Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Barnett.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ashley. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My full-time career as an educator and my love for graphic t-shirts led to the formation of my business. Over the course of ten years, I’ve noticed how much my coworkers and I looked forward to Fridays, not only because it was the end of the workweek, but because we could occasionally “dress down” with jeans and a school spirit t-shirt. Since I’ve taught primarily at one school, I’ve collected a lot of school shirts over the years. As you could imagine being restricted to only school spirit t-shirts, my Friday dress down attire was beginning to grow repetitive. I needed more options for t-shirts that recognized my profession and not necessarily tied to a specific school. I ordered shirts from online stores; but, I could not always find shirts that expressed my style, which I would classify as trendy yet, classy.
I did some research and purchased the necessary materials to get started with making my own t-shirts. The alternate shirts I created for dress-down Fridays spilled over into creating shirts to match specific holidays or other school events. (I know what you’re thinking, hahaha, yes, I am that teacher that dresses up for every holiday!) I couldn’t always be festive with a dress or a blouse so I set out to create stylish t-shirts that could be paired with slacks and a blazer to offer a professional look. After several requests and encouragement from family and close friends, I made the decision to turn my hobby into a business.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Absolutely not! I learned a long time ago that the road to success is never easy. I think the biggest challenge I encounter is staying consistent in promoting my brand and remaining confident in my products despite the number of likes and shares a post may get. Being a private person, social media has never been a strong suit of mine. However, marketing my business has caused me to engage and be more personable with others.
Building my brand has been a bitter-sweet process. I’ve spent countless nights experimenting with various materials before I found what works best for creating quality products. My trial and error experiences are something that I’ve learned to appreciate because it has led me to offer the best quality items at affordable prices.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with The Stylish Educator Boutique – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
The Stylish Educator Boutique, LLC was created to show others that being an educator does not mean we have to restrict ourselves from the realms of fashion and trends. As the owner of the Stylish Educator Boutique LLC, I embrace fashion and recognize the necessities in a wardrobe that can be transitional from workday to weekend. The Stylish Educator brand features high-quality t-shirts that can be paired with slacks and a blazer for a trendy workday look or jeans and sneakers for a comfortable dress down day. Although my brand is known primarily for educator t-shirts, I also fulfill custom requests for t-shirts, mugs, pillows, and other items.
There is no doubt that many people are also in this business. However, what makes me most proud of the Stylish Educator Boutique, LLC is actually what I feel sets me apart. For every item that is purchased, a portion of the sales is donated to support different causes. I have a really big heart, so philanthropy is something that has always been within me. Now that I have the Stylish Educator Boutique, the extra income has allowed me to contribute more frequently to causes that specifically support education whether it’s sponsoring students’ club dues and field trip fees, or buying items from other teachers’ classroom wishlist. Since school has been closed, I’ve been able to make contributions to support other small business owners and The Black Lives Matter movement. My monetary donations are not something that is highly publicized because I don’t want it to appear as if I’m guilt-tripping people to shop with me. I want the sole purpose of why a person decides to purchase from me is because they like the products I have to offer.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I’m really excited to announce that I will be offering boutique items such as cardigans, blouses, and skirts very soon. I’m currently finalizing the best quality items so I cannot give a release date just yet. I’m aiming for the end of July.
Pricing:
- Adult t-shirts $20 and up
- Customized mugs and other novelties $13 and up
- Boutique items (coming soon) $25 and up
Contact Info:
- Website: stylisheducator.com
- Email: thestylisheducator@gmail.com
- Instagram: @thestylisheducator31
- Facebook: @thestylisheducator
Image Credit:
Wooten Photography.
Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
