Meet Ashby Addiss | Creator & Marketer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashby Addiss and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashby, let’s start by talking about what inspires you?
I am truly inspired by lots of things! When it comes to my drive for owning my own business, my biggest inspiration is my dad. He was hands down one of the most hard-working, entrepreneurial spirited people I’d ever met. His work ethic and ability to make success out of any type of endeavor encouraged and inspired me to be my own boss. When it comes to my artwork, I think what inspires me most are the things around me – whether that be the colors in a pretty sunset, an aesthetically pleasing wall art gallery, a really creative color coordinated outfit, my dog Porter, or a favorite sports team – all of these things drive inspiration for the art I create.

What should our readers know about your business?
Ashby Creates is my outlet for creative, colorful, fun artwork that people can enjoy. Throughout my childhood, art was a huge passion of mine. When I was younger I would always find a new craft at the store that I just had to try. Fast forward to college, I was my sorority’s t-shirt and banner chairman – I got to take my art and turn it into something that people would see all around campus. After that, I was hooked!

To say my love for art has taken many forms over the last couple of years would be an understatement. From creating wooden state cutouts, to watercolor prints, to designing t-shirts, and to my full-time job of designing and creating sales enablement, I’ve done a lot! But during summer 2020 I found that creating small, bite-sized pieces of my art and turning them into stickers, keychains, magnets, notepads, and Instagram posts was really where my passion was going to stick.

Throughout the pandemic, I (like everyone else) was glued to TikTok. I found myself on the small business side of TikTok and saw how people were taking digital art and turning them into stickers. I figured hey, why not give it a shot? I grabbed my iPad and started to work on some designs. My first designs were inspired by my city, Atlanta! Through lots and lots of trial and error on sizes, colors, shape, material, printers, I finally had perfected my stickers and opened an Etsy shop.

The growth I’ve seen in just over a year has been really wild! I went from maybe selling 1 sticker every couple of days to getting 10 orders a day and 50 over a weekend. It’s so cool to see where my orders ship and especially all of the repeat customers I have! I’m still working through efficiencies and processes as many small businesses do, but I want to always make sure that my attention to detail, customization, and personal touches in each order doesn’t slip away. I think that anyone who supports and shops small is awesome and I want them to know how appreciative I am!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I grew up on the outskirts of Atlanta in Snellville, Georgia and I went to college in Atlanta at Georgia State University so I’ve lived in and around the city for the majority of my life and it honestly still surprises my how cool it is to be from and live in Atlanta.

If I had a best friend coming to stay the week, I’d suggest a variety of things for us to do. From checking out all of the really great neighborhood restaurants in Chamblee (where I live!) like Bluetop and Southbound, to eating at some good Atlanta staples like Barcelona, Gypsy Kitchen, Six Feet Under, the Optimist, and JCT Kitchen, to eating your classic go-to Atlanta meal at Chick-fil-A. Not only would we be eating well, we’d be drinking even better! I’d take them to any and all Atlanta breweries (specifically Scofflaw, New Realm, and Monday Night because those are my personal favorites!), we’d walk the Beltline and pop in and out of bars, scoot around Virginia Highlands for trendy drinks, and then go to the Battery to enjoy yummy beer and great baseball.

Speaking of baseball, I could not let any friend of mine leave town without going to an Atlanta sports game – depending on the season we’d go to at least one United, Falcons, Hawks, or Braves game!

If we had to work throughout the week, I’d bring them as a guest to Switchyards on the Westside to enjoy some yummy coffee and cool work remote vibes. I’d also love to take them to something outdoorsy and fun – so a walk on the Beltline, running on the Greenway, a dog trail at Morningside, or a quick hike up Stone Mountain should do the trick! And lastly, we’d round the week out with some really good shopping at the Buckhead Shops, Ponce City Market, or the Avalon in Alpharetta.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I don’t think I’d be able to have as much success as I’ve found with Ashby Creates without the help of my parents. To my mom, first off, thank you for giving me such a unique name! And second, thanks for always encouraging me in anything I do, whether that was selling friendship bracelets to my friends in middle school, tie-dying all the clothing that I owned, to helping drop off order at the Post Office, setting up booth displays, and coming up with ideas for my sticker shop. You’re my number one hype girl and I love you! Second shout out goes to my dad – thank you for being such an inspiration and having an entrepreneurial spirit. You encouraged me and mentored me throughout starting my business and I wouldn’t be where I am without you, I love and miss you always.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge thank you to all of my friends, family, and my boyfriend Tyler who have shared, liked, and commented on my posts, who have shown up to any pop-up I’m at, and who have spent time to shop and purchase through my Etsy shop. You guys are all the best and I’m thankful for each of you!

Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ashbycreates

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashbycreates

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashbyaddiss/