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

Ashley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today One of our favorite things to hear about is stories around the nicest thing someone has done for someone else – what’s the nicest thing someone has ever done for you?

It was my first elevated hike of the year and I was extremely excited. I’d been away from the trail for a while and was extremely excited to get back. When I arrived, I was met by a group of wedding photographers. They were in AZ from Kentucky, capturing love. They remarked how stylish my hiking outfit was. They proceeded to inquire if I wanted to be captured. I gleefully accepted. I received a free photoshoot from two of the photographers on the trail. It was an aligned moment because I was there intentionally to hike and create art to share through my various platforms. It affirmed was right where I needed to be, doing exactly what my spirit needed to be doing. As well as to continue my pathway into scaling my art to build a larger audience of divine supporters.

You can check out the photographers work in the article. A special thank you to Catherine C Photography and Captured by Crouch. Both photographers are out of Kentucky. I encourage everyone to check out and support their work.

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?

My name is Ashley Rania Robinson. You can follow me at @ashleyrania on Instagram and @ashleyrania_ on Tik Tok. I am from the beautiful city of Detroit, MI. I relocated to the metro Phoenix area in January of 2022. My name literally means Tree Queen which is apropos because my brand is about chronicling the beauty of nature while being beautifully fly!

I am a entrepreneur within digital artistry, fashion, and nature photography. I create digital content that showcases the beauty of nature and my pleasurable experiences while in nature. I am a fashionista, integrating sustainable/designer fashion and utility to create stylish, fun looks while on the trail or outdoors. I am a burgeoning nature photographer, using a Sony Alpha 6000 mirrorless camera to capture moments in nature. My goal is to distill the emotions I feel while in nature and share them with the world, so that they may experience the same wonder as I. My favorite thing to capture are nature landscapes like mountain ranges, desert terrain, desert flora and fauna, and canyon lakes. I offer an experience. I want my community to feel transported to a space of beauty, tranquility, gratitude, confidence, and self-love from peering at my photographs, engaging in my digital art and fashion. I feel a deep sense of pleasure when I am in nature. I don’t feel anxiety or the need to rush moments. I want to share that pleasure and energy with my community.

I started to create digital art back when I began my journey to immerse myself in nature consistently. I lived in Detroit at the time, during the pandemic. To disrupt the monotony of quarantine, I’d joyfully adventure into nature trails on our beautiful island, Belle Isle. I foraged wildflowers for the first time on the Eastside of Detroit and had a photoshoot with the bouquet I’d made. The fun and peace I felt could not be measured. I had to make nature and capturing its beauty apart of my daily routine. I dabbled with nature photography, chronicling my daily experiences walking nature trails and listening to sounds of waves from the Belle Isle shores. When I moved to Arizona in 2022, I knew I’d found a new muse. I had to pursue my passion as more than a project.

My job is have fun, be fashionably fly, and create beautiful art in nature. Through my platforms, I desire to create visibility for other Black women to explore and have fun within nature without fear of being labeled weird or acting outside their culture. As well as without having the hoards of experience, gear, and knowledge. It is not the societal norm to see a Black women happily solo hiking, advancing as a nature photographer, or styling as an outdoor fashionista however, it is my norm. And as it is my norm, I feel its my duty to take up space as my ancestors did and create visibility for other Black women to feel they can do the same. As well as any other person that feels inspired through my being. Soon my business will offer for purchase: prints to my photography, outdoor athleisure that is both stylish and utilitarian, and a built in community of outdoor enthusiasts that can connect with one another to build friendship through a common love for nature.

I have yet to transition into being a full time creative entrepreneur but it is close on the horizon. I am very proud I am showing up as a creator now, owning the title. I am taking the steps to create a community that connects and supports with creative abilities as a nature enthusiast, photographer, fashion. My community is growing, so much so that, I am able to connect with more beautiful people like you. Although, the process of alignment is in full throttle, I am still showing up as if it’s aligned.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The purpose behind creating a business centered on creating through the mediums of digital art, photography, and fashion is to allow

myself to have fun. As well as to feel the pleasure of creating, using my authentic voice.

The joy I receive from the filming a hike and editing the footage, thrifting a chic trail fit, or getting the perfect shot of a gibbous

moon over a canyon lake is something I want to feel everyday. Before 2022, I didn’t believe the cliche’, that if I do what I love,

it wouldn’t feel like work. I thought I needed to work intentionally to create successful businesses, earn a passive income

then use that income to have the fun I wanted. However, I began to realize how I felt I was sacrificing my happiness in the

present. I realized, with my other businesses, it’s difficult to stay consistent and motivated in a space that

doesn’t feed my spirit. That was a major game changer for me as I’d been feeding myself deficit perspectives about my worth

ethic, telling myself I don’t work hard enough when really I wasn’t working in alignment with my spirit. I was feeding my spirit

the experiences I didn’t want, thinking the gargantuan sacrifice of creating businesses that felt like a task would lead to an even

grander pay off. It only left me feeling more depleted and depressed. The process to make the money should be as fun as the

process of spending it. There is joy in the work, when the work returns the joy back to me. The pleasure of having fun through

creating makes me want to create more. I am learning organizational skills and business systems that will allow me to scale.

I feel called to create operations that will sustain and increase my visibility because, I feel connected to my work in the best way. I

want it to be the best. I want it to reach large masses of people because I feel like I’m making a contribution by inspiring

through my being. By being me, I want to inspire others to have fun in their daily lives, as a career or simply as a means to connect to the

core of themselves. Everyday should feel good. From one’s job to one’s personal life. That’s the intention behind why I

create digital art.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I began my ascent into digital creation within the thrifted/vintage fashion space. I was an online thrift

store owner. When sharing my styling on various social media outlets, I followed the advice of other seasoned online

thrift mavens. I bought their books and followed their guidelines for how to grow my online presence. I also studied trends for

thrifted or vintage clothing that sold and tried to style outfits based on clothing I “thought” would sell vs what truly

spoke to my style. What started as a passion began to feel like an excruciating, painful job. I contoured my digital art around

what I saw working for others instead of what I knew worked for me. And what felt pleasurable to me.

I love being in nature. I love movement in nature. I love orchestrating a fun, fly fit with efficacy for the trail. I love capturing

beautiful moments in nature that evoke a raw emotional reaction. The peace and joy I feel cannot be measured. I am my

happiest, on a trail, or taking a nature shot, or just existing while in it. However, it was not a passion I’d expressed to most of my

world. I told myself that I want to share this feeling I get when I am in nature regardless if people get it or not. Because I am

known as the thrifty fly girl and not the nature loving girl. I am both and more; I wanted people to see that and be inspired to

step outside of being one dimensional.

I am unlearning external validation. Being a creative means trusting myself. My authenticity. My vision, My style for creating

and what I want to create is all that matters. I thought I had to create for my audience. Follow the digital creator trends within

thrifted fashion that were popular because that’s what people want. But I had to realize I am not creating for others. I am

creating for myself. Nature digital art gives me pleasure to create, therefore I share it. I am no longer content with being one

dimensional. All the parts of me want to shine and I am giving myself permission to do so through the digital art I create now.

It’s a disservice to my vision to not create what makes me feel good. I create what feels fun. I create what

feels pleasurable to me. My authentic vision will resonate with audience that aligns with me. I am fully

tapped in to my authentic voice and path as a nature digital creator. I am learning not measure myself by vanity metrics ie

likes, views, shares, etc. but Ashley’s metrics.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: ashleyrania
• Facebook: AshleyRania
• Youtube: AshleyRania
• TikTok: ashleyrania_

Image Credits
Catherine C Photography Captured by Crouch