Ruby Ruth HQ Open Day
Wow! What an incredible turn out for our first ever open day last Saturday! After a crazy week of preparations and little sleep it was a worry that no one would come but to my amazement there was a long queue of people waiting outside when the doors opened at 11.00am. Here’s the Ruby Ruth Dolls team on the day before the rush:
Getting the studio ready has been a lot of hard work. It's been a looooong process since I got the keys a few months ago. We are still based at Rodhus where we've been for the past 4 years but have moved to the other side of the building into a space that is three times the size of the previous one. Rodhus was originally a lighting factory which got transformed into studio spaces in 2011 . There are over 30 different artists and businesses in the building which range from photographers, screen printers, musicians, wood workers, fashion and lighting designers, upholsterers and bespoke Regency era taylors- its great to be part of a community of makers and creatives.
The new workshop was previously a pottery studio run by Roberto Gagliano. Roberto has now moved into the largest space at Rodhus which he runs his brilliant classes from- I have been on one his courses and definitely recommend it!
As the space had been used as a pottery studio for many years it had a huge amount of clay stuck to the floor, walls and ceiling. It therefore needed a big clean up job before we could start working in there with all the fabrics needed to make Ruby Ruth creatures.
After many hours of sweeping, mopping, painting and poly filling holes the whole space needed a lick of paint including the floor. Eventually we we were able to start moving in and making it feel more like home.
Over the past 8 years that I have been running Ruby Ruth Dolls it has been great getting to know customers through email and social media so an open day seemed like a natural way to celebrate moving into the new studio and a great opportunity to put faces to names. On the day I was overwhelmed by how many people came and brought some of their Ruby Ruth Dolls with them and how excited they were to see the new studio. One customer I talked to had been made a Rita cake for their birthday recently which was incredible to see!
Thanks again if you came along. I am already planning more open days later in the year and hope to see you there! Here are a few more photos from the day.
