Ashle Speakes

My journey into fashion and art started early in my childhood. My mother loved putting me in different activities, and while I played piano and violin at the Ohio Conservatory of Music in Worthington, Ohio from age 6 to around age 13, what really captured my heart was a family heirloom - a sewing box passed down from my grandmother and great-grandmother. I became obsessed with that sewing box and an old sewing machine. I would take my mother's beautiful scarves and rip them to shreds to make handbags by sewing them together. I got punished for that, but my mom saw how creative I was and started teaching me how to sew. She also insisted I take computer classes because she told me the world is going to always evolve and move forward in technology, and I wasn't going to be left behind. I'm so glad she did that because it unlocked my love for technology and computers. I attended a career school for sewing in high school and later enrolled at the Art Institute of Ohio, Cincinnati for fashion merchandising. I was six months from graduation when they told me I needed to start paying for school, even though they had promised I wouldn't pay until after I graduated. I had to leave, and that was another thing I didn't finish, but I still received the education. Now I'm pursuing my master's in cybersecurity at Full Sail University, graduating in 2028 with my bachelor's. I became a self-taught AI art expert after seeing AI on TikTok and getting interested in programs like ChatGPT, Meta AI, and Gemini. I create Gothic art based on who I am - a Black, plus-size, Wiccan woman - combining witchy, spiritual themes with my identity. As creative director, I'm constantly coming up with new content and designs to influence future fashion and art in general. I'm planning my entrepreneurial steps to become financially free, hunting for opportunities to make money from my art and fashion. My vision is House of Ashley, a company that will encompass all three parts of me - cybersecurity, fashion design, and real estate - like different rooms in a house.