My name is Ashley, and I never thought that I would seriously start my own business, or that it would be because of William Shakespeare.

In the Middle of October in 2022, I was devastated to find out that after over 10 years of loyal service at my office job, I was being laid off. I quickly submitted my resume to everywhere that was hiring for the kind of work I was doing before, only to find that I either didn’t qualify or I just simply didn’t hear back. Then one day I had an interview. That lead to a follow up interview. And then they wanted me to come in for a final in-person interview. I made the drive, but when I got there, I couldn’t get out of my car. Did I want a job? Yes, I had bills to pay and no idea how that would happen! But I couldn’t spend another 10 years behind a desk.

It just so happens that I started acting in 2021. Acting is a hard gig, and not a stable one at that. But I loved it. When I couldn’t find acting jobs, I was lucky enough to be told about some crew jobs at a theater in Baltimore City in 2022. This theater is known for primarily putting on productions of William Shakespeare’s work. One day while I was working there, seeing the costumes, and the world the actors were creating, I got inspired. I used to make jewelry all the time when I was a kid, all the way up to my late teens, but ended up falling out of it. Now that I was working at the theater, the desire to create something through that medium burned intensely inside me. The Costume Designer at the theater had given me a small blank book (intended to be a journal) that I used to write down and sketch out my ideas.

It was late February 2023 when I seriously considered making and selling my jewelry. I knew that I wanted to provide the best quality that I could afford. Yes, that’s right, everything was coming out of my pocket. That meant the pieces had to hold up well and be of good quality. At least nickel free to start with. I even bought a testing solution which I used on every piece of metal I used. At the time I decided to sell jewelry I had already made my “Yorick” necklace. As much as I loved it, I knew “Yorick” wasn’t the piece that would get my shop out there. The theater was putting on a production of Romeo and Juliet, and the director wanted the students who came to see the show interact in scene 1, and shout “Down with the Capulets!” “Down with the Montagues!” and that’s where the Two Houses series came from. I imagined patrons sitting in their seats, adorned with my jewelry, and shouting these words as the scene unfolded on the stage. I am so proud of what I have made and I’m hoping that people love it just as much as I do!

When it came to deciding the name of my online store, I originally wanted something with my name in it, and it was an alliteration. When I pitched the name idea I had to my friends, they agreed that it sounded like some kind of euphemism, so I wasn’t going to use that. I really thought about leaning into William Shakespear since the flagship pieces are all inspired by his works. I then decided that “All the Worlds a Stage” would be the name of my shop. I was worried that it was too on the nose, but when someone wears any of my jewelry, I want them to feel as though they are on stage and all eyes are on them.