Clyde Moore: Framing Ashley Hall's life

When you move to Florida from someplace else you are likely to have the same discovery I did: it’s just different here. There are industries, large companies exist, but I think the person who best adjusts to Florida is one of an entrepreneurial nature, ready to get creative when necessary.

That acknowledgement isn’t much different than what many new moms experience as they adjust to a whole new person or persons in the family, and become interested in possibilities that will allow more flexibility.

Ashley Hall is one such local mom. With two boys, Layton, almost 5, and Jude, almost 2, she found herself desiring something less than a 9-to-5 job and more time with them. Having worked for local interior design firm Ewing Noble & Winn Interiors for five years after receiving her degree in interior design, she began looking for ways to thread the needle, as many moms do, to continue to do something she felt passionate about, but having it take less time and be done from home.

Her answer, I believe, is similar to ones playing out now in various forms across the country, as technology, and even the trend toward more locally sourced products, has taken hold. She opened an online Etsy store called The Yellow Tulip, honoring her great-grandmother by choosing her favorite flower, and sought out local retailers to carry the products she would create – picture frames made of reclaimed barn and fence wood, and rejuvenated children’s antiques.

I met Ashley at her home this past weekend and immediately noticed likely signs that both a fan of design and vintage lived here, from a large seashell embellished chandelier on the dining room table waiting to be hung, to unusual toile fabrics in a deep gold and red, to the vintage bassinette rocker, which has been in the family since the early 1900s. Her boys now enjoy playing upon it. We talked in her work area upstairs, adjacent to Layton’s bedroom.

We go into the space as Layton comes running in behind, wanting to be included. He hears me mention my recorder and wants to know what that is. His father, Nick, retrieves him while I enjoy the glimpse into her world. It provides a reminder of why she’s made the choices she has. As we sit down, I notice her boys’ artwork is mixed with materials she uses, and pieces she may have provided the “TLC” of which she would soon speak.

“Antiques … I have always loved antiques,” she says, “I’ve always been drawn to the story that they tell, their history, when this happened in the world. When I was in college we used to go up to Anderson (S.C.) for spring break, for vacation. I’d come back with a carload of antiques. I’ve just always loved antiques. I once turned an old Singer sewing machine into my vanity. I painted it pink and put glass on the top and it was my makeup vanity.”

She talks of falling in love recently with children’s antiques in particular. “But it wasn’t until recently that I discovered just how much I love children’s pieces, how darling they can be, their real personality.” She acknowledges it’s very much because of her boys, then continued, “I just give them some TLC and bring it back to life and let it tell its own story. That’s the one side of the business that I just love, but the other side – that I just recently started on – is doing the frames, the picture frames. What I love about the picture frames – and I’m very passionate about – is that I use a mix of east versus west and old versus new. And I love the layering aspect of that. The barn wood is actual, authentic reclaimed wood from barns and fences. I either leave it as is, in its natural state, weathered state or I can whitewash it. And I’ve just started doing this line for Chloe Lane with a turquoise wash.” Her pieces are also available at Lily Lace Antique Market and The Primrose Shop.

I ask her if she is an old soul, and am surprised how quickly she responds: “I am, definitely. I remember being 5 or 6 years old, staying home sick from school and all I wanted to do was watch ‘Gone with the Wind.’” She later adds, “I remember being 3 and 4 years old and going to see my great-grandmother and opening up the hutch in her kitchen and seeing all the old tea cups and saucers and playing with all that, and the little salt sellers, the old stuff, even going through her jewelry box. I’ve just always been drawn to things, old things, which have a history.”

She talks about contrasts and layers, “Juxtaposition … I just love the juxtaposition of the old, weathered, beaten-up wood with the dupioni silk, the refined look of that with the weathering.” She credits her time at Ewing, Noble & Winn for helping her develop her design aesthetic. “Designers Sam Ewing and Gail Winn had a huge impact on my life, how I look at things and how I see things in a design sense.” I ask how, and she refers to their “keen eye,” and knowing what each client wanted, with an incredible knack for scale, proportion and color. “I feel very blessed to have been with them for the first five years right out of college because they really helped mold my perspective, what’s aesthetically pleasing,” she said.

She gets excited and says, “one of my recent purchases I’m so proud of is, I just bought a brander” for marking the backs of her picture frames. She talks about how hot it gets and making sure her boys are never near it.

Could you now go to work branding steers, I ask? “Absolutely not. I’m too much of an animal lover.”

Moms seeking new possibilities do have limits.

Local Luv'n Local

Winter Park Honey is a truly unique example for our weekly Local LUV’n Local spotlight. Who makes it? Local bees do! And the product they make has benefits for aiding in dealing with allergies experienced in the area, as well as arthritis, coughs, flu, chronic pulmonary disease (COPD) and fibromyalgia. Winter Park Honey began as a hobby, a LUV of honeybees and passion for creating awesome-tasting healthy honey, and has made them popular worldwide. All of the honey from Winter Park Honey is raw, unheated, unfiltered and unstrained to preserve the honey's natural healthful benefits. Each bottle of honey has a unique flavor dependent on the nectar from local flowers. The honey is harvested frequently to capture the delicate flavors of the seasonal nectars. Each bottle is like a fine wine. Find out more at winterparkhoney.com

Clyde Moore operates local sites ILUVWinterPark.com, ILUVParkAve.com and LUVMyRate.com, and aims to help local businesses promote themselves for free and help save them money, having some fun along the way. Email him at [email protected] or write to ILuv Winter Park on Facebook or Twitter.