The Ashlea Road Journey
Ashlea Road was created back in March 1997 when a close girlfriend of mine, Vicki Wilson and I decided a little dress shop was needed in our country town of Wingham.
It was Vicki who had the brilliant idea and I had the easy decision to accept her as a business partner. From there we shared the first 6 years of the Ashlea Road story. During those early years we made a lot of happy memories and shared great success in our growing business. It was sad to see Vicki and Brian leave the area but the time had come for them to grow their Dairy business in Tamworth.
The journey on Ashlea Road has been, at times not an easy one but I am here after nearly 23 years and am feeling mighty proud of arriving at this point, here, WITH THE DOORS STILL WIDE OPEN FOR TRADE!
I can honestly say now, I LOVE WHAT I DO!
I am sure it is because I have gone through the good times and the not so good that I can now feel the satisfaction and gratitude of just what went on leading up to this place of happiness!
I didn’t really know my strengths until now. I have found out that I have the ability to genuinely connect with people and understand what my customer is seeking – whether it be that perfect outfit for a special occasion or whether it
be a shoulder to cry on or whether it is they simply want to escape from their busy and stressful lives to browse my beautiful shop knowing that there is no pressure of having to purchase anything.
I love how one customer has told me, they have come to their happy place! How nice is that to hear! It is music to my ears, that this is how the customer sees and feels when in store at Ashlea Road.
I also found out that I have a good eye for picking, what I think, is beautiful and different pieces for my store. When I am purchasing stock, I nearly always think of which customer will love this piece or who this dress would look beautiful on, but sometimes or maybe more often, I just love it and have to have it for Ashlea Road and hope that someone will love that piece as much as myself!
When people enter my boutique for the first time, they nearly always leave me with saying beautiful comments like “Such a beautiful store” and “I can’t believe this store is in Wingham!” and “This boutique could be leading it alongside with the big ones in Sydney or Melbourne!” These comments are what truly inspire me even more to make my boutique one of the best!
Ashlea Road has evolved over the years and has stood the test of the time. I believe this has to do with myself evolving as well. I feel that I have evolved because of Ashlea Road and Ashlea Road has evolved because of me. One couldn’t have happened without the other.
Things started to happen when I surrounded myself with beautiful and supporting people – my family has always been there for me helping me financially as well as emotionally and I allowed my true friends to help me, who did so with open arms.
I knew Ashlea Road was tired, I was tired for that matter and I was frightened, I was unsure of myself, I didn’t know how I was going to survive such testing times but with the help of a special gifted lady, Trish and I took a leap of faith and together we worked tirelessly to give Ashlea Road a face lift it so needed and brought it to where it is today. Trish has a gift of styling, merchandising and to see people’s colour! She has taught me so much and I will be forever grateful for what she has done.
Thank you so much for taking the time to browse my little shop, read my story and I hope you enjoy Ashlea Road as much as I do! Please feel free to send me an email with feedback, as I am always growing, learning and genuinely love connecting with my Ashlea Road Family.
Much love,
Marcia x