; Born: : 1925 ; Place of Birth: : Dowlais "We normally find that a design will not sell very well unless we have a nostalgia of the past about it." Laura Ashley ; Trivia: : There are Laura Ashley fans across the world - read their comments here. ; Biography: : Laura Ashley was a hugely influential designer of clothes and interior fabrics, who would go on to launch a worldwide chain of outlets. But almost from the beginning, her fabric and furnishings empire could be traced back to humble beginnings in Mid Wales. Laura Ashley was born Laura Mountney in 1925 - in a terraced house in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil. She was raised in a civil service family as a Baptist and was educated in London. In 1948, she married Bernard Ashley whom she'd met in a youth club in Wallington, London. He worked in the City and they set up home in a flat in Pimlico. It was here, at the kitchen table that the seeds of success were first sown. Laura's first batch of headscarves, table mats and napkins was immediately sold to the John Lewis Department Store.

With other retailers taking an interest, Bernard gave up his city job to manage the new family business. The couple's first factory was an old coaching house in Kent where they produced fabrics under the Ashley Mountney Company. But Laura Ashley hankered for her native Wales and the family moved to Powys.

They set up first of all in Machynlleth before moving to the Old Railway House in Carno, a building which was to become the powerhouse of a multi-national business. Many of the clothes were initially made by women in their homes. Bundles of clothes would be driven by van from fireside to fireside where housewives would turn collars and cuffs for pin money.

Before long, factories were set up in the heart of Mid Wales and by the mid 1970s, dresses from rural Wales were being sold across Europe. As well as Llanidloes (the company's first shop in Wales), stores were also opened in London, Paris, Geneva and Brussels.

The success was phenomenal and totally unexpected and from the 1970s through to the 1980s, the company went from strength to strength. By 1981, the Ashleys - who had by now expanded into home furnishing - had 5,000 retail outlets throughout the world. In the same year, Laura Ashley realised a long-held ambition and opened a shop in the Welsh capital, Cardiff.

In 1984 the company opened a factory in Newtown, Powys, creating 500 jobs and in early 1985, another factory opened in Gresford near Wrexham. Later that year, tragedy struck. On her 60th birthday, Laura Ashley died after falling down the stairs at her daughter's cottage in the Cotswolds.

She was taken to hospital and placed on a life-support machine but died after nine days in a coma. She is buried in the churchyard at Carno.

At the time of her death, the company was on the brink of further expansion, and with Bernard still at the helm was floated on the stock market in 1986, valued at some £200 million.

However, changing styles and attitudes meant that the company's products began to fall out of favour, and though maintaining a high profile, a decline began. In addition, manufacturing in Britain proved a costly enterprise, with many competitors moving their production bases to the cheaper Far East.

Financial difficulties in the 1990s led to the company employing a series of executives who attempted to turn the company's fortunes around, with mixed results. In 1998, the loss-making group was bailed out by Malayan United Industries, which took a 40% stake in the company. Despite the recent troubled times, Laura Ashley remains a world-famous brand and the company still has links with Powys where it retains two factories. ; Born: : 1925 ; Place of Birth: : Dowlais "We normally find that a design will not sell very well unless we have a nostalgia of the past about it." Laura Ashley ; Trivia: : There are Laura Ashley fans across the world - read their comments here. ; Biography: : Laura Ashley was a hugely influential designer of clothes and interior fabrics, who would go on to launch a worldwide chain of outlets. But almost from the beginning, her fabric and furnishings empire could be traced back to humble beginnings in Mid Wales. Laura Ashley was born Laura Mountney in 1925 - in a terraced house in Dowlais, Merthyr Tydfil. She was raised in a civil service family as a Baptist and was educated in London. In 1948, she married Bernard Ashley whom she'd met in a youth club in Wallington, London. He worked in the City and they set up home in a flat in Pimlico. It was here, at the kitchen table that the seeds of success were first sown. Laura's first batch of headscarves, table mats and napkins was immediately sold to the John Lewis Department Store.

She was taken to hospital and placed on a life-support machine but died after nine days in a coma. She is buried in the churchyard at Carno.

At the time of her death, the company was on the brink of further expansion, and with Bernard still at the helm was floated on the stock market in 1986, valued at some £200 million.

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