SURF. Skate. Play. What else is there to life?
“Nothing but rad vibes and good times”, a timber sign proclaims in Ashley Reynolds’ workshop.
Founder of the Salty Shreds clothing label, Ash loves the surf and skate culture and, evidently, so do her daughters. They’re not much into frills and pink, she says.
“I’ve never been a girly-girl, myself. I’m always the girl hanging with the boys, getting dirty, surfing or skating with grazed knees.
“In fact, I’ve never truly grown up — this is still what I do and will continue to do for the rest of my days.”
People love the timber sign so much, it’s now being produced for sale.
It complements her beachy kids’ clothing range, which now includes 100 products, ranging from “earthy basics” to “awesome little surf-skate designs”.
“My absolute favourites, (which are) actually our biggest sellers, are our organic hooded rompers in both our Surf Grom and Rad Vibes designs,” Ash said.
“The first time I released these, (it) was our biggest day ever, and I sold out within a week.”
The “rad vibes” phrase sums up her designs, and the values her 17,000 followers on Instagram share.
Ash dreamt up her first designs earlier this year and within a week, her logo and first design were born.
Salty Shreds is now a six-figure earner, allowing her to stay home with her daughters, two-year-old Bryxton and baby Ziggy, and to be an active stepmum to Devlin’s son Aston, 11.
“Our clothes are made to get rough, are made to get dirty. They are for the everyday explorer, the common beachgoer and those little groms with a board beneath their feet,” Ash said.
“As our saying goes: ‘Don’t just wear it, live it’.”
Every morning at 6am, you can find Ash and her family at Mudjimba where they surf, swim, skate and enjoy a coffee together before Devlin heads to work.
She wears out her children at the beach then returns home for their long, exhausted lunch naps, when she gets to work.
An accountant’s assistant for eight years before she went on maternity leave with her first child, Ash had originally planned to refocus her career to fit with full-time parenting, and enrolled in a health science degree.
“I wanted a plan in place for when my maternity leave was up, as I knew I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing,” she said.
“I always need a goal, and something to work towards, so finding something I was truly passionate about was the key.”
Devlin and Ash were “big on living a healthy, natural lifestyle, eating clean, and focusing on gut health”.
“My goal was to finish my health science degree, and major in either naturopathy or nutrition, and be qualified by the time my kids were ready for school,” Ash said.
Bryxton was conceived after a two-year IVF journey, but after learning more about health and nutrition, Ash conceived Ziggy naturally.
Once she was on maternity leave, life took a different turn.
Ash found herself bored and without a hobby as she’d given up surfing while she was pregnant.
“When I went on maternity leave … I know you are supposed to relax and all that, but relaxing isn’t me,” she said.
“In fact, I think it’s something that’s in my genes, because my pop doesn’t sit still long enough to breathe, my parents are always working, and for a girl that has next to no sugar, my daughter (Bryxton) is go-go-go.”
Ash started a furniture business from home, and spent her days reclaiming and building furniture in the shade of her workshop.
“Strangely enough, (it) was really successful and I loved it,” she said.
“I was actually having severe contractions with Bryxton while finishing off this cabinet, (but) I was determined to get it done before she arrived.”
Once she had a newborn to care for, Ash realised having power tools around “wasn’t going to work … and let that idea go”.
Ash kept studying while caring for her first baby, but she still wanted a “little side hustle, and to do something for myself”.
“Like I said, if I have an ounce of spare time, I will use it.”
As Bryxton grew and shopping for baby clothes became part of her norm, she realised how little practical clothing was available for baby girls.
The items she did find were “ridiculously overpriced”, so she started doodling her own designs.
“I have always been a driven person,” Ash said.
“Once I had my daughter, I was determined more than ever to be able to live a life where I can be there for my kids in their most important years, while they are still developing … teach them to surf, skate, read, write, swim.”
Ash knew her daughter would follow her “non-girly” ways.
“Hence why frilly skirts and bows weren’t going to work,” Ash said.
The growth of Salty Shreds happened “honestly so fast”.
“Once I started to see the interest, there was no stopping me.
“One thing led to another and I was sourcing suppliers from all over the world, doing my research, and thinking of new designs.”
It had never been a dream of Ash’s to own her own label, but she had always wanted to find a way to combine her lifestyle and love for the ocean into her work.
Now she has wholesalers all over the world contacting her because they want her products.
“That’s bigger than I could ever have imagined,” she said.
“It’s such a surreal feeling.”
She vets wholesalers and is selective about who she supplies to, as their “vibe” matters, as does the way they’ll represent her brand, Ash said.
So far she has four retail outlets stocking a small selection of her threads: Meraki Thread Co at Mooloolaba, two in New South Wales and one in Adelaide.
To say that running a business and raising a family is a “juggle” is one of the biggest understatements in history, she agreed.
“I have a million things going through my mind constantly, so when the girls go down to sleep through the day, I’m running around trying to get them all done,” she said.
“Then once dinner is all over and done and kids (are) in bed, it’s back to work again until I basically drop.”
Talking about herself doesn’t come naturally to Ash, and she didn’t want to sound like a martyr or oversimplify her journey.
“The most challenging thing is finding time for myself,” she said.
“I am a very independent person, which means I also love my alone time.”
For each of her pregnancies, Ash gave up surfing for nine months and it was “the hardest thing”, she said.
“Surfing is my life: it’s how I de-stress, relax and feel free.
“Being in the ocean or on a wave is the most amazing feeling.”
While challenges are many, so are the rewards of founding Salty Shreds.
“Our stuff … there is nothing else like it,” Ash said. “You can’t get it. Simple.
“I create everything from the material — the cut, the hem, right down to the buttons.”
She emails or messages everyone who buys Salty Threads directly to say thanks and ask for feedback.
“Almost always, I get a response from mothers who tell me how I have not only made their day from my email, but they are so happy they have found my brand, as they struggle so hard to find anything of the kind.”