Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Cortez.
Hi Ashley, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
As a child growing up in Los Angeles, I was always encouraged to be creative. I was surrounded by the arts both at home and in school, having parents with a history in music/art/photography, while I attended a school that promoted the arts. After school, you’d find my siblings and I at our grandparents’ house. I recall my grandma spending endless hours crocheting and sewing clothes-both, activities that I was interested in learning. She eventually taught me how to crochet scarves but always told me I had to wait to learn how to sew as I was too young to learn on her large industrial sewing machines. So instead, I spent most of my childhood watching her sew in awe, amazed by her talent, waiting for my time to come. Unfortunately, the time never came, as I lost my grandmother to cancer when I was 15. Although she was never able to teach me, I never stopped wanting to learn how to sew. When I was about 23 in undergrad at California State Long Beach, I came home to my mom following a ribbon rose tutorial on YouTube- but she wasn’t using ribbon-she was using a roll of seatbelt she found in the garage. Together, we spent the next few hours rolling seatbelt around until we made very misshaped roses- but they were roses, nonetheless. As time went on, we perfected our roses and started to sell them as purse accessories- this is where Simply M. began.
In 2019, I moved to Michigan to attend Michigan State University, and I took our seatbelts with me. While my mom began a small business sewing scrunchies and headbands, I took over the seatbelt roses to fund my way through graduate school. I eventually made seatbelt rose bouquets for special events from holidays to weddings. However, my customers began to request more items: bows, coin purses, makeup bags- but I had yet to learn how to sew; I didn’t even own a sewing machine. So, with needle and thread in hand, I began to hand-sew bows while I saved money for a sewing machine.
Life was going smoothly until the Pandemic began in 2020. I was studying to become a professional musician, but with the world shutting down, I was worried about how I was going to survive. However, as the weeks went on, I found that my business was flourishing during the shutdown. Studying and still working from home, I was able to save up half of the money for a sewing machine and began making a plan for the future of Simply M. I brought my ideas to my parents for advice, and without hesitation, my dad offered to match my amount toward a sewing machine- something I will be forever grateful for.
I purchased my machine and immediately began practicing. To my surprise, sewing came naturally- I must have inherited my grandma’s sewing skills! I spent the rest of my academic career managing my small business while studying, making a living on small seatbelt accessories. Upon graduating, I made the decision to manage Simply M. full-time and expand my products to include seatbelt bags, and have been sewing since.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There were many struggles along the way, and I continue to face some obstacles. One of the major hardships I have had along the way is struggling with the capabilities of the average sewing machine. As you can imagine, seatbelt has many varieties of durability and thickness. Some projects have required me to sew though many layers of seatbelt and I have had my fair share of broken sewing machines. However, I have recently made changes to my equipment, so I am no longer struggling as hard as when I first began sewing with seatbelts. Another obstacle I have faced is my personal time management. I love what I do; I wake up every day to assist customers with creating the bag of their dreams, and sometimes I get carried away and forget to take breaks! But as they say, “It’s not work when you’re having fun!”
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am known for making bags and accessories out of seatbelt webbing. I am most proud of my quality and creative process. I am continuously inspired by the things around me, whether it is a car, art, or a beautiful sunset, and this is what fuels some of the color palettes I use for my bags. I pay great attention to detail, and the needs of my customers, and it is very important that each of them is happy with their items. Because of this, I take my time to inspect every stitch and piece of hardware, being sure that my threads are trimmed, and my hardware is of the best quality possible. I also utilize my wide variety of seatbelt colors to satisfy the vision of each customer- arranging the colors in as many different ways as possible for the ultimate customizable experience.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I believe that “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” I worked very hard to achieve my educational goals, and although I have numerous degrees, I took/am taking a large risk in following the current path of managing my own business. However, I do consider this “risk” more of an “opportunity.” as I have worked equally hard to get my business to where it is today, and it would be a shame to not see where it can take me. I believe in myself and my abilities, and I am incredibly excited to see what my future holds in regards to “Simply M.”
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simplymadelaine/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/groups/2000811680059957/?ref=share&paipv=0&eav=AfZ3QYMcqQVCpG7HXQNPIckvqEPdQuZAkUELPZJ8dh6sBnLVfQ1G23HzMT4pVfJxHv8
- Other: https://linktr.ee/simply_m
Image Credits
Sosa Photography
