Hi, I’m Ashley. Thanks for stopping by! Here’s a little bit about me…
Short version: A few years ago, I stopped my life as an urban planner and designer in the US and moved to Italy, where I have since pursued a masters degree and the beginnings of Career 2.0 in fashion management and brand strategy (with an emphasis on digital/online). I love it! That’s why I blog about it, and hope to hear your ideas about it as well!
Long version: Ever since I was a little kid, I have been interested in people, relationships, creativity and analyzing how things work (among other things… I filled up sketch books with dresses and got my first subscriptions to W and Vogue in 3rd grade). While trying to juggle a great many interests, somewhere around college I realized that most of them could be encapsulated by the notion of the community and creative management, and so I started my career in community organization, planning and design.
This was a pretty cool job because it combined economics, politics, mediation, planning and design. I could interact with different people all day long, and as an urban designer and policy-planner, focus on engaging communities and designing unique user-friendly environments that convey a story or “sense of place” for people to live, work and play in- with attention to sustainability. However, as fun as this was, it still wasn’t exactly what I was looking for… I wanted to practice a different kind of creative management. My goal, of course, was (and still is) to get paid to do what I would do for free after hitting the jackpot.
After 5 years working with some amazing people in community development back in the States, I decided it was time to follow my real passion. I wanted to live in Europe, pursue a masters degree that would be fun and enable me to have a blissful career, and meet as many people as I could fit into my life.
So, I made it happen! I researched schools and scholarships, applied, and then -voila! A couple months later, I resigned from my job, sold or donated most of my stuff, packed as many gadgets, dresses and shoes as possible, and moved to Italy (site-unseen!) to study la dolce vita and pursue an education in creative management and strategies for building brand communities; namely through marketing and brand strategy in symbol-intensive industries (fashion, design, luxury, etc)… I’ve been in Italy for more than three years now, and while I’ve finished my masters degree, the learning never stops (luckily)!
As a lifelong geek, I am obsessed and amazed with the possibilities of digital branding and communication… the ability to capture the aspirational dream and tell the story of a brand online is incredible, as are the opportunities to engage and grow a community of fans. Even on the back-end, the possibilities of streamlining production, planning and logistics through modern technology to create a more sustainable and profitable system are innumerable. On the other hand, as a community planner, I find the online realm to be bursting with possibilities and so many interesting communities already that I scarcely know where to begin!
With a background in sustainable community development, I understand very well how communities work, and am fascinated with how they work online. In moving to Italy, I also wanted to understand how the “experience” brands work, to better conceive of how they represent such a strong branded message that inherently becomes incorporated into the personal identity of the consumer. So, within my first months abroad I dove into an “investigation” in my new hometown, Milan.
I started by riding my bicycle around the shows at fashion week (and blogging/shooting pictures like crazy) just to learn whatever I could (lesson one: show up motivated, and anything is possible). I then went on to start producing content for digital fashion marketing groups, and just earned my business degree in Brand Management for the Fashion, Design and Experience Industries. I have a special love for integrated marketing in new media. Having spent a great deal of time focusing on these industries through academics, work and hobby (and to avoid exhausting my friends through constant fashion-business-technology-strategy rambling), I decided to put that education up on the web, in case any of you out there might be interested.
Understanding the story of a brand or a company is a lot like understanding the history of a city. There are many stakeholders, differing opinions, and most of all, there are a lot of people who associate their personal identity therein. However, in both, once you understand their DNA, you can use the best and brightest of what’s technically and creatively available today to create an amazing, emotional and efficient environment… and a really cool community!
Contact me through eurbanista at gmail dot com or here.
