The truth (or a version of it)

A lot of people ask how Ashleigh and I met, and Motto came to be. The story has varied in versions, some finely crafted, some not. Mostly, you'll find that they are audacious adaptations of the truth by which we both tell with a wink and smile. But, here is the truth, or a version of it.

We met during a winter in Chicago. We both remember the year to be 1997. Maybe 1998. It could've been 1999 though, the very year Prince said we would all party in.

Another version (which I sadly told my twelve year old niece) involved Ashleigh, Dolly Parton, deflated boobs, a concert, and me on stage with Dolly Parton and the boobs.

Other versions have included jail time, truck stops and a strange encounter at Denny's. We've told the different variations so much that neither of us actually remember the truth. And sometimes we will try and reminisce, but can't actually determine if it happened or not. So we stick to the snowball because that did happen. Where else would the black eye have come from?

In 2003, I was personally coming out of a year of hell. I withdrew myself from art school and became a ghost at 25. I started freelancing a bit because graphic design was the only thing that I could actually feel. One day my father showed up and I remember the conversation to be something like this: "You really need to get your life together. The glass company moved out, why don't you come over and see what you can do with the place. Maybe you can design out of there. I believe in you."

My next conversation was with Ashleigh. She was 22 and studying English at college. I must be forthright here and mention she is an incredibly gifted writer and she has me to thank for pulling her out of college one credit away from finishing her degree. I think she might have wanted to teach at some point, but I convinced her that she wouldn't want gum in her hair or a kid like me in her class. I then gently reminded her that her red hair was better suited for the design industry. Whatever. I was trying hard.

That particular conversation went something like this: "I need you. I don't know if I can do this. Can you help me pull up this ugly blue carpet?"

And so, Motto came to be.

Most people don't know this, but we started with $200. We opened up in a 2500 sq ft warehouse that was vast and empty with a 14 x 14 room we made into a office. The first half of the office was tiled in black and white checkerboard, a 1/3 in a parquet dance floor from 1973 and another 1/3 was finished off with a tuft of blue astroturf to convince us of the excellent decor. The counter was made of mirror and etched glass with some sort of 80's feel, and, of course, there was the in-window air conditioning unit that hummed so loud it never failed to give me a migraine. But, something about that time was magical - even with ill equipped printers and two ridiculously outdated computers - the only place we could go was up. If I learned anything during that time it was that when you ache for greatness and velocity, you can stretch like comets.

Six months later, we bought some new Mac's and had a roster of ten clients. By 2007, we had won the Make Mine a Million Dollar Business Award and had garnered attention from AMEX, PINK Magazine, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur, and Reader's Digest. Our workspace, which we renovated in 2005 to an industrial design studio, was featured in HOW Design. Our work was gaining notoriety and we were attracting the attention of clients nationally.

But it wasn't easy. We have slid into our roles through trial and error and by discovering our strengths and weaknesses. I am primarily responsible for creative direction and Ashleigh handles the brand strategy and client communication, though often those lines cross.

We don't always agree. In fact, I remember distinctly that she tried to run over me in our parking lot. One time I stomped unmercifully on the inflatable doll of Jerry French from the French Paper Company; all because she mentioned a photo I chose was lame and the typeface didn't work. It had nothing to do with Jerry. And, we are quite different. I like to play jokes on Ashleigh and she gets upset. Well, except one time, I told Ash her hair was crooked so I cut off what I dubbed "a rat tail" and she ended up gluing the clump of strands into a mustache on her face and worked with a disturbing red curl for the rest of the afternoon.

I'd like to think that no matter how strange the stories may be of how we met, or the stories we've made along the way, neither of us would be where we are today, had Ashleigh been a Barbara, or Sunny had been a Louise.