The Brookhaven resident’s passion for the past becomes a lifestyle brand with an increasingly bright future.
For Ashley Schoenith, everything old is new again. The Brookhaven resident has turned her love of all things vintage into a budding lifestyle brand. Called Heirloomed, it showcases housewares and kitchen items of old that were made with purpose and built to last. For her collection, she curates pieces she finds at antique stores, estate sales and other markets, claiming that in a world where everything is becoming increasingly disposable, we need to celebrate the value in items “with a story and a history.”
The 39-year-old married mother of three describes herself as an old soul who comes from a long line of old souls. Her business started, in fact, after she graduated from UGA and made trips to Florida to spend time with her maternal grandmother. Schoenith was living in Buckhead at the time, and whenever she returned home from Tallahassee, she always had a stack of aprons that she and her grandmother had hand-sewn during her visits, and she sold them to her friends at potluck brunches. “It didn’t start out to be a business,” Schoenith says. “It’s been an organic growth.”
When she first hung out her (online) shingle in 2006, the company was called IceMilk Aprons (“ice milk” is what her grandmother called ice cream). Ten years down the road, after the business had grown and the inventory had expanded well beyond just aprons, she changed the name to Heirloomed. Today, customers can snap up everything from antique diamond brooches and leather-bound issues of National Geographic from 1937 to old-fashioned rolling pins and vintage ironstone serving platters.
Heirloomed now also includes curated collections of new items that, per Schoenith, are nostalgic and have an appreciation for the past but in a way that’s not stuffy or pretentious. A paragraph from the Heirloomed website sums up the company’s mantra: “That our aprons inspire made-from scratch baking to live on, our recipe cards keep the art of beautiful handwriting alive, and our tabletop linens ensure family and friends continue to gather—this is what we are all about.”
During the pandemic, Schoenith dove into developing her new line of fabrics and wallpapers that just launched on the Heirloomed website. Next up is a coffee table book, possibly a brick-and-mortar store and other exciting projects she can’t divulge just yet. Schoenith also continues to add to the assemblage of videos on the company’s YouTube channel, whether it’s giving a tutorial on how to sew a running stitch, whipping up a favorite cast-iron skillet recipe or visiting with a local silver expert.
Her efforts are aimed, she says, at preserving the concept of the family heirloom and making memories that can be passed down through the generations. So managing the business to make time for her family is a top priority. They make a point to sit down for meals together as often as possible. Her kids, ages 5 through 9, like to help her out in the kitchen and tag along on shopping trips.
Through it all, she has found a clever way to incorporate her love of timeless treasures and passed down traditions into a growing enterprise à la Martha Stewart or Chip and Joanna Gaines. Says Schoenith: “To wake up and do what you love every day is so rewarding.”
ASHLEY’S FAVORITE FINDS
Everything from shopping to meals out is a family affair for the Schoeniths. Her kids enjoy accompanying her while she peruses estate sales or the Scott Antique Markets. They explore the Brookhaven Farmers Market together and dine out at nearby spots such as Pure Taqueria and Southbound. “We love all of the places on Dresden because we can walk there,” Schoenith says, noting Valenza and Dixie Q among their neighborhood favorites.
