An illustrated portrait of Ashley, winking and laughing. About

Hi, I'm Ashley.This page is about them.

Builder. Engineer. Writer. All true, and all second. The résumé is a page on the Refract site; this one is for the people I do it for.

The short version of the work: I build the engine, then I hand over the keys. That instinct built Refract Ventures, Ledger Collective, and a handful of brands across hospitality and software. None of them alone — Ledger I co-founded with Ryan Hansen, and it's our engineering team who took my first cut and made it the platform three companies run on every day. Keys handed over, I go looking for the next thing worth building — and I write about helping people find their footing in the age of AI, because the ground is moving under all of us and I'd rather be out ahead of it, taking notes.

By wiring, I'm an engineer. By compulsion, I'm a writer. Design school I did for fun — and honestly, design is still my weakest skill. What it gave me wasn't craft. It was a vantage point: the bridge between how a thing works and how it feels.

That bridge has served me better than any single skill on the list, and I'm leaning into it harder than ever. It's why creating spaces where people feel happy is the thing that fuels my fire, and why there's a hospitality streak in everything I make.

The newest one is the most personal. lakelight.refract — coming soon — is your day on the lake, captured: photography and drone footage while you're out on the water, and ski school taught by me. The water is my first love and my touch grass. Some things you build because you spotted a gap; this one I'd be out there doing anyway.

But look at the people page on the Refract site and you'll see the real org chart. Every business we run is run by family. That's not a staffing decision. That's the whole design.

If there's one line under all of it, it's this: leave people better than you found them. The companies are just the mediums I've tried it in — a guest who had a good time, an operator who owns the thing now, a reader who leaves with firmer footing. If the work doesn't leave someone better, it isn't finished.

This phase of my life is about them. So here they are.

Ashley Tomblin smiling, making a heart with her hands.
Genuinely having a good time.
Ashley in a white hat, styling a look backstage at a studio shoot.
Designer by night. Backstage, owning the lens.
The wedding

Married Cody in a glass chapel in the Ozarks.
Sky walked us down the aisle.

No crowd, no fuss. A violin, the winter light through about a thousand panes of glass, the dog between us, and a Cybertruck idling outside. Exactly us.

Ashley and Cody walking down the aisle of a glass chapel, Sky the husky walking between them.
Down the aisle, all three of us. Sky insisted.
Ashley slides the ring onto Cody's hand at the altar, shot through the chapel glass.
The rings, shot through the glass.
Cody filming Ashley on a Super 8 camera in the woods outside the chapel.
Cody shot the home movie himself — on Super 8.
The dress on Ashley, and a black leather jacket reading 'Wifey' hanging on the rack.
The dress. The jacket. Priorities in order.
Ashley from behind in the Wifey jacket and wedding dress, walking toward the Cybertruck.
The getaway car was a Cybertruck. Obviously.

Then we went home and did it our way.

Ashley and Cody kissing on the deck, veil on, beer in hand, bouquet on the table, Sky underfoot.
The after-party: our own deck, cold cans, Sky underfoot again.
Cody and Ashley heading down the deck stairs, veil and jacket over their arms, laughing.
Heading out. Nobody said where.
The bride and groom riding off down the road on mini bikes, veil flying.
Riding off into the sunset, on mini bikes.
The people

Where my energy lies.
Every business, run by family.

Their full stories live on the Refract people page — direct lines, real names, the humans who answer when you call. Here's my version.

The husband

Cody

My devoted husband and biggest inspiration. My twin flame, my soulmate, the blue dino to my pink dino. I basically just want to live in his backpack.

Navy veteran. Network architect — decades at Google, now Cipher Digital. His skills and my quiet hobby found a spark in each other, and Refract grew out of it. The name is his.

His story at Refract →
Cody Tomblin in a white t-shirt, laughing off-camera.
Cody. Refract is his word.
Cody carrying a log chain through the woods at Kontrast, axe over his shoulder.
Clearing the land at Kontrast, by hand.
Ashley and Cody walking hand in hand toward the UTV in the woods, drone overhead, Cybertruck behind.
Date night looks like this more often than not.
The son

Cash

My son and eternal sidekick. The one who's stood by me through every last one of my shenanigans and found a way to have fun anyway. Never one to let himself be bored: he climbs, he skates, he plays guitar, and he keeps every Refract property safe and running.

Graduated this year — with honors, Sky riding shotgun to the ceremony. Now it's EMT classes at NWACC, headed for mechanical engineering. Watching him work is the proudest thing I do.

His story at Refract →
Skatepark, February, snow on the ground. He lands it.
Ashley's hands wrapped around Cash at graduation — HONOR sash, henna flower of life, and a tattoo that reads Mother.
The honor sash, and the hands that raised him.
Cash mid-route on a climbing wall, rope trailing beneath him.
On the rope. The jeans are not technical equipment.
The stepdaughter · Refract Branding Studio

Jordan

Two years ago she hopped on this ride with me as an Airbnb host, and she has held steady and calm through all the chaos since. All the glory to her; I'm a hot mess.

Now she keeps the books for every business in the portfolio, co-hosts the stays, and co-runs brand and social. An owner, in every sense.

Her story at Refract →
Jordan Tomblin, portrait in a denim jacket.
Jordan. Steady and calm, as advertised.
The stepdaughter · aura.refract

Jacey

The quiet one who notices every detail, just gets sh*t done, and who we genuinely can't live without. If something quietly went right around here, it was probably Jacey.

Co-founder of aura.refract, keeper of the housekeeping standard across every property, and mom to Navy — which makes her the reason I get to be “G.”

Her story at Refract →
Jacey crouched next to Navy on the deck, both grinning.
Jacey and Navy, deck-side.
The grandbabies

Navy & Iverson

Our two beautiful grandbabies, who give life new meaning and excitement. I'm “G” to both of them, and it's the best title I hold.

Cody scooping Navy up in a hug on the deck, Ashley smiling beside them.
Navy collecting a hug from Cody. Standard toll.
The four-legged crew

Sky & Kingsley

Sky, my good boi — he walked us down the aisle, photobombed the wedding pictures, and rode shotgun to Cash's graduation. He earned every appearance on this page.

Kingsley the cat was put on this earth to keep me company so everyone else can catch a break every once in a while.

Sky the husky leading a walk down a wooded Bella Vista trail.
Sky setting the pace in Bella Vista.

I'm based in Arkansas. I cuss a little, I sleep more than I used to, and I believe progress is built daily. The work is public.

The reason is them.

What we've built

Come build something.

Get in touch → Read the writing →