Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Michaelsen.
Hi Ashley, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My career started when I was a baby just 6 months old. I was born into the modeling and acting industry in Rochester NY. My parents and older brothers were child models and so it was inevitable that I would endure the same path. I went to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) in NYC where I got a degree in Fashion Merchandising. I went out to launch a clothing line at the age of 18 and invested my modeling savings into this new brand.
I eventually merged from designing to fashion marketing and currently have a marketing agency, a Fashion PR showroom and now a new brand I am excited to talk about called “Free as a tee”. A t-shirt line that is paired with colors to represent and shine a light on conditions, disorders, diseases, and the daily struggles of life.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been anything but smooth, but that is just the rollercoaster of life. I used to hit really low lows when things were not going my way, or I wasn’t achieving my goals in the time I wanted to. I realized that I had made my success my sole purpose in life, and so when my success was shaky-I also as a person became uneasy. I recently opened up about my own struggles with addiction and how it took a severe toll on my life. The whole reason for my addiction stemmed from my desperation of being successful. After doing the work on myself and lifting up the layers, I realized this insecurity and desperation stemmed from my childhood. This realization came just recently when I decided to actually take personal action in my life and remove myself from the cycle and pressures I was creating.
Besides my internal cycles and struggles, I have gone through the typical challenges an aggressive entrepreneur would go through. The struggles of keeping and maintaining clients, the challenge to find the right and dedicated support. The constant want to have a healthy work/life balance, and the fear of failure we all face.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
My current work life consists of 3 companies. My marketing agency is where I consult brands on branding, website design, social media strategies, blogger relations, content production, and creative direction. I wear several hats with my clients and pivot to their needs and changes. My other company is more like a subsidiary of my marketing agency and that is the fashion PR showroom side. We house clients’ product samples in our showroom and work with fashion stylists, magazine editors, and celebrities to get their products placed in the media and on talent resulting in brand exposure, 3rd party validation, and overall impressions.
My latest and most proud achievement is my new brand called “Free As A Tee” A t-shirt brand that is paired with specific colors to highlight diseases, conditions, and mental wellness. This brand originated from my own personal mental health struggles and the calling to do something larger than myself that had a real purpose and could have a positive effect on people. Each season we will have featured colors that align with observations that are relevant during that time period. IE our first collection has “Pink” to represent Breast Cancer Awareness Month, “Green” to represent mental health during the month of October, and “Orange” to represent ADHD awareness which is also highlighted in the month of October. I want this brand to keep the conversation going on all conditions, not only during their observed months but throughout the whole year. and ongoing.
Minimizing the stigma is my mission, and I have started to do my part by opening up about my struggles and building a brand upon that. It also was important to me that the brand was conscious and very thought out. We work with 100% organic cotton, non-toxic dyes, and domestic manufacturers. As of now I only want to focus on a few classic styles as I don’t want the intention of the brand to get lost or overshadowed by the designs. It is a story-telling, mission-driven brand first, and a product line secondary.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up.
My favorite childhood memory was the trips my mom and I would take from Rochester NY to NYC to pursue my modeling career. We did this every summer for about 18 years. I learned so much having access to such a big city that was full of people, culture, food, experiences and so much more. Being from a small town, there wasn’t much to do or learn from on that big city level. So I enjoyed and soaked in the bright light of Manhattan.
It had both a positive and negative effect on my life as a young kid. The experiences I had in NYC were hard for kids to relate to in my hometown so it did alienate me a bit. But on the other end, I experienced firsthand at a young age to work hard, learn street smarts and tap into my emotional intelligence. It also set me up for my future career as I furthered my modeling career in CA and eventually that lead me to what I do now. I think it also gave me such an incredible and humble experience. I learned off the bat how to deal with rejection, and also play two parts of myself. One that was humbled down in my hometown and just focused on the smaller things in life and gave me reality checks, but then could also jump to NYC and play on a different level that was beyond my years.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.freeasatee.com and www.amprshowroom.com and www.ashleymichaelsen.com
- Instagram: @freeasatee and @ashley.michaelsen @amprshowroom
- Facebook: @freeasatee
- Twitter: @freeasatee
Image Credits
Matthew Seifnia @matthewseifnia, Tony Sisco @Tsisco1123, Per @dejanandper, Kalen Fedail @thereelkalen, Studio: @optimiststudios Wardrobe team Janelle Miller @janellermiller Odessa Nikolic @odessalu Models Hannah Stocking: @hannahstocking Hope Garett: @hope.garrett Abigail @abigailstanton Ephrata @ephrizzy Modeling agency @cooleymanagement Creative direction Production @amprcreatives Production Assistance @rustyreconstructed Showroom loans @amprshowroom Free as a tee Brand @freeasatee Designer Ashley Michaelsen @ashley.michaelsen, and Production Assistance @rustyreconstructed
