Festival Shoot Casting Call!

Calling all local lovers of all things bohemian, good music and dancing on a weeknight: we are getting ready for our next festival lookbook and need models! If you, or someone you know, wants to dress up for the day and let us snap some pics, we wanna know. Here's how it works: follow us on Instagram (rubyrose805) and send us a direct message with a picture of you, your email, and why you want to join our model crew by MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23. We will then go through the submissions and select a group for our shoot (just short of eeny meeny miny mo)!

Please note: while we would love to have all you join us, we only need a few girls--we will keep you all your submissions in mind for future shoots!

Collections: Analog Cameras

This guest post comes from one of our customers, Meghan Hollister. We are so excited to share her collection, analog (film) cameras with you!

Hi everyone! I'm Meghan and I'm here to share my budding camera collection with you. My love for photos began when I was young--when I started collecting old pictures to make a family tree. I knew I wanted to start capturing my life and what I see/do/experience, so I started studying photography in high school while living in Southeast Asia. I moved to SLO to study Art at Cal Poly, and have lived here ever since taking photos working mainly as a product photographer. I am constantly fighting off (but usually giving into) the travel bug, something I get from the fact I moved every couple years growing up. I lived in Ecuador, England, Thailand, and Malaysia--often traveling to other countries capturing what I saw through a lens. 

I started taking photographs about 11 years ago while living in Malaysia. Our family friend was my photo teacher and he would take me out to local markets to photograph the buzz of the early morning produce hauls. Because of him, I shot a lot of film in the beginning. I lived in the darkroom and was hesitant to start shooting on digital cameras. He always had some “new” camera for me to try out, and I loved them--so I started collecting them.

Actually, I didn't even realize I had a collection of cameras because I’m never looking for a specific camera to add to a collection. Some of the cameras work (or sort of work) and some don’t, but I don’t mind because part of my collection is adding something cool to put on my shelves, and the other part is exploring a fading art form through the evolution of film cameras.

I was given a Pentax ME from my uncle, a Minolta Hi-matic from a friend, and a Polaroid LMS Sun 600 from my mother. I bought a Kodak Automatic 8 movie camera at a flea market, and the Cambo Calumet 4x5 at Jim’s Campus Camera. I found the Brownie Starflex at a thrift shop in Chicago and bought the Polaroid Highlander from Ruby Rose!

I’ve only shot with a few of the cameras, but I look forward to experimenting with them soon and adding more to my collection!

Weekly Six: 2.11

Before we open our doors for the week, check out our top six vintage picks. We constantly update our inventory, and we want to keep you in the loop of the new things coming in! So, without further adieu, we bring you:

This week, in prep for Valentine's Day, we divided up our Weekly Six--three picks for her and three for him...

FOR HER
1: For the girl who craves adventure over comfort and favors camping over a plush hotel room. But her free spirit commands a strong style, with dangles that are as earthy as they are eye-catching. These earrings will move with her hair as she races to the car, packed bag in tow, for a romantic road trip.

2: Got the Valentine blues? Let that color move your mood into a candlelit evening and dreams of bright spring blooms. Choose to celebrate love this weekend--whether it's with that special someone or with dear friends you love more than life.

3: She will swoon over this vintage tole-painted, dovetailed stationary box--for holding the thoughtful notes you've written her, old ticket stubs and wine corks. Preserve the memories you two share with a gift filled with sentiment. 

FOR HIM
1: He likes working with his hands and shares your love of old. Encourage his hobbies with this perfectly rusty Craftsman toolbox. Then share a day of creating together this Saturday--what will you two make?

2: Ready to take off this weekend? He'll look good, and prepared, on your hike into the trees with this North Face pack on his back. With compartments for all the gear, you can hold the camera and travel light!

3: Life been crazy lately? He's ready to put his feet up and lay back with an Old Fashioned in hand--letting the record player move you two into a relaxed evening chatting at home. After all, it's all about those simple, sweet moments together, right?

What We're Reading: February

Anthology: living with substance & style
Issue no. 18, Winter 2015

We love pouring over their artfully arranged layout full of inspiration in dwelling places & conversations with people full of culture & taste. It helps move our eye to the right pieces when junking and then display them in unique & appealing ways back at the store (and in our homes).
This latest issue explores color--interviewing a color consultant, exploring Sayulita, Mexico (who wants to go?!), and telling a colorblind designer's incredible story of success. It goes from bright green walls to rooms so neutral they pop.
This is their last year, they only have two more after this one, after which they will be ending publications. To stave off our sadness, we are savor if every last page.

Collective Quarterly
Issue 1: Absaroka

This is the second publication from Collective--a new magazine that leaves us drooling for the hidden places they explore, as well as for the next issue! They pick a different American locale to spotlight each issue, and point out every nook & cranny worth discovering. And after reading their summary of Absaroka, Montana, how could it not ignite your wanderlust?! Read for yourself:

“A lot of people come here to hide,” clothing maker Angela Devine told us during our visit to Livingston, Montana. It was a partial reference to the surprising list of celebrities who have squirreled themselves away in the tiny railroad town throughout the years: John Mayer, Michael Keaton, and Jimmy Buffet, to name a few. But it also revealed something about the region’s less famous residents, like the actress-turned-activist who played Lois Lane in four Superman movies. Or the all-knowing, elderly gentleman who collects old saddlery in the basement of his bookstore. Or the writers, fly fishermen, hunters, and introverts who just need to get away.This slice of Montana is dominated by the Absaroka Mountains—a name that means “children of the large-beaked bird,” which is what the Hidatsa people used to call the Crow Indians who lived here in the Yellowstone River Valley. Throughout the past century the region has lent its name to a torpedoed US Navy steamer; a short-lived secession movement that would have seen parts of Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota become their own state in the 1930s; and now this issue of the Collective Quarterly.John Steinbeck wrote in his road trip classic Travels with Charley that “Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” Others have fondly and passionately declared Montana to be “The Last Best Place.”We came to find out why.

Vogue
February 2015 Issue

A monthly subscription that never runs dry of class & beauty, we are loving reading about rising star Dakota Johnson and finding new looks to play copy cat with. We can't resist a magazine whose ads are as good as the articles.


The Inspired Home: Nests of Creatives

This book is one that will sit our coffee table for a while. The architecture, new & vintage elements--yes please! It's the perfect reference to peruse when in need of some home decor inspiration.

What are you reading this month?

Sisterhood of the Traveling Bag: Tamara

After oo-ing and awe-ing over this bag for weeks, we knew it was no ordinary purse. And in a stroke of inspiration, we found its purpose (rather, its purse-pose): to accompany us in our daily lives. It's a hand-stitched, black and tan leather bag, with a simple design and easy function...it complements any outfit, day or night, and is hearty enough to go just about anywhere. For this year, we are passing it around through the Ruby crew, and documenting what adventures ensue. It is our version of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. So, without further adieu, we bring you The Sisterhood of the Traveling Bag:

Here’s the truth about me and the traveling bag: if I hadn’t had a trip to go on, I would have planned one, just so I could carry the bag. I loved it that much. My love affair with hand bags is well documented among my friends and family, and when I saw the traveling bag for the first time I knew that at some point I had to have it on my shoulder. When Stephanie contacted me about hosting the bag during my trip to Scotland, I completely flipped out. I couldn’t say yes fast enough. My story with the bag includes lots of walking, lots of cold weather, lots of laughing, a few tears, and kind of a sad ending. Here it is….

My name is Tamara Wickstrom and I’m friends with Stephanie from Ruby Rose. I’m a legal assistant in San Luis Obispo, and also have a small photography business. My daughter, Olivia, is a student at Portland State University located in Portland, Oregon, and this year she is studying abroad at St. Andrews University located in St. Andrews, Scotland. When you tell people you have a child studying abroad the first question asked is: “When are you going to go over and visit?” For me the answer was: “This Christmas.”

I left for Scotland on December 17th. I had a crazy travel day that involved three airplanes, one train, and a bus, and when I finally arrived at Olivia’s little dorm room, my luggage (in which the bag was packed) was still with the second airplane. Not to worry though, it arrived the next day, and we started our adventure!

I spent four days in St. Andrews. The bag, Olivia, and I visited the cathedral ruins, went to quaint little tea shops, hiked around the perimeter of the town, walked along the beach (where Chariots of Fire was filmed!), and walked part of the Old Course at St. Andrews, one of the oldest golf course in the world.

While in St. Andrews we also took a day trip to Edinburgh and visited Edinburgh Castle.

On day five of the trip we took the train north to Inverness, a city located in the Scottish Highlands. We were excited for this part of the trip, as it was the farthest north either of us had ever traveled. Inverness, located on the River Ness, was amazingly beautiful. Being so far north meant short days and long shadows even at noon-time!

We spent Christmas Day in Inverness. We hung out in our cozy apartment, listening to the cathedral bells sounding in celebration of the day. We went on a stunning walk along the canal. We participated in a friend’s abandoned art project, and abandoned her art at the cathedral.

 

 

After six days, it was time for us to leave. Olivia needed to get back to St. Andrews, and it was time for me to go home. We took the train back to Edinburgh, and had a teary goodbye as Olivia left for St. Andrews and I headed to a hotel for the night, before flying back to the states in next morning.

And, this is where the story gets sad. I didn’t do anything different. I packed the bag to go home, just like I packed it to go to Scotland. All my clothes and toiletries, a few extra things I had bought in Scotland, my boots, my little blue ray stereo, my camera charger…and the bag. I checked it in just like I did before. I even watched it be placed on the conveyor belt and take the ride back behind the wall to the airplane…and that’s the last time I saw it.

As I write this we’re at day 21 of my luggage missing. In airline lingo this means it’s officially lost, which in turn means the traveling bag is officially lost. The bag had a good ride while it was here. It got to go to some awesome places including Vegas, Mexico, Southern CA, plays, movies, junk trips, concerts, and be a part of some big once-in-a-lifetime moments like dropping your child off at college. Wherever it is, I hope it still gets to hang from a shoulder and go on adventures. This might be the end of its Ruby Rose Chapter, but not the end of its story.

Weekly Six: 2.4

Before we open our doors for the week, check out our top six vintage picks. We constantly update our inventory, and we want to keep you in the loop of the new things coming in! So, without further adieu, we bring you:

1: Look again: these ain't no bone skulls, no siree--they be genuine plaster ones! Picked up somewhere between Arizona and here, these desert wayfarers hitchhiked all the way home with us. Who will take them for their next leg?

2: Vases and bowls, ceramic and wood, prop styling and still life, Lennon and Yoko--what do all these pairs have in common? These made-for-each-other items are made for you! Fall in love with one (or two), pluck a pretty flower or orange on your walk home, and add a little pretty to your home.

3: I'm a Catholic, please call a priest. Catholic or not, we have a confession to make--we have been lusting after this necklace all week! Forgive us, but we have a weak spot for religious iconography that has the perfect patina, and are oh so wearable.

4: Tax season is under way, prompting lots of files and folders needing a good hiding place until next year. These desktop files are little but hold a lot--like you hope that tax return check will be. What needs a little organizational tlc in your life?

5: This Ralph Lauren sweater puts stars in our eyes--reminding us classic and patriotism never go out of style. Soft tones of red, white and linen are made for the in between weather and hot again, cold again days.

6: Souvenirs from our trip to the High Noon show in Arizona--signed books by friend and best selling author Mary Emmerling! Not only does she wear the baddest boots in town, she's also written over 25 books and was the editor for Country Home magazine. It was such a treat to meet her, and get to share these beautiful autographed books with you.