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(From left) Ash Molesso and Chess Needham, owners of stationery company Ash + Chess, who were recently chosen to design a Skittles Pride Pack. They are also the authors of an illustrated book about LGBTQIA+ history called "The Gay Agenda: A Modern Queer History & Handbook" as well as "Queer Tarot: An Inclusive Deck & Guidebook," released in April.
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The Skittles Pride Packs are available in stores during the month of June.
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The design from Molesso and Needham
Children and candy — a nearly universal, seemingly everlasting bond. Ashley Molesso, co-owner of Ash + Chess, a queer-owned and -aligned stationery and greeting card company based in Richmond, was no exception to this notion. Growing up with a father in the candy industry, Molesso recalls her childhood home in Arkansas being stocked full of all her favorite sweet treats; back then she could walk into the house, open a cabinet and indulge in an endless supply of confections.
As luck would have it, the day after Molesso shared this story with a co-worker, she received an email from Skittles, makers of the chewy, multicolored candies, asking her and her partner, Ash + Chess co-owner Chess Needham, to design the packaging for Skittles' annual Pride Packs in honor of Pride Month.
“I missed those days when I got free candy, and literally the next day, as if I spoke it into existence, I get an email about designing pride packaging,” Molesso says, chuckling. She thought to herself, “I can have free candy again — oh, my gosh!”
In previous years, Skittles Pride Packs have been a solid gray color, filled with gray candies, forgoing its usual rainbow packaging and product to show the company's support of the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month every June. This year, Skittles hand-selected and hired six LGBTQ artists to design the commemorative packaging. Recognizing that their art would be plastered across the wrappers and stocked in stores all over the country, Molesso and Needham were inspired to create a design that adequately represented the queer world.
“We kind of went with the ‘everywhere’ theme, where we just wanted to show that our design is kind of like the queer world, to show that queer people are everywhere, just existing and sometimes you might think that they're not around you.” Needham says. “Sometimes you might think that you're the only person in your community, but you're not; we just wanted that to serve as a reminder.”
In a relationship for nearly seven years, Molesso and Needham have been growing their stationery business, finding ways to incorporate their identities into paper products, clothing items, prints and other items. Growing up in the art community, Molesso had always explored different media, and she taught Needham artistic tips and tricks that inspired him to unleash his inner artist. Launching Ash + Chess five years ago in New York, the couple moved the business to Richmond in 2019.
In a time of growing LGBTQ representation and acknowledgement, something as simple as a candy wrapper can be powerful, increasing the community's visibility in an attempt to positively affect those struggling with their identities.
“It's important to have reminders that there's actually a huge community behind you, supporting and loving you, and probably dealing with the same things that you're dealing with,” Needham says.
Skittles will donate $1 from each product purchased to GLAAD in support of the nonprofit's mission of fostering LGBTQ acceptance. The custom-designed Pride Packs will be available in stores throughout the month of June.
