​​We were delighted to welcome Ashton Mack to the team in March as a Junior Designer. She sat down with Tim to answer a few of our questions.

Welcome, tell us a bit about yourself‍

Hey there, I'm Ashton! Well, most people call me Ash. I'm a career changer, having switched from teaching nursery school to pursuing design. It all started when I taught myself how to build websites, and I've been freelancing for the past 2.5 years. When I'm not behind my laptop, you can find me at a CrossFit class, taking my two dachshunds for long walks, whipping up a storm in the kitchen, planning my next vacation, burying my nose in a good book, or getting lost in the latest true crime documentary on Netflix.

‍What are you looking forward to about being part of the Loomery team?

Joining the Loomery team is an exciting opportunity for me, I'm eager to work with a group of talented and like-minded individuals who are dedicated to making a positive impact through their work. I'm grateful for the chance to be part of a team that is supportive, encouraging and ready to tackle complex issues. ‍

Have you been learning anything cool outside of your discipline?

Paint-by-numbers has been an enjoyable hobby for me lately! It's a new one that I picked up after receiving a paint-by-numbers gift at Christmas.

What’s your favourite tool or app most people haven’t heard of?

One tool that I've been finding helpful lately is called Focusmate. The idea is that you schedule a session in advance, and then at the designated time, you're matched with a random partner who's also looking to get work done. You start a video call, introduce yourselves, say what you want to achieve in that session and then spend the next 25/50/75 minutes working quietly alongside each other.

‍What’s the first website you built yourself?

My first website was for the school where I was working, back in 2020. It was super exciting because I had just finished a short course on creating websites with Wix. The project ended up being a lot of fun, but also taught me the importance of things like image compression, getting the layout just right, and making sure everything was easy to navigate for the users. Plus, it was crucial to have all the policies and documents easily accessible. Since then, I've redesigned it twice as I've picked up more design skills.

‍Recommend one podcast or book

A book I recommend is Get into UX by Vy Alechnavicius which is an excellent starting point for anyone interested in learning more about the field of UX design.