Laura Ashley
Profiles of FACS Success ~ By: Mackenzie Withey
Welsh Designer
Website: www.lauraashley.com
Location: 27 Bagleys Lane, Fulham, London SW6 2QA, England
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauraashleyofficial/
Personal Information
- Maiden Name: Mountney
- Born September 7, 1925 in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
- Died September 17, 1985 in Coventry, England but was buried in Wales
- Married Bernard Ashley in 1949
- Had 4 Children: Jane, David, Nick, and Emma
Laura Ashley
Sketching at home
Room Design
Beautiful Living Room
Store
Home Furnishings, Clothing, Gifts & More
Education and Training
- Attended Marshall's School in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, until 1932
- She studied 18th and 19th century prints in museum collections for her miniature floral patterns
- Self-taught in design
-Her life in the Welsh countryside influenced her Puritan and Victorian nostalgia designs
--"The Laura Ashley Look" had a sense of permanance from Laura Ashley
- Served in the Woman's Royal Naval Service
Career
- Her FACS Career was very successful
- She would design placemats, scarves, tablecloths, aprons and dresses by the silkscreen method with her husband, on their kitchen table
- Opened first retail store in London in 1969
- The first American shop opened in 1974 in San Francisco
- 200 Stores throughout the world, 4,000 employees
- In 1984 the stores grossed $130,000,000