Ep. 9 - Precious Cargo

Why the heck are these two entrepreneurs talking about slaying dragons?   On each of our entrepreneurial journeys, we both discovered Joseph Campbell's "The Hero's Journey." We discuss the monomyth and the metaphors and question the relation to our own experiences in approaching, entering, and navigating the unknown.   Join me, Ashley Carson, and former restauranteur, Jonathan Sheer on Admittedly Ashley while we discuss whether Joe's monomyth might have been on to something. We're funny sometimes, too, but today, we discuss dragons.    Follow @admittedlyashley on Instagram for more.

Growing up in New Delhi, India, fashion designer Bhavyaa Prasad had her own set of challenges. Bhavyaa turned some of her painful experiences into purpose in bringing her precious creations to New York City. Tune in to our chat between two designers who met in New York City via New York Fashion Week, and realize we share similar missions in our creations: to protect our precious cargo, and to create it to last.

Whether you're stepping off the runway, strutting into a Whitesnake concert, passing along a cherished family heirloom, or getting buttoned up for tea with Queen Elizabeth...all personas share a commonality: my jewelry has its own unique style, and a secret as to why it outlasts others.  On this show, two women Heather Leigh of The ManFixer and Christina Forward of Podpopuli with completely different styles both share their experiences with my jewelry. I admit the favorite piece of mine, the Low Rider Body Chain, which was also worn by Hailey Baldwin Bieber on the red carpet and featured in People Style magazine. I get real technical and scientific in translating the differences between gold plated, gold filled, and solid gold, along with the gold weight standardizations that I love--thank you Federal Trade Commision...and do my best to educate you on this incredible hybrid medium of gold I discovered. I'll admit it on Admittedly Ashley: my solution is my process. 

This is what happens when the daughter of a late fighter pilot meets a fighter pilot who's fighting for fallen soldiers. After my dad had passed suddenly in 2008, I sought relentlessly for understanding and reasoning for the loss of the man who also happened to be an American hero. I recently met Matthew 'Whiz' Buckley, and after hearing his story, immediately told him my dad's story.    Whiz is not only a decorated and retired Navy fighter pilot, CEO of Top Gun Options, author, keynote speaker, host of the Max AfterBurner podcast, but he is also fighting for our fallen heroes, as Executive Producer of the "No Fallen Heroes" documentary. My dad, Capt. Michael Carson, was a Marine Corps fighter pilot in the Black Knights Squadron in the Vietnam War, flew 242 missions, evaded capture after being shot down, and was awarded the Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross...and left us too soon for me to fully grasp his impact and sacrifice. In this debriefing, Whiz helped me to decode what I've been trying to understand for so long.   Thank you for following Ashley Carson's story on Admittedly Ashley. Your support will help us to make the change that is needed. 

While I was in search of living a life of purpose, I saw signs along the way, but only learned to understand the signs once I embraced a world of discomfort. Call it coincidence. Call it divine intervention. Whatever you call it, within weeks of leaving the life of a starving artist behind me, I found myself in a place that nearly everyone told me did not exist. I had signed a national vendor contract with Equinox fitness clubs, while also simultaneously and serendipitously meeting celebrity wardrobe stylist, Maeve Reilly, who then introduced me to Hailey Baldwin Bieber, wife of Justin Bieber.  I had to but blink an eye and see Hailey wearing my personal body chain on the Guess red carpet, then in People Style magazine. It doesn't end there…weeks later my work landed features in Cosmopolitan and Esquire magazines.   Listen now for the true story of discovery here that happened with sacrifice, risk, grit, perseverance, accompanied by some really great folks. But the journey continues…and I hope you continue with me and follow @admittedlyashley on Instagram and check out what I've created at ashleycarsondesigns.com. Thanks for listening to Admittedly Ashley with Ashley Carson!  

Since Thor clearly has trouble with public speaking and I'm still getting my sea legs as a baby podcaster, we thought we'd crack open a bottle of liquid courage to hash out a few topics. In Thor Conklin's 22 years as an entrepreneur, being married, going through divorce, raising two children, starting five businesses (buying one, losing one), turning pain into purpose, becoming one of Tony Robbins' senior trainers, coaching 7-figure earning entrepreneurs, running his podcast "Peak Performers" (which is approaching one million downloads) makes him to be, I believe, the kind of person that when he talks, you should probably listen.    I invite you to listen to me giggle and listen with me about what Thor has to say about the origination of "Thor", his perception on whether or not you can "have it all," relationships, balancing your business with your personal life, why 7-figure-or-so earners might feel as though something is missing in their lives and Thor's proposed solution. Hope you're thirsty for some Thors-day. 

Join me as I share my personal experiences with music and how it influenced children with blindness that I taught, and inspired every design aspect of my jewelry line in New York City.  I became curious about the effects of music on the human psyche and stumbled upon a reviews from prominent cognitive neuroscientists around the world. I began studying / relating my new found information regarding music to all areas of my life.  Come nerd out with me as I scratch the surface on this topic, and blow your mind!!!   email your thoughts and questions to [email protected] and follow me on Instagram @admittedlyashley 

I sit down with Elizabeth Solomeina, Forbes Business Council member, jewelry designer, and the Co-Founder and Managing Director of the largest platform of independent designers in the United States, Flying Solo. We take a walk down memory lane on our time in NYC to our collaborative shows in New York Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week, while we chat about the trajectory for independent fashion designers and the emerging paradigm shift in commerce.  We remind ourselves that we entered fashion design solely for the love of our craft, and the challenges and barriers we face in our pursuit. The reality of the barriers to entry in fashion commerce for independent designers leaves us with an answer to keep our creations alive, shift the paradigm and eliminate that barrier to mass market shelf placement: to fly solo together. 

On Christmas Day, I dive deep into the essence of Ashley. Join me as I take you down memory lane, opening up about the sudden loss of my father and the quest to justify this detrimental loss. Navigating these deep emotions, I found myself channeling my energy, rather than unraveling. Pain is the catalyst of creation.  It taught me a new craft, and created a woman that amazed me!  I'll take you around the corners where I found unimaginable recognition and the silver lining of jewelry creation and design. Little did I know each step would lead me to thousands of women all over the world owning my jewelry. 

For my first podcast, I sit down with Brian Howie of the #1 podcast in the world in Dating & Relationships, "The Great Love Debate." As creatives paving our own way, we give a brief snapshot of how in just a few years, I went from a beginner jewelry maker to having my jewelry in fashion magazines all over the world. We pull back more layers and dissect the reality of freely exploring this land of opportunities, particularly our experiences in New York City and Los Angeles; navigating through the adversities in each of our industries; and the question of whether or not I'd started avoiding the spotlight, but might have also been hiding behind my jewelry.