Rachel Ashwell
Encyclopedia
Rachel Ashwell in Cambridge
, England, is an author
, designer
and entrepreneur
who was raised in London
.
in 2004, "Following my father around the markets taught me how to make quick decisions about what was or was not worth buying."
for 20 years.
Ashwell started her home furnishings company and opened her first store in Santa Monica in 1989. Since she grew up going to flea markets, it was a natural for her to use them as a source. She brought in her flea market finds to her shop for her customers and soon couldn't keep them in stock.
From 1999 to 2003, Ashwell hosted a TV show, titled "Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic," on E!
and the Style Network
. The New York Times
, on the Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its annual trend roundup in 1992, recognized Ashwell’s company and her signature product, the slipcover, writing, “not the trim, well-fitting kind, but sloppy, wrinkled ones dubbed ‘Shabby Chic’ by a California company of the same name.”
In 2004, Ashwell purchased a home in Malibu Colony. Oprah featured Ashwell on her webside with a tour of Ashwell's beach house. During an appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show
on January 1, 2006, Oprah was quoted as saying, "Rachel Ashwell single-handedly turned shabby into chic and it caught on like wildfire!" In April 2010, Ashwell was one of 10 interior designers showcased on Oprah.com. When Ashwell's home sold in July 2010 for $3.55 million, the Los Angeles Times
covered the sale, describing Ashwell as "the creator of the Shabby Chic brand."
As reported in The New York Times early in 2009, after 20 years in business, Ashwell's company filed bankruptcy, which caused her to reevaluate. The site Shelterpop.com asked, "Can Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Survive in Modern Times?" Ashwell, the article said, weathered the bankruptcy of her company "and embarked on a redux."
Also, Rachel Ashwell bedding is available at national retail chains and outlets.
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...
, England, is an author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, designer
Designer
A designer is a person who designs. More formally, a designer is an agent that "specifies the structural properties of a design object". In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, such as consumer products, processes, laws, games and graphics, is referred to as a...
and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
who was raised in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
About
While in her teens, Ashwell, whose mother restored antique dolls and teddy bears and father was a secondhand rare books dealer, began selling antiques at London outdoor markets. She dropped out of school at the age of 16. She told The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
in 2004, "Following my father around the markets taught me how to make quick decisions about what was or was not worth buying."
Career
Ashwell began a career in her native England as a wardrobe and prop stylist doing TV commercials and photo shoots. Ashwell moved to the United States in the early 1980s, opening her first store in Santa Monica in 1989. The name Rachel Ashwell, according to Huffington Post, has been synonymous with shabby chicShabby chic
Shabby chic is a form of interior design where furniture and furnishings are either chosen for their age and signs of wear and tear or new items are distressed to achieve the appearance of an antique...
for 20 years.
Ashwell started her home furnishings company and opened her first store in Santa Monica in 1989. Since she grew up going to flea markets, it was a natural for her to use them as a source. She brought in her flea market finds to her shop for her customers and soon couldn't keep them in stock.
From 1999 to 2003, Ashwell hosted a TV show, titled "Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic," on E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
and the Style Network
Style Network
The Style Network is an American cable television network based in Los Angeles.Owned by NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of General Electric and Comcast, its sister channels include E! Entertainment Television, USA Network, Syfy, G4, Golf Channel, and Versus, among others.-Network Overview:Style's...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, on the Encyclopaedia Britannica, in its annual trend roundup in 1992, recognized Ashwell’s company and her signature product, the slipcover, writing, “not the trim, well-fitting kind, but sloppy, wrinkled ones dubbed ‘Shabby Chic’ by a California company of the same name.”
In 2004, Ashwell purchased a home in Malibu Colony. Oprah featured Ashwell on her webside with a tour of Ashwell's beach house. During an appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
on January 1, 2006, Oprah was quoted as saying, "Rachel Ashwell single-handedly turned shabby into chic and it caught on like wildfire!" In April 2010, Ashwell was one of 10 interior designers showcased on Oprah.com. When Ashwell's home sold in July 2010 for $3.55 million, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
covered the sale, describing Ashwell as "the creator of the Shabby Chic brand."
As reported in The New York Times early in 2009, after 20 years in business, Ashwell's company filed bankruptcy, which caused her to reevaluate. The site Shelterpop.com asked, "Can Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Survive in Modern Times?" Ashwell, the article said, weathered the bankruptcy of her company "and embarked on a redux."
Also, Rachel Ashwell bedding is available at national retail chains and outlets.
Books
- Shabby Chic (1996) (ISBN 0060982047)
- Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Treasure Hunting and Decorating Guide (1998) (ISBN 0060392088)
- The Shabby Chic Home (2000) (ISBN 006039319X)
- The Shabby Chic Gift of Giving (2001) (ISBN 0060394013)
- Shabby Chic: Sumptuous Settings and Other Lovely Things (2004) (ISBN 006052393X)
- Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic Interiors (2009) (ISBN 1906525749)