Ashlee Goodwin (co-founder) studied Art History and Graphic Design at Loyola Marymount University. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she worked under Creative Director Matt Pashkow (aka Pash) and Fashion Designer Henry Duarte at the lifestyle brand company Trunk LTD. Ashlee founded her first small business, Fleuron Press, in 2007. With a desire to share her knowledge with other entrepreneurs, she launched Hive Creative with Alys Donato in 2010.

Alys Donato (co-founder) earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Art History from UCLA and holds an Advanced Design Communications designation from her same alma mater. Along with her dedication to Hive, she also concurrently works in the field of magazine publication for Source Interlink Media on speciality single-issue publications as well as industry staples such as Motor Trend, Popular Plates, Bound By Ink, and CarCraft.

The Hive Story.
Or, our master plan for making small business better.

At Hive, our team of creative experts live to evolve brands and create for
paper and web. We're on a mission to help every small business owner succeed with smart branding, good design and strategic social networking.

And that's been the mission since we started. Small business owners don’t have the luxury of an in-house design team, and schmoozy professional firms come with hefty price tags (someone has to pay for all those Eames chairs). 

It might seem like the only options are doing it yourself or juggling a gaggle of creative freelancers—that’s where Hive comes in (kind of like a superhero).

Hive’s founding creative directors, Ashlee and Alys, decided it was time for a 
creative service that effectively and affordably coordinated small business design and marketing efforts under one team, guided by an individualized strategy to create communication that resonates with your customers. 

So whether you need a photographer, an illustrator, a designer, a web developer, or a social media expert there’s just one person to call: your personal project coordinator at Hive. Pretty cool, huh?

It’s also clear that wearing a hundred hats is part of the small business owner charm—to go from coffee maker and trash guy to customer service provider, marketing plan genius and expert accountant (all in a day’s work). So if you want to get the ball rolling yourself, we want to help you do it right. 

When we’re not creating for clients, we’re creating helpful content. Our blog offers articles, reviews and resources for growing your small business brand, our monthly newsletter features small businesses we love (and more branding and design tips), and keep your eyes peeled for more about our branding and design workshops we’re developing throughout 2011.