An Interview with Easkey Right (Creativity Over Coffee)

It’s time for another installment of Creativity Over Coffee – you know what that means! So grab your coffee (or tea) and join us!

Creativity Over Coffee

Meet my friends Sara Bell and Ashley Schumacher but collectively they are Easkey Right. I’ve been friends with Sara since Conor was a toddler. He was in playgroup with Sara’s daughter and we were young moms together. A few years ago I met up with Sara and Ashley for a coffee at Lucky Finn and to chat about creativity and being a creative entrepreneur. They told me about their idea to start this beautiful apparel brand that is inspired by the sea and our coastal lives. They make my favorite sweatshirts and pom pom hats, but I’ll let them go into more detail but I’m so excited to share Sara and Ashley’s story with you guys and what made them start designing apparel and accessories.

So grab your coffee and join us for a fun chat!

An Interview with Easkey Right

Thank you so much for deciding to join me for coffee and chat about your creative process.  When I had just graduated from film school in London and couldn’t find work, I found inspiration through the many biographies I read from the library.  I used to go there each week and take out more.

Many people believe they are not creative. I hear this all the time. It is my hope with these conversations with my talented friends that I hope to inspire my readers to believe that they truly are creative. That creativity is just sitting inside of them waiting to bubble over.

Hi Sara and Ashley, I’m so excited to be chatting with you guys today? Can you tell my readers more about Easkey Right and how you got started?

Easkey Right is a coastal lifestyle brand. It began with our mutual love for where we both live – Scituate, Massachusetts. Neither of us are originally from Scituate, but we both moved here with our families and so glad we did. We initially bonded over our love for the beach. We are both beach girls through and through – it’s our happy place. Ashley spent her summers in Ocean City, New Jersey and Sara on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The idea for Easkey Right initially came to us one summer morning while dropping our girls off at SUP camp. As the girls learned to paddle board, we talked about how lucky we are to live in a beach town year-round. We realized there wasn’t a local apparel brand that really celebrated that. So, we sought to create it ourselves. We knew we shared the same coastal aesthetic and with Ashley’s background in sales / product at New Balance and Sara’s background in marketing & advertising at Google, it was the perfect combination! After many discussions, sketches and creative brainstorms, Easkey Right was born. 

Can you share more about the name – Easkey Right?

We often get this question! Off the Northern Coast of Ireland, sits the very small town of  Easkey. Its coast has a long right reef with several sections that break at different tides and swell, making it a great surf spot.  The name Easkey Right grounds us in where our brand was born – Scituate, Massachusetts – a little seaside town on the coast, affectionately referred to as the “Irish Riviera.” We have deep Irish roots here – roots anchored in the sea. With this in mind, everything we design is connected to where we live and play.

When do you feel most creative or happy?

Our happiest days are beach days – any season, but summer is our favorite. Some of our most creative moments are when the beach serves as our office.

I agree, beach days and summer make me happy, too. Who or what inspires you?

We are inspired by our everyday surroundings – but, primarily by the sea. It drives everything we do – so much so that our motto is “in the name of the ocean.” Past design inspiration has come from: paddleboards, surfboards, fishing bibs, buoys, boat lines, burgee flags, lobster pots etc. The sweatshirt drawcords were modeled after double-braid boat lines. Our Shoreline pouch was made to keep things dry in our beach bag and the design was based on classic surfboard stripes. The Burgee bracelet collection is built using authentic boat rope and brass hardware, originally made for the New England boating industry. We’re also super inspired by color. We have a particular obsession with neon – there are a lot of these bright touches throughout our collections, as we are always drawn to the colors in our local working fishing harbor. 

Do you have a favorite item you sell?

Yes! We love our Burgee bracelets. They are a relatively new addition to our collection, but something we have been working on for many months. They are handcrafted in Massachusetts by marine rope artisans. Our absolute favorite part of the process is to design them. Each season we head to the boat rope warehouse and search the immense isles of rope reels to hand select color combinations. During each visit, we learn a little bit more about the true artistry of boat ropes. Each one is unique and serves a distinct purpose. We love that. While we pick out color combos for our bracelets, avid sailors search for new rigging for their boat. We also love naming them. They are all named after our favorite coastal spots. The colors need to speak to us and tell a story about a specific location. For example, the Harbour Island is named after the clear turquoise waters of this island in the Bahamas. 

We’ve also started a unique program, which allows us to build custom ones. We have designed ones for yacht clubs, based on burgee colors; schools, based on team colors; wedding parties, based on event colors etc. This might be our favorite part of the process – designing something that will be a bespoke gift for someone! 

Oh, wow! I love that people can customize the bracelets. How cool! You know, I’m such a huge fan of your apparel and sweatshirts. Can you share more about these?

There is nothing better than a good hoodie. Most days, that’s what you’ll find us wearing – from school drop off to the office. We started the brand with a hoodie that celebrated the special place that we call home. Our No.9 hoodie is our version of the perfect beach layer – one that is super soft and cozy. This popular design is the one with the nine beaches in our hometown. Each beach has its own personality and everyone has an affinity for a particular spot. Comfort is key with everything we make. Our goal has always been for our sweatshirts to feel like your old favorite from first wear. We want everything we create to evoke that feeling of classic comfort. 

You both believe in giving back. Your “Wave of Good” is really important. Can you share more with my readers?

Philanthropy is at the heart of Easkey Right and has been from day one. We believe a wave of good will turn into an ocean of kindness. As a coastal lifestyle brand, we want everyone to have access to the therapeutic benefits of the ocean. With each sale, we donate to AmpSurf, a non-profit organization that provides adaptive surf therapy to veterans, first responders, and those living with disabilities. 

What struggles have you found running your own creative business? What are the highlights and perks of being your own bosses?

The biggest struggle is wanting to do ALL THE THINGS but never having enough time to do them.  The highlight is that we love that we are on this journey together.  

What’s on the horizon? Do you have any new products coming or anything exciting you want to share?

We are super excited about a recent collaboration we did with a master artisan in Maine. We designed one-of-a-kind winter pom hats that are hand dyed, hand spun and hand knit. The Nor’easter hat has an exclusive wave design and is unbelievably soft and warm. Even though we are both summer beach girls, – one of us is equally obsessed with winter just for the chance to ski and wear winter hats. Once it gets cold, they wear one almost every day! This new hat is the perfect combination of our two loves.

I’m obsessed with your new pom pom hats. What advice would you give someone who wants to follow in your footsteps or who would like to start a creative business?

The best advice we ever received was from YOU – “just start.” 

Aw, that makes me really happy to hear. Growing up I was a huge follower of INSIDE THE ACTORS STUDIO.  At the end of the program, they would ask the interviewee these questions:

1. What is your favorite word? AS: deja vu SB: yay!
2. What is your least favorite word? AS: shut-up SB: stupid
3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? AS: sunny days  SB: live music 
4. What turns you off? AS: when people are long winded SB: lack of empathy 
5. What is your favorite curse word? AS: any will do! SB: shit! Although, I try to hide it from my kids with the phrase “sugar plum fairy dust”…they are on to me!
6. What sound or noise do you love? It’s unanimous, waves crashing. 
7. What sound or noise do you hate? AS: whining SB: sound therapy bowls (I know, I know it should be relaxing, but it’s the complete opposite for me)
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? AS: lacrosse coach  SB: cookbook author
9. What profession would you not like to do? AS: accountant     SB: dentist
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? AS: nana’s been waiting for you SB: good job!

A huge thank you to my friends, Sara and Ashley, for joining me today. Did you enjoy learning about their story? I really enjoyed this chat and hope you did too! I’m in love with all their products.

Be sure to follow along with Easkey Right:

If you’d like more Creativity Over Coffee you can read the full series here.

Photos courtesy of Easkey Right

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