Adrian & Ashley Kennedy
Hi I’m Ashley Henry Kennedy and thank you for being here!
Im going to be honest, writing an “about me” is so much more difficult than I ever expected. I am so proud of my journey and so grateful for my clients that choosing the right amount of “back story” has proven a little tricky but here goes!
I found my creative passion as a young child constantly faux finishing and repainting my school art projects, building & staining things out of my dads scrap wood or later in my teens repainting my bedroom walls and furniture 107 times! Ha! Not really but it was A LOT!
By the time I got to college I had dreams of being an art teacher. While my experiences in the art Ed program at the U of A were unforgettable, I began dreaming of something more my own. I started painting furniture and anything else I could get my hands on and advertising them in the newspaper (yes that’s right the NEWSPAPER lol) and flea market booths. Soon after word got around and I was swamped!
Fast forward a few years and my amazing supportive friend, Lizzie, offered to let me rent her detached garage as a work space for a whopping $50 a month!! Some of you may even remember picking up your pieces from that little stone garage right next to the stadium!
In 2012 I opened an actual store location called Trashley’s Junk Emporium on Center St. Not to ramble here but my fears paired with my tiny budget would have made this nearly impossible without the giant heart of Denele Campbell. She’s given countless newbies our start by offering low rent and loads of encouragement so thank you, Denele!
I’m going to be honest again here, being a one man show is hard. It’s even harder when you’re the picker, the painter and the store clerk so when I found out I was expecting my daughter Roz, the need to pivot the business was already in the works! 3 days before she was born I launched Trashley’s Junk Paint. The plan was to carry me through maternity leave and it did until the pressures of being a single parent set in. I decided (briefly) to jump into corporate world and yikes! Talk about a square peg in a round hole! Not only was it not my jam, the pay was not great and the hours were long. I wondered how I could ever get out of the hamster wheel and actually save money to buy a house for my daughter and I as we were living with my parents. I made the ultimate sacrifice and started painting kitchens on the weekends to save as much money as I could. 16 months later my money was saved and our house was ready! The ink was still wet when I left corporate world for good! After all, I had my own garage to paint in now! I went back to painting cabinets & furniture full time in 2016 and never looked back!
Fast forward a few more years to 2019 and I meet my sweet husband, Adrian Kennedy, also an incredibly talented artist and designer and owner of Early Bird Creative & Olde World Door! We are now a family of 5 as Adrian and I now have 2 wild boys, Bridger & Stellan and share our shop in downtown Rogers.
We also have an incredible team of guys who work so hard everyday to make sure our craftsmanship and expectations are perfect for our clients. I am so grateful for Cesar Barajas & Caspian Scruggs. Theyre attention to detail and integrity with every single job is what truly sets us apart.
Adrian, an incredible woodworker and “restoration expert” has now been on HGTV Fixer to Fabulous countless times even filming in our shop with Jenny discussing old doors, hardware and repairing stained glass. I’ll actually be making my rookie debut soon as well showing Jenny how to lime wash a fireplace! Lime wash is a new technique I picked up this year after a training with a Romabio rep! It’s a super cool addition to our other “specialty” services!
Like I said, I’m SO proud of my journey and so thankful for my clients! Can’t wait to show you where we’re headed next in 2024!
Cheers!
Ashley
THE KENNEDY CREW
Roz, Bridger & Stellan