On returning to South Africa, Ashlea dreamed big. She dreamed of truly making a home like nobody ever had before. She believed that every homeowner should be able to recreate their living space without having to wait for builders or translate any contractor jargon. She believed in making your creative vision come to life, and set out to create a business where every customer would feel at home while they worked on their home.

It wasn’t long before Ashlea’s creativity and innovation drew the attention of Chemspec, a paint manufacturer, who approached her to create a technique range using Chemspec paints. Her first range was a major success and she began to break many barriers and create innovative pieces of decor in the interior design, paint & decor world.

Ashlea traveled around South Africa to inspire other paint and decor enthusiasts, using the Chemspec paint range to teach store owners new techniques for furniture and crafts.

Ashlea then bought the House of Paint Hillcrest branch and carried on teaching paint and decor technique classes and arts and crafts as well as her paint & decor sales. Her branch became known for their expert advice on how to fix common painting and building mistakes.

The House of Paint Hillcrest opened its paint & decor technique division, “Decor8”, headed by Ashlea, and experienced many years of booming business. Decor8 was awarded a bronze Certificate for Stand & Design Excellence at the 2010 Home Makers Expo, and in 2011, Decor8 was awarded as The Most Inspiring Exhibitor at the Home Makers Expo.

Ashlea was diagnosed with cancer, and went through many difficult months of coming to terms with what this meant. In May 2016, Ashlea took a turn for the worse and left us after her battle with cancer. It was a tragedy that left its mark on many beloved family, friends and customers within the Hillcrest community and surrounds. Today, her legacy lives on through the vision of her step-daughter, Collette. With a passion for art, beauty and creativity, Collette left her 9 year career in the Advertising & Marketing industry and embraced this new challenge with open arms. She aims to take the business to new and exciting places with a long term vision of building a creative and inspirational haven for home makers in the upper Highway and KZN region.