Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Pickering.
Ashley, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Well, to start, 2020 was the worst year of my life. We had moved; we were taking care of my FIL who was dying of ALS; the first shutdown was upon us; and my husband lost his job. It was like those dominoes that you set up and then they fall one after another. We were in shock, we were sad, and we didn’t know what was next.
I grew up as the daughter of two missionaries. We left the US when I was 4 for language school at the foot of the French Alps. I started school there in a small French kindergarten learning how to read and write in French before English. We traveled Europe that year before moving the family to a small Francophone country in west Africa called The Ivory Coast. I spent 9 years there, traveling back and forth every 3 years to see family, but most of our time was spent in Africa. Even as a small child I was obsessed with Art and design. My mom would find me coloring, creating, anything art-related that I could get my hands on. I would frequent the local markets and buy beads and African clothes to make jewelry, pillows. This creative spirit has always been a part of me, regardless of my life stage or country, I have always found ways to use my gifts. And I guess you could say that my gift of design and arts has been something that I have been able to take wherever I go.
Sparrow Design started from a dream I had in 2018 when I was pregnant with our 3rd child. I had this vivid dream of giving birth to a beautiful baby girl. Imagine my shock when at the 22week visit the ultrasound tech told me I was having a healthy baby boy. I was so sure I was having a girl, but when our third son was born we were so happy. I wouldn’t change him for 10 girls. But I had often thought back to the dream, and the purpose of the dream. Fast forward to 2020, remember the worst year of my life, I would wake up early in the mornings, before any of my children, and meditate.
The dream kept popping up in my mind, like an unwanted fly buzzing around your head. Then it hit me one morning. The dream of the birth was not an actual birth but a metaphorical birth of sorts. And in the dream I named the girl Sparrow, which is why my company name is Sparrow Design. It symbolizes me going through a really hard year and becoming a better version of myself.
My actual company started way before I had the name. We have moved 3 times in the last 4 years, and We have bought homes, fixed them up minimally, and sold them. Each time profiting more, learning more about the market, what people are looking for, and learning new trades to help us do the renovations on our own. This lead to someone we know asking me to help renovate and redesign their home. I did the sunroom, then the kitchen, then the dining room, then the living room. Each room a minimal refresh and the key being use of color on the walls, and decluttering and organizing.
Then I Started Flipping furniture. I am a bargain hunter, so I would look for good deals on solid wood pieces on Marketplace, clean them up, repaint, and resale them. One piece turned into 5, turned into 10, and now I have a whole garage of furniture that clients are paying me to refinish.
My staging business started in 2020.I had an opportunity pop up to do home staging for a friend who was a Realtor. Not a full home staging, but a client consultation. I didn’t think twice, I have moved so many times and staged so many of my own homes, I have developed a system to make the process run smooth, sell the home quickly, and start the packing process. I know exactly what to do the moment I walk in a room, I can see the end result in my head and I am able to communicate with the client clearly to achieve this end result.
I also do a write up checklist for the client and make myself available should they have questions. I have been there so having someone you can shoot a quick text is a life-saver. I don’t charge additionally for this, I just enjoy helping people. So one staging turned into 5, turned into 10 ect….I really enjoy the client interaction, I love helping the realtor, and the seller get the most for their money. I now serve 9 realtors doing a variety of types of staging from the client consult, to the light staging, to a full living and dining furniture set up.
One other opportunity that came about this past year with design clients was Color Consultations. I studied Art for a time in College. During that time, my favorite class was a color matching class. My professor taught me how to create any color, and match any color. Seems like a pretty useless tool, unless you help people pick out paint. Every color is composed of a few base colors and the intensity is created with the usage of whites and blacks. They all fall on a color spectrum. If you create an accurate color spectrum you have learned how to visually mix your colors with a 10% intensity change. So helping clients achieve a certain aesthetic based on a color they have either thought of or seen on Pinterest, is a lot harder than you think.
You have to take into account a lot of different variables such as lighting (direct and indirect), Trim color, wall textures, and the base color. I do both exterior, and interior color consults where we explore colors that will help them achieve the design they are wanting.
So Sparrow Design is a Design Business that Specializes in Color Consults, Room Refreshes, Staging, and Furnisher Refinishing. When I think about where I was at the beginning of 2020 and where I am now I am incredibly Grateful. My business has taken off so fast, I can hardly keep up. I am working with some of the best people, and I am so thankful for all my clients. I get to help people make spaces beautiful. It truly is a gift.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. Like any small start-up, I experience a lot of what we like to call “growing pains”. Managing a lot of projects at the same time, deadlines, and running everything myself can feel a bit overwhelming. One of the biggest struggles has been balancing my home life, and my workload. That is one I am still trying to figure out.
I also started my business organically, meaning I didn’t have a small business loan or investors, so I have a very fixed budget for things like marketing and company growth. I have a lot of ideas of where I want my business to go but I am limited by my size and resources.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Let’s chat about design and color. I love re-using things. I enjoy refreshing a space with what a client already have or reusing as much as we can.
Anyone can go out and buy things. A lot of times, people are drawn to specific pieces of Furniture because of what they love or what they crave. Same could be said for colors. People are drawn to certain colors because of something they are needing or lacking. For example I am a minimalist. The reason being, my life is crazy, so my space needs to calm me down. I also crave monochromatic colors because I love being in nature.
Design and color are a way for us to become more self-aware. We all have design within us, so my job is to help people discover their own unique design. No two people are alike, no two spaces should be alike either. What I bring to my clients is a process of guiding them and helping them balance a space. I am there and help make decisions that align with the direction they would like to go.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I don’t really believe in luck, but I also don’t believe in coincidence either. Everything has a purpose. There have been a lot of unfortunate circumstances in my life. But it’s my choice to learn from them and persevere. I am reminded of a Chinese parable where a Chinese farmer’s horse ran away. This neighbor say, “oh what bad luck”. He says “Maybe”. The Next day the horse comes back and brings seven wild horses. The neighbors say “Oh isn’t that good lucky”, He says “Maybe”. The next day his son tries to break one of the new horses in and breaks his leg. The neighbors then say, “Oh dear, that is too bad.” and the farmer responds, “Maybe” The next day government officers come around to draft people into the army and they reject his son because he has a broken leg, again his neighbors say, “Isn’t that good?” and he says “Maybe”. The framer refrains from thinking of things as a gain or a loss because no one really knows whether something that is good will actually bring something bad or vice-versa. I often think of this parable when things don’t go “my way”.
Contact Info:
- Email: sparrowdesignkc@gmail.com
- Instagram: @sparrowdesignkc
- Facebook: @sparrowdesignkc
Image Credits:
PICGREEN Photography
