Meet Ashley Dugan: Design & Illustration

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Dugan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I never imagined myself doing anything other than something creative, it was always the way I expressed myself. However, My creative outlets have evolved over the years. When I was little I just loved to draw anything, sketch cute little animals or flowers. When I was a teen I was very much into fashion design but by the time I got to college my passion had changed to graphic design. Now after working in the industry for over a decade I’ve come full circle and have been focusing on illustration and drawing florals and animals. I’d rather be drawing than doing most anything else and I’m lucky that I get to make my passion my job. 

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I work full-time as an Art Director, but in my free time I illustrate and started running my own Etsy shop. I love drawing things, flowers, tea pots, cute critters and creating cute products. Postcards are one of my favorite things to make along with buttons! I’ve spent this last year working on my style and voice as an illustrator and I’m looking forward to leaning into that in the upcoming year. I feel like I’m finally getting to the point where I feel confident in what I’m doing, that part hasn’t always been easy. It’s tough to lay your work out there for the world to judge no matter what kind of art you create. I’ve had to learn to put the likes and followers aside and just create things that bring me joy.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Fort Worth has so many fun places to visit! My go to place is always the Modern, I always feel inspired after leaving there. They have an amazing permanent collection and always have interesting exhibits. Two of my favorite places to eat are right across the street, Salsa Limon or The Great Outdoors. It’s always hard to pick between the two. After lunch, I like to do a little shopping at the Montgomery Street Antique Mall, you can find the most odd little things there. I try to get over to the Fairmount area any time I can. Magnolia street is filled with a ton a great restaurants and shops. I love grabbing coffee at Avoca and looking for records at Panther City Vinyl.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
This past year I’ve developed a great community of female illustrators and designers on instagram! It’s been such a huge help to have encouragement from ladies who do what I do. Instead of competition everyone just wants to create a community of girls supporting girls. It’s been amazing!

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