General Info:
In 1909 at the age of 25, he became a door-to door salesman for 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 Page's * 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 was in WWII and wife's 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 weekend and during the summer. In 1986, after 2 years at Kennesaw College in Marietta, Marc was offered a job with Pfaff American Sales Corp in Paramus New Jersey, as a mechanic. After a long brutal discussion about the new job offer, Marc decided to buy his Father business, instead of working for Pfaff. To make changes, 1st thing Marc did was change the name to Ashby Sewing Machine Co, INC In 1990 Marc decided that if a consumer needed credit, they had to seek their own financing, and ended the personal credit Ashby Sewing. In 1993 Marc opened his second location in Marietta Georgia. In December 1995, Marc closed the Atlanta location and decided 1 store was enough. Here we are today. In October 2009, Ashby's moved into its new and Larger store, located at 2255 old 41 Highway NW, GA 30144 Kennesaw Suite 140 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.