After a tough day at work, nothing is more needed than to come home and get out of the confinement of work clothes and slip into something more comfortable. Doing so, though, shouldn’t mean having to look dowdy or non-chic. Being comfortable shouldn’t be at the cost of looking and feeling absolutely fantastic.
This is what crossed the mind of founder and CEO of Lunya, Ashley Merrill. It all started with just a casual glance in the mirror and the shocked realization that this was not how she wanted to be seen … as the woman who had “let herself go.”
Today’s women need sleepwear that reflects who they are … modern and chic and beautiful. This is exactly what Lunya is all about! Ashley Merrill went from that one look in the mirror to a pilgrimage to find sleepwear that would be both comfortable and beautiful.
And since she couldn’t find anything like that on the market at all, she decided to take the plunge and design her own sleepwear. After all … how hard could it be? There was definitely a market for the perfect loungewear for every woman’s downtime.
Taking the Plunge
With no prior knowledge or experience in the clothing industry, it was quite the challenge to gather all the information she needed, but it sure didn’t slow her down or dampen her spirits. What is most inspiring is that Ashley founded Lunya and spent the next several months working hard to get it up off the ground …
All whilst being pregnant with her and her husband’s first child!
Taking it just one step at a time (even up until the time she could no longer see her feet) and encouraged and motivated by her husband and friends, Ashley forged ahead and was able to hire her first employee six months later.
It wasn’t long after that, in June of 2013, they were able to start producing their first line — and Ashley was able to welcome her firstborn in the midst of it all. Since things were going so well at home and the business was picking up, Ashley decided it was time to kick things up a notch and take the next leap.
Getting Holiday Ready with a Launch
And boy what a leap! With fearsome courage and entrepreneurial faith, Ashley Merrill not only took on the greater challenge of having their second child, she also held the soft launch for Lunya in November of 2014 so as to be able to take advantage of the holiday season.
Whilst entrepreneurship may not have turned out to be exactly what Ashley had thought it would be when she first started Lunya (it was way less glamorous and far more slog and toil), it was nevertheless a time that she cherished.
As the months passed, the company grew steadily, and things started to really take shape. The big dream was to create a product that would bring comfort to leisure time, to create a product that displayed the painstaking attention to detail in each and every aspect of quality and construction. And that is exactly what Lunya has done.
Get Your Sleep Together
Since being launched, Lunya has grown from a mustard seed beginning into a multi-million-dollar company which now has 45 employees and three brick and mortar stores. Ashley has also branched out to include a line of men’s sleepwear as well, called Lahgo.
Lunya is all about serving the customer, making sure that each individual’s sleepwear needs are met. Their line of deluxe loungewear is designed to not only cool down the body, but it also makes sweat dissipate more easily. Added to this, the antimicrobials that have been knitted into the fabric help to keep odors at bay.
This sleepwear line has got it all – elegance, comfort and an affordable price tag! Not to mention that they even have a Restore line, which is designed and created to help increase blood flow to restore, recharge and regenerate your body. In effect, Lunya helps you to get your sleep together.
Let This Be a Lesson
This past year has opened up broader horizons for us all, especially since we have been at home more than in times gone by. But if there is one thing that we can learn from Ashley Merrill and her journey in bringing Lunya to life, it is that nothing should get in the way of living one’s dream!
Life comes filled with challenges and unexpected twists and turns, but it is what we do with those challenges, how we deal with the unexpected, that makes life great. Look around and see the opportunities and then go ahead and grab them with both hands. Oftentimes these opportunities only come around once, and if you miss that chance you will miss the opportunity of a lifetime.
If Ashley had stopped and let insecurities or doubts cloud her vision, we wouldn’t have one of the most incredible sleepwear lines out there today. If she had, for one moment, thought it would be too hard and then given up, we would be without a line of loungewear that brings comfort and peace to all those who invest in it.
Don’t let doubts cloud your dreams — take a page out of Ashley Merrill’s book and go forth and live your dreams! Dive right into that scary opportunity and make it your own. Find your niche, do the work, and then sleep knowing that you have accomplished what you set out to do. We can all learn from the inspiring and courageous story of one woman who decided not to settle for the mundane, but to go out and create the marvelous.
Image Credit:
- Featured Image, Unsplash