SARAH: It’s very apparent to our customers that you don’t just sit behind a desk. You’re available to each of our brass brick families. What’s the number one question our homeowners ask you?

ASHLEY: That’s easy, “What does brass brick mean?” Or, “How did you come up with the name ‘brass brick homes’?”

SARAH: Oh, right. That’s a good story! Would you mind telling it again?

ASHLEY: (laughing) Well, I like to tell everyone that the brass stands for me and the brick stands for Wiley, though that’s not what brass brick meant in the beginning.

SARAH: And when was the beginning exactly?

ASHLEY: 1997. Wiley and I started brass brick homes with sheer gut and determination, a very small savings account and the desire to do the very best we were capable of doing in order to build the very best home we were capable of building. We talked a lot about how to make our mark in the building industry and the idea of a brass brick just hit me one evening.

SARAH: Like a ton of bricks?

ASHLEY: (grinning) Uhhhh…

SARAH: Sorry. That was just a little attempt at humor that failed. Please continue.

ASHLEY: Quality is something that is very important to Wiley and me and we wanted to do something creative and original to each home we built in order to certify it as brass brick quality approved, much like a stamp of approval. The idea of a putting an actual stamp on the front of each home was novel. Why not put a brick made out of brass on the front of each home?! And we’ve been putting hand-casted brass bricks on the each of our homes ever since.