Meet Ashley Brickner

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

Hi Ashley, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I’m not sure it was a conscious decision actually. Being a business owner has always been something engrained in me even as a child. When I was about 9 asked for a calculator with the receipt tape to pretend I was checking people out at my pretend music shop. Around the same age I also started a neighborhood newsletter and typed them up on my typewriter then had my dad make a few copies at his office to put in my friends mailboxes. I just always loved the idea of owning a business. The decision to make my talent of drawing into a business was a no brainer when people in the corporate world (I was in radio ad sales for 3 years and then banking for 7 years) kept asking me to draw their children and pets. So it started out as a side hustle until I was let go from my bank job and had to make a choice to get another one or run with momentum I had built in my drawing business. .

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Drawing is easy and fun for me, but turning it into mortgage payments of course came with challenges. How do you make a living with a piece of paper and a number 2 pencil? Basically, this is the challenge I had taken on so out of initial fear we put our house up for sale to downsize since my husband and I planned on living on just his income for awhile. After 3 months had passed and our house didn’t sell, we realized that we were making the payments and doing ok so we took it off the market. Of course the backend of this feat included me working every Saturday morning on the sidewalk downtown for tips only drawing people who would sit for me, learning how to face paint to work festivals as a way to engage in conversation with people about my drawings, and learning how to teach my talent to senior citizens as a weekly Drawing Class instructor at Senior Action.. All the while keeping up with orders trickling in and producing, packaging, and delivering drawings, I didn’t sleep for the first year because I never felt done with sending out emails, applying for shows, coming up ideas, or drawing orders fast enough.. Year 2 is when it all started feeling like the sacrifices started paying off – when my phone started ringing more and people were reaching out to me to place orders. Even after 12 years I still get excited when I get an order – none of my clients are taken for granted.

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’m not just saying this, but I would definitely start at my art gallery. It’s located in the heart of downtown Greenville, SC and represents 30 local artists…so why not? From there, we would walk inside the beautiful historic Westin Poinsett hotel where I got married 17 years ago, Then we would make our way to the Paloma bar for a delicious cocktail. Then walk down to Falls Park and go inside the Bohemian Hotel to see their amazing art collection cozy fireplace and views of the River. Then across the Liberty Bridge heading towards Spill the Beans for an ice cream so we can then sit in the park to enjoy it. Can you tell I’ve done this before? I live in a great city.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My parents first and foremost deserve a shoutout for encouraging my natural talents, but there are even more people along the way that helped mold my confidence including my Papa Cy (RIP) who saved his unused deposit slips for me to play with as a kid when I would go over to my grandparents house and sit at his office desk to pretend I ran a business. Then when I got a seasonal job at Outback waiting tables, the owner Laura Mason showed me how a woman can hold her own in a kitchen full of men with grace and strength combined. Then at my radio sales job the two ladies (Emily & Theresa…may they both RIP) who had 25 year careers in the business taught me that you don’t have to be cut throat to be successful – you can morally make your way through and still get there. Moving onto my banking career, a shoutout first to my old boss Jim who taught me how to network and not to be shy about bringing samples of my art to strike up memorable conversations.
And most recently, about 12 years ago, my last bank boss Randy. He helped get me out of a toxic bank job and always encouraged me to show my work in my office. He also recommended me as a tenant in his best friend’s building who has now been my gallery landlord for 7 years.

Website: www.byashleyllc.com & www.GVL-Art.com

Instagram: @gvl-art

Facebook: @pencildrswingsbyashley & @oasgvl

Image Credits
Ashley Brickner