Hi there! Welcome to Ash & Crow's new website! We are so glad to have you here!
I thought I'd start off by telling you a little about myself and how Ash & Crow came to be. I'm Jenny Birdsong! I'm 38 and live south of Atlanta, GA with my husband, Chris, and our two boys, Corbin and Ashton.
Before starting Ash & Crow in the summer of 2020, my main focus, career wise, was art. I have a BFA in Fine Art with a concentration on Drawing and Painting. During college, I had several art related jobs, including being a studio assistant for a prominent artist, mural and faux finish painting for model homes, working in an art supply store, and working as a florist. In 2005, I started working in the props department for a food network tv show. This show was so much fun to work on, and I was able to make some really awesome props and sets on it. (Here's a hint...Food plus science...can you guess what it is?)
Working on that show (did you guess? It was Good Eats!) began my career working in the film industry. I worked primarily in the props department, but also dabbled a bit in set painting. I worked on several shows over the years, up until I was 8.5 months pregnant with my first son in 2013. After his birth, working full time on a film set just wasn't a viable option anymore (a normal day on a film set is minimum 12 hour days). I did do some art related projects from home for the film industry after that...making props, art, journals, etc. But with a baby, my focus shifted mostly from work to home life.
So how does an artist make the jump to herbalism? Well, while my main passion in life has been art, I have also been fascinated with the occult from a young age. My mom added the beginning spark of that fascination when she shared with me her love and knowledge of astrology, which she studied in her younger years. She bought me my first tarot card set. Both of my parents gave me free reign when it came to religion...never forcing any type of ideology on me. This allowed me the space to explore my own thoughts and ideas and interests. I was drawn to paganism and earth based religions, which lead to wicca and witchcraft. From there I began to explore magic, crystals, herbalism, astrology, and all the other beautiful aspects of witchcraft. I even used a good deal of symbolism in my artwork in college that I pulled from these areas of study.
Since becoming a stay at home mom, or as I like to put it, a domestic goddess, I have had a little more time to explore these elements more and bring them into my life. Herbalism is one of those elements that I have been working with more and more. The joy of making a garden to not only feed my family, but also heal them, is something that I have grown to love. Over the last few years, I have been diving deeper into learning about herbs and how to work with them to help heal the body and mind. This was when I began crafting products to use in my everyday life, from bath salts to salves to oils. I would make a batch of something and gift it to friends and family, as well as use them myself. All the products I offer here on the website are ones I use on a regular basis.
My hope for Ash & Crow is to be able to offer herbal products to help heal and grow. In addition to that, I will also be working on artwork to accompany my herbal journey as I continue to learn more and more about what these wonder plants can offer us.
Thank you for being on this journey with me, and I hope you enjoy what we have to offer here and what is to come in the future!