Judy Ashley

A long time ago I saw a bumper sticker on the back of a VW minivan. It said, “No man is like a rusty watermelon.” I have no idea what it means—other than it’s true—and it stuck with me. When I decided to go into business I chose to name it Rusty Watermelon. 

I’ve been fortunate to travel all over the world and have taken the American Healthy Back Bag with me. The bag is designed to stay on your shoulder while resting comfortably against your back. One of mine has been to every continent!  

I loved the design, but wanted to use my own fabrics. So, I started picking up material at vintage and antique shops and in the slush pile at local fabric stores. Then I just started sewing. Sewing these shoulder bags takes me to my happy place. 

I’ve turned Levi’s, a dad’s treasured US Army jacket, an embroidered jacket from Guatemala and an old Hippie’s jean skirt into shoulder bags. If you have fabric you love I can probably turn it into a bag. Custom orders are a challenge I look forward to!

Bio

I grew up in Davis, California but my life took a turn in 8th grade when my dad picked us up and moved our family to New Delhi, India. He was the director of the American International School and my mom was school nurse. We lived there for five years and I’ve been back with alumni four times since. 

For the first forty years of my pre-retirement life I worked in the management of California professional and trade associations. I owned an association management company for thirty of those years working with a variety of boards of directors. I was governor of the Sierra Pacific Region of the Venture Clubs of America, an organization sponsored by Soroptimist International. During the Covid lockdown I sewed over a thousand masks and a hundred scrub caps for the Folsom Mask Makers.

My husband and I have two kids, a son and a daughter. Both of them are married and both have two boys. We’ve had nine exchange students over the years and our Japanese daughter has blessed us with our only granddaughter. 

I moved to Bellingham in 2021 (from Sacramento) to be near our daughter and her twin boys. I’ve been making shoulder bags since I retired in 2013, selling them on Etsy and at Craft Fairs under the name Rusty Watermelon. My bags are loosely based on the AmeriBag Healthy Back Bag. The design makes it easy and comfortable to carry. If you have fabric you love, or even an old pair of Levis, I can probably turn it into a custom shoulder bag for you.