Meet Ashley: Mom and Entrepreneur!
What do you love most about living on Long Island?
My husband and I grew up here and moved back last spring after living in Brooklyn for 10 years. Both of our entire families are here which has been wonderful to raise our son around. I also love the access we have to everything, the beach, the city, the mountains, the farms, etc. I’m a huge fan of New York in general. We definitely have routes here though, we actually found a photo of my husband’s great grandfather in one of those Sayville history books!
How many kids do you have and what are their ages?
I have a son, Ellis, he’ll be 2 in March and a second baby boy due in June!
What do you wish most for your kids?
I want my kids to be happy, whatever that means for them. I want them to be secure and confident in who they are while remaining kind.
Why did you decide to launch your business?
I’ve always been entrepreneurial, my husband and I manage an airbnb in the Catskills (@thepokolodge) and are in the process of opening a bar with two partners in Patchogue called Birdies (@birdiespatchogue). But after working for a small business for almost a decade and becoming a mom I decided I wanted to go for it. I love the idea of being my own boss and the flexibility of creating my own schedule. My dream would be to transform this business into an actual storefront one day, we will see!
Tell us more about your business.
The Poko Project (@thepokoproject) is a few different things. Primarily it is a vintage resell business where I sell vintage and antique housewares that I thrift all over the state. More recently I’ve started taking on clients and redesigning rooms in their homes, which has been really fun. I also designed a lot of the interior of the bar we are opening and handle a lot of the social media aspects of that.
What is the best mom advice you can give?
I think something I’ve realized since becoming a mom is that you really can’t understand it until you’re in it. It’s easy to judge the mom with the screaming toddler in the grocery store, or the mom losing her temper at the park but everyone is just doing the best they can. The best advice I’ve received is to slow down and be present, it’s not a race!