Ashby Sewing Company

Sewing is in our “blood”.

In 1884 William H. Briley was born in a small Alabama town.
In 1909 at the age of 25, he became a door-to- door salesman for THE SINGER COMPANY*. After learning the ways of the sewing machines industry, he decided to open his own business in 1943. He picked the name ASHBY DISCOUNT SEWING MACHINE CO, being at that time, the name ASHBY, would be the first name in the phone book listing. This was way before the Yellow Pages* were out and before all those A1 and AAA business were thought of.
When business started growing he added his 1st employee, his wife, to help him out. William “Pap” Briley used to take used sewing machine, by the way of street car, through Atlanta to people homes. During this time, only used sewing machines were available as all metals were used in manufacturing airplanes and ammunition, along with other products for the war. William sold these machines on credit to the customer, and he held their personal note. Financing was hard to come by, because most men were in WWII and wives were not responsible for personal finances.

In 1944, another employee was added, Roscoe Briley, son of W.H. Briley, began helping his parents in the store. Shortly after WWII, Maurice F. Briley, began to work for his parents as jobs were scarce after the war. Roscoe Briley, and Brother of Maurice Briley, saw an opportunity to open his own store in Birmingham, Alabama. Roscoe ended up owning 3 store’s in Alabama and 1 store in Memphis, Tennessee. After realizing there was more money to be made in the stock market and real estate, he sold all 4 locations individually and retired from the sewing industry 25 years later.

In 1978, Marc F. Briley, son of Maurice Briley, started working with his dad on the weekends and during the summer. In 1986, after two years at Kennesaw College in Marietta, Marc was offered a job with Pfaff American Sales Corp in Paramus New Jersey, as a mechanic. But the draw of working with his father and growing the family business was more alluring, and so he decided to not only work with his father, but buy the business. Together the team changed the name to Ashby Sewing Machine Co, INC. In 1993 they opened their second location in Marietta Georgia. In December 1995, the father and son team closed the Atlanta store to focus their energy on the thriving suburban location.

In October 2009, Ashby moved into its new and larger store, located at 2255 old 41 Highway NW, Suite 140, Kennesaw, Georgia 30144. When you are in the area, please stop by the store and meet our friendly and knowledgeable staff who can help you with all of your sewing needs.