Hello Rubettes,
On Saturday 31st January, we will permanently close our doors at RUBY High Street. Opened in 2002, it’s our first ever IRL store, and over the past 24 years, it has been the central Auckland home of 140 seasonal collections, 3,700 mannequin changes, and billions of changing room yarns, outfit changes, friendships, late nights and long laughs ~ this is quite literally the end of an era.
When I came to High Street to take our cute lil’ mirror selfie for this letter, I came up the road to Pink Neon Sign, a brillo café that is in the building where the Pavement magazine offices and Rakinos used to be. It reminded me of how cities naturally evolve. I remembered how for my final year of high school, I went to Senior College, opposite the Central Library. I would walk down High Street with a takeaway coffee cup in my hand, pretending I was Ally McBeal. And then I would make a pit stop at the skip on Fort Lane to see what treasures I would find. In my office at RUBY HQ I have a chair that I got from that skip – STILL GOOD! 25 years later!
BUT, in present-day Auckland, the central city though has had a well, rough, time. The necessary construction works to complete the City Rail Link makes it a difficult place for people to navigate, and there are genuine and ongoing safety concerns for our team members.
We’ve held on in High Street, in part because of the significance of it being our first IRL store, and also because we believe in what the city will be. The fact is though, High Street is not the right home for us anymore. So, when we learned that another great retailer nearby wanted to expand their space, it was the perfect – and hopeful – opportunity for us to leave.
I’m a city gal. I live in the central city, and I love wandering around and seeing the glimmers of what the city will be. It’s right on the cusp! And it is so exciting. Pedestrianisation of the streets! Saving the Saint James Theatre! Public performance art!
This is the thing. There is a lot of really cool stuff happening. The work that The Basement Theatre does to invite all in and showcase some of the absolute best live performances I have seen is a gift to us all. And the team at Vulnerable Support Charitable Trust’s Take 10 programme that creates a space of welcoming support on Friday and Saturday nights is something that honestly, I could have really used when I was growing up. As always, these organisations do incredible work with limited funding, and so as a gesture of gratitude for their work, we are donating $1,500 to both of them.
This is not goodbye to the city centre, it’s just ta ta for now (TTFN). We will be back once we have found the right space for our new central home. Until then, thank you to the High Street community for growing up with us here, and thank you to Katherine, Jo, Eden, Isla for lovingly serving our High Street Rubettes in its final days. I know that the teams in the RUBY stores you are moving into are excited for you to join them xx
From now until we close on the 31st of January, we’re on SALE in High Street! I mean, who doesn’t love a closing down sale? I’m banned from doing the sale setup because I get into a very frenzied “if it’s not nailed down it’s fair game” state. Instead, we’re doing a tres chic nothing over $200. Stop by, see Katherine and her team, and have one last play in the High Street dress up box my bbs.
TTFN,
Em
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