in the studio x ashton, arw handmade clothing

Welcome to Ashton's Cheektowaga home studio for ARW – inclusive, universally flattering apparel she's been hanndcrafting since 2018.

Photography by Eric Tronolone for Cool Story, Buffalo

Sewing has been a passion since Ashton and her grandma collaborated on her first piece when she was young.

But a key moment came during her senior year at Buffalo State, when she designed her first fashion collection. "It showed me the joy of building a collection from start to finish. I liked the element of telling a story with collections.”

Ashton on her beloved sewing machine:

"It's a 1980s Bernina – it's a beast! The quality is so good, and the parts are metal. Since I acquired it, the engine shorted ... recently I had to replace the circuit board from the inside. This machine will get buried with me. If I had a house fire, that's the first thing I would grab.”