PHOTOS: Ash + Chess
Queer and trans couple Ashley Molesso (she/her) and Chess Needham (he/him) moved to Richmond to launch their successful stationery company Ash + Chess.
Ashley Molesso, left, and Chess Needham hold their custom-made Skittles bag in their home on Friday, June 3, 2022, in Richmond. The Pride-themed Skittles can be found in stores around the nation.
Ashley Molesso adjust a frame in her home on Friday, June 3, 2022, in Richmond. Molesso and Needham created a lot of the art they hangs in their home.
Ashley Molesso (left) and Chess Needham sit outside their home in the Bellevue neighborhood. The couple moved to Richmond from New York City in 2019 to launch their LGBTQ-positive stationery company, Ash + Chess, full time.
Ashley Molesso (left) and Chess Needham stand in their home. “There is such a big queer community here. It felt so welcoming,” Molesso said.
Ashley Molesso (she/her), left, and Chess Needham (he/him) play with their dog Pepper on Friday, June 3, 2022, in their home in Richmond. Chess and Ashley have their own art business selling homemade greeting cards and art prints.
Ashley Molesso holds the couple’s custom-made Skittles bag on Friday, June 3, 2022, in Richmond. Molesso and Needham were selected by Skittles along with a few other artists to create a custom design for Pride month.
Ashley Molesso, left, and Chess Needham hold their custom-made Skittles bag in their home on Friday, June 3, 2022, in Richmond. ASH + CHESS art and stationery can now be found in over 600 stores across the world.
Needham holds a tarot deck, “Queer Tarot: An Inclusive Deck & Guidebook,” he and Molesso made through their Ash + Chess stationery company.
When Ashley Molesso and Chess Needham, a queer and transgender couple from New York City’s Brooklyn borough, were looking for a new city to mo…