The Craft with May Globus

Entrepreneur Ashley Freeborn is magnetic in every sense of the word. The Los Angeles-based founder and CEO of popular fashion brand Smash + Tess has a powerful, energizing presence you feel as soon as you’re in her orbit.

She grew up in Tsawwassen, the daughter of hardworking, type A parents. Her stylish, pioneering mother is the CEO and president of a financial institution, and her father was the fire chief of Delta. Goal-setting was ingrained in her at a young age, and Ashley set about to become an educator, receiving her Masters in Education before moving into corporate training and culture for a number of years. In 2014, she did the summer program at Conde Nast in London and, from there, Smash + Tess came to be.

In this conversation, we explore growing up with a mother that truly loved what she did and continually works to advance opportunities for women, what it was like launching a brand with both her best friend and mother, where the name Smash + Tess comes from and its recent collaboration with Hilary Duff, her journey with Crohn’s Disease and the importance of self-advocacy & asking questions when it comes to your health, her lens on raising two inquisitive daughters in this world, and more.

Show Notes

Entrepreneur Ashley Freeborn is magnetic in every sense of the word. The Los Angeles-based founder and CEO of popular fashion brand Smash + Tess has a powerful, energizing presence you feel as soon as you’re in her orbit.

She grew up in Tsawwassen, the daughter of hardworking, type A parents. Her stylish, pioneering mother is the CEO and president of a financial institution, and her father was the fire chief of Delta. Goal-setting was ingrained in her at a young age, and Ashley set about to become an educator, receiving her Masters in Education before moving into corporate training and culture for a number of years. In 2014, she did the summer program at Conde Nast in London and, from there, Smash + Tess came to be.

In this conversation, we explore growing up with a mother that truly loved what she did and continually works to advance opportunities for women, what it was like launching a brand with both her best friend and mother, where the name Smash + Tess comes from and its recent collaboration with Hilary Duff, her journey with Crohn’s Disease and the importance of self-advocacy & asking questions when it comes to your health, her lens on raising two inquisitive daughters in this world, and more.

What is The Craft with May Globus?

The Craft is an audio-visual collection of intimate conversations with creatives, entrepreneurs, and pioneers across disciplines. Each episode weaves through their personal backstory, creative process, and way of living—an exploration of the humanity that connects us all.

Alongside the conversations, the show’s visual storytelling—through editorial-style photography—offers another way in. Like a modern-day magazine editorial, each image is a quiet window into the spirit of the guest and the world they’re shaping.