Fashion Designer: Ashley Heathcock

 

Contact

ashley@mycharmsforcharity.com

www.mycharmsforcharity.com

Location: United States

 

Short Bio

 

I’m a fashion designer and artist born in New Orleans. While attending design school at AIU London, I racked up over $140,000 in student loans. My Charms for Charity is a way for me to give back to society, while erasing my own staggering financial burden. $3.00 will be donated to one of our charitable causes for every charm sold. The rest will cover expenses and help me pay down my student loans. Thank you for your support!

 

Long Bio

Born in New Orleans, I have always held a passion for the arts. Being very petite at age 13, it was difficult for me to transition from the kid’s department as badly as I wanted to dress like a fashionable woman. It was then that I began sketching my own clothing.

 

After escaping high school, I moved to Florida to attend the International Academy of Design & Technology in Tampa. It was here that I began learning many of the more technical skills necessary in designing and making clothing. After two years I was presented with a study abroad program. Learn fashion in London?! My mind was set. I arrived in London two months later.

 

With an open mind, I quickly became “Londonized,” as one of my professors called it. The city being such a melting pot for so much art and fashion history, I couldn’t have asked for a better learning experience. It was there that I learned that questioning your own rules and those fashion rules of others can lead to inspiration. London taught me to always ask, “Why?” I like to say that I found the other half of my soul in London.

 

In late August of 2005, hurricane Katrina hit in southeast Louisiana and at the Louisiana/Mississippi state line, respectively. My Aunt Lynn, Uncle Wayne and Uncle Walter on my dad’s side and my Uncle Craig on my mom’s side all lost their homes. Three weeks later, I graduated from AIU London and moved back to the United States, where I witnessed first hand what a devastating effect Katrina left on the Gulf Coast.

 

Around that same time, while trying to figure out the best way to proceed with my design career, I received my first student loan bill in the mail. Once again, in a very short period of time, I was devastated. Studying abroad in London was now costing me nearly $150,000.00 dollars in owed student loans. How was I going to handle a $1,200.00 a month loan payment?

 

I now needed more income than a startup business could offer me. In 2006, I moved to Austin, TX to take advantage of their burgeoning art, music, film and fashion scene. I was fortunate enough to find a retail management position for a European clothing store that allowed me to make my loan payments, among other bills. Unfortunately, it limited (significantly) the time that I could allot to actual clothing design. I was paying, dearly, for a dream that just didn’t look like it would ever come together.

 

While on a trip to back to New Orleans, I fell in love with the city all over again and finally found the encouragement I needed to go forward with my fashion designs. So, when I wasn’t working 40-50 hour weeks at my retail job, I began making little charms and badges, selling them here and there on the side. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. One night, a friend and I decided that perhaps I should start selling the charms and badges on a larger scale.

 

We put together a rough business plan and got the idea that we could use some of the proceeds as a way to help raise money for various charity projects AND still help me pay off my student loans faster than expected. Rather than picking one particular charity and not knowing how the money we raised was helping, we’ve decided to put money earned towards smaller charitable projects that we are finding through the Make the Difference Network. This way, you’ll know exactly who and how your money is helping. As we support more charitable causes, I will update you via this blog. For every charm sold, $4.00 will be donated to one of our charitable causes. The rest of your purchase price will cover expenses, shipping and go towards paying down my student loans.

 

Every now and then I will release new charm designs and by subscribing to my email list, you can get an email whenever there is a new charm. The idea is that every little bit does help. If, through My Charms for Charity, I can make a difference in just one family or student’s life and at the same time, give myself a screaming chance at freeing myself from my financial burden, then I might be able to move back to New Orleans and devote all of my time to my one true love, artistic expression.

 

Thank you for your support, you can view the charms and badges available here and find out ways that you can help spread the word here. I believe that community is such a powerful way to spread good will and find strengths where before there was only weakness. You have no idea how much this means to me. I look forward to keeping you informed about my progress over the coming months.

 

If you would like to receive updates on my progress, feel free to subscribe to my blog for free.