Some little things I've been working on...

 All thsee pieces are (or will be soon) available to purchase from my Etsy store! I am always happy to take reservations on items for a few weeks, so just drop me a message and I'd be happy to help :)

A business breakfast at Ruby Robin Boutique HQ

 

On sunny days we have our business meetings in to the garden. 

My work colleagues are all cats. 

The coffee's fresh and there's time to stop and smell the flowers.

It's not always easy, but sometimes I really love being self-employed.

The language of flowers..

Hello my lovelies! I have been so bad for not updating my blog, ironically it's still incredibly hard to find the time since I took the plunge to full time self-employment, despite not having a second job contending for my attention! But I think this will be a particularly lovely post, and should make up for my negligence :)

So lots of very exciting thing have been happening for me these days! I got the first draft of my logo design back from the amazingly talented and lovely Holly, of Hollytron Design and it was such much more beautiful than I imagined it would be! We haven't figured out all the details just yet, but when Holly has worked her magic I will be sure and share her work as soon as I get my hands on it!

One of my most exciting snippets of news lately has been that I have been incredibly honored to be  invited to trade at the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year festival in the Royal Dublin Society! And after having a bit of a psychological melt down about my market display suddenly seeming teribbly inadequate, my good friend and redhead in crime, Miss Molly Ellis of Ewe Sir  helped me figure out all sorts of amazing ideas  to re-vamp it! I don't want to give away too much, but all my props are vintage (and very, very Victorian), and I am incredibly excited to see them all! I promise I will take lots of pics when I have it all perfect and ready to unveil to the world :)

Those of you who follow my Facebook page have probably seen that I launched a brand new jewellery collection this week, called 'The Language of Flowers'. I was inspired to create this collection for so many reasons, the glorious blooms of wildflowers in all the hedgerows these days, the delicious warm herby smell in the air, and the general romantic, wistful notions that tend to preoccupy my mind at this time of year. I have been so happy creating these pieces, how many people can say they have to pick flowers for work? 

 Grannies bonnet and dandelions growing in my garden.

 

 I created the collection based on the Victorian art of Floriography, which was a hugely popular activity of the time! Flowers were used in an incredibly sophisticated method of coded communication between loved ones and admirers, cutting out the need to use any actual words whatsoever.

In particular this was done by creating little bouquets of flowers, called 'tussie mussies' in which every flower included carried it's own specific meaning and the bunch as a whole represented a complex message laden with coded meaning and emotion. 

Some of my favourite examples examples of this symbolism are Rose buds for young love, Babys breath for innocence and pureness of heart, Forget-me-nots for pure love and Snowdrops for hope. It was such a complex and subtle art, that even the way a lady held the bouquet in her hand would convey a secret meaning to her lover or admirer!

 Forget-me-nots symbolize remembrance and true love. Folklore tells that they got their name when a young knight who was walking in a woods with his lover, fell into a river. Though his love tried her best to save him, his armor proved too heavy for her and dragged him down into the water,  the knight had just enough time before his death to throw a bunch of little blue flowers he had pbeen carrying ashore while calling out to his dying words to his love 'Forget me not'.

Dandelions represent coquetry and flirting, and their little fluffy seeds are though to carry your most secret dreams and wishes to your loved one!

 

A tussie-mussie is a perfect excuse to go on a wild-flower picking expedition, not that I usually need one ;)

  I have been busy tea-staining lace and drying bunches of flowers to make the pendants!

  

Lavender symbolizes devotion and purity, as well as being a well known folk-remedy for anxiety and insomnia!

 

 Pink roses symbolize joyfulness, happiness, elegance and grace, as well as the expression of admiration. The buds symbolize young love.

Your very own Tussie-Mussie  safely preserved in a glass bottle, with pink roses for love and lavender for devotion. A beautiful bouquet that will last a lifetime.

In this collection I have tried to revive this elegant and whimsical art in my own little way. I have created each necklace to carry it's own special message and meaning according to the flowers I use. 

I enjoyed making these pendants so much, from going on flower picking expeditions in the woods to photographing the wild flowers in my garden. Being around nature, plants and flowers makes me so happy, and every minute has been a joy! So I hope you enjoy them as much as I do :)

All the pendants from my Language of Flowers range are available to buy from my Etsy shop and I will be adding more to the collection over the next couple of weeks.

Until next time, I hope you can find some time to go out in the sun and enjoy the gentle beauty of flowers too!

A wish and a whisper..

I am so excited about my latest little creation for my Etsy shop Ruby Robin Boutique! It's my 'Wish and a whisper' bottle necklace, which I made by encapsulating a single Dandelion wish from my garden in a lovely little glass vial.
 

I love Irish folklore, and especially when it comes to herbalism! Even the most neglected and unloved of weeds have such wonderful stories and superstitions associated with them in this country, and the humble dandelion is surely no exception.

There are so many romantic myths surrounding the dandelion, the obvious one I remember from my childhood was that if you didn't wash your hands after picking them, you would be your bed that night :) I have a feeling that might have been a conspiracy on the part of some grown-ups to make kids wash their hands more often than they are naturally inclined to, and it worked too! Another fun one is that the longest stalk of dandelion you could find in spring indicated how much taller you would get by the end of the year, or that you could predict if a child would grow up to be rich is their chin shone golden when you held a dandelion flower under their chin!

Dandelions also have lots of romantic and whimsical connotations associated with them, included in a hedgerow wedding bouquet they bring good luck to the new couple, and planting dandelions Northwest of your house is said to being you good weather! If you blow all the seeds off a dandelion head in one go, someone loves you dearly and truly, if any are left, you have been forgotten. Furthermore, blowing the seeds off is also said to carry your thoughts and dreams into the mind of your one true love.

 So I decided to create a necklace in wish you could have your very own wish and a whisper, encased in a tiny little glass vial for safe keeping, until the time you might need it. 

Fun, fashion and frolicking at Le Chat Noir Easter Vintage Fair

Last Monday I had the pleasure of trading at the fabulous Le Chat Noir Easter Vintage Fair in my hometown of Cork City. This is probably the most anticipated vintage event in the South of Ireland, so it was an absolutely manic week of preparation and excitement for us traders! 

It's such a fun event, aside from all the beautiful vintage and handmade clothes, the place is jammers with some of the most innovative designers and craftspeople from the south of Ireland, not to mention there is a vintage fashion show, a pop-up vintage hair and make-up salon, cupcakes and coffee and some seriously funky tunes from the resident DJ to keep you pepped up for the day!

I barely had a minute to catch my breath all day, but when I did I snuck off to snap some pics off all the beautiful sparkly, delicious and colorful things on show!

 

 

Here is the Ruby Robin Boutique display, incredibly it took two of us one and a half hours to set this up! I had a bit of a brain lapse at some point, as I haven't done a market for about a month, and I somehow forgot how I usually did it, but we got there eventually :)

My two girlies Lynn and Trish of Re-Vintage looking very punk flogging teacup candles and all manner of other pretty lacey things! 

 

My dear friend Miss Molly Ellis of Ewe Sir looking adorable with her Maisy lunch box/cash register and beautiful display of needle-felted artwork and retro prints.

An incredible selection of antique home-ware from Number 5 Vintage and Antiques

The most beautiful and original display of homemade treats I've ever seen from Swell Bakeshop

 Beautiful girlie cushions and bunting galore from Pollys Pretty Prints 

 

Wedding treats, DIY supplies and more pretty wonderfulness from My DIY Day

All sorts of mysterious and vintage treasures from  Mona Bells Vintage and Curiousity Shop including a green velvet sewing kit and dainty little teacup full of buttons!

and the proprietor herself looking glorious!

Trims,fabrics and lace galore from I of the Needle

 Stunning handmade clothes and all manner of gorgeous sparkly wearables from the wonderfully talented Samantha of Samantha Kennedy Designs

 

Me and my market girlies having a much needed catch-up and giggle and the end of the day :)

 Thank you so much to the girls Jill and Leona for organizing such a fun and fabulous day out, I can't wait for the next one already!