley Lasseigne Textiles. From a young age my parents new I had a niche for art. Growing up I attended art lessons and really focused hard with fine arts in college. I started with my first business in interior design and decorative faux painting (which was a huge thing in the early 2000’s). I have always had a passion for textiles but the industry didn’t have an easy way to print short runs. It was 100 yards per design… who has the money for that when a collection of patterns can run from 6 to 12 per seasonal collection! Finally, after much research, I found a couple of small business start up’s that did small batch run offs. This was the game changer I was looking for. There was ALOT of trial and error but finally I had 10 patterns that were cohesive and I was in love with. I focused my product line on wallpaper and fabric. I searched far and wide for southern small businesses and interior designers that specialized in selling unique textiles. To my luck I was able to create a relationship with several of them. This was my way to get potential clients to see my work first hand.
From there I wanted to branch out a little more and have people wear my patterns. I was stomped because I wasn’t looking for clothing garments but something that was more avant-guard and unique. Some thing that people would be proud to show off but could wear with so many things. That’s when I broke out my trusty sewing machine and started making crossbody clutches. Social media was everything for me at that point. I could use a mix of showing off fabric, wallcovering and THE BAGS!! Can I tell you how busy I got after that point. Everyone wanted a bag.
Since then I have created a life style brand of everything mentioned above along with pillows, weekender bags, handbags, shoes, sheer dusters and a brand of wine and beer tumblers.
I took that risk. I was petrified of what people would think. I was told by someone very close to me not to do it, that I would never make money this way….BUT I DID IT. I worked hard and achieved something I never thought was possible. That idea and the risk I took changed my life and the direction that I had always wanted to be in.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

People close to you that are non-creatives may particularly have a hard time trying to understand what you are trying to achieve. “Us” creatives think differently than non’s. Thats not a bad thing, but it’s frustrating because we can’t always describe what we are thinking and make others understand.

My advise, you do you! If you have a big idea…..run with it! Don’t let others persuade you not to. You will never know the outcome unless you fight for your dream.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

There was one big lesson I had to unlearn with pivoting my business from interiors/faux painting to textiles. I had a great following as a muralist. I didn’t have to do big advertising. It was purely word of mouth.
Clients would call and I automatically had the job.
With changing my direction into textiles, had to reach a much broader audience. This was “unlearning” how to not let clients come to me, rather working hard to find them.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ashleylasseigne.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyelasseigne/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshleyLasseigneTextiles/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashley-lasseigne-0b1182ab

Image Credits
Chloe Wesolick