Em's Letter ~ Meri Kirihimete Rubettes! 21.12.23

Whatever this year has been, we have been through it together, and we’ve given it a bloody good go - we have achieved and experienced SO MUCH this year! So much so that every time I sat to write this piece to you my mind would start wandering because it’s just such a massive list and I can’t possibly do justice to it all. So I set my timer for 2 minutes, and here’s the brain dump that came out. Thank you all for your support this year - without you, none of this would be possible xx

☑ Brand new HQ, website, store and IT systems

☑ Floods

☑ Take B_ack Friday with RUBY Says Recycle

☑ Recession!

☑ NZ General Election

☑ Moving Parade ;-)

☑ Margie-geddan

☑ Mindful Fashion New Zealand’s Circular Design Award

☑ The mass Euro-vacay

I also want to acknowledge that in our local and global community there have been disturbing and traumatic events unfolding. I know many of you have been deeply affected by this, and have taken action by (for example) attending rallies in support of tangata whenua, trans rights and Palestine. I love it that you know that your voice has power, and you take the time to use it! A reminder that our The Best Is Yet To Come series is always there if you want to put your thoughts into words and broadcast them across our platforms.

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Glimmers, or hīnātore, have been very important to me this year! Sometimes I have to really look hard to find one, and sometimes they come bloody easily.

For me, the glimmer that has shined the brightest for me this year is our team. The beautiful collision of Rubettes that make my working life a joy.

AND SO, I present to you an (alphabeticised!) honours roll of our team of Rubettes who had an absolute blinder this year:

Abi Barnes, for her work on rubynz.com

Ali Gibbons, for bringing Blue Sky, always

Emma Harkness, for her incredible project management of the beautiful Mount Maunganui store

Geetika Jolata and Erina Taylor for their work managing our supplier relationships during a tough winter

Hilary Gittings and Maddy Shackleton, the dynamic duo whose hands touch every piece of stock that comes through RUBY HQ

Jean Suhren, who is celebrating her 5th (!!!) Christmas at RUBY, working her way from intern to Store Manager

Maddy Hobson, for her incredible tenacity and resilience, thinking big picture while still caring for the details

Olivia O’Neill, for being the lord of all lords

Xanthe Wainui-Mackle, who has gone from strength to strength with such grace

I want to make a very special mention of one of our longest-serving Rubettes, our late cutter Gary Fernandez. Gary sadly passed away this year, and we miss him terribly. We are sending our love to Shirley, Carol and family xx

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Lastly, whether you are taking a couple of days, or a couple of weeks off, I wish you the happiest of holidays.

I’ve made a lil playlist of some of the songs that saw me through the year. These songs have been with me while I laughed, cried, raged, danced and sang. Times where I have felt scared, or sexy, or like celebrating. A lil’ chrissy pressie from me to you, happy listening below xx

MERI KIRIHIMETE RUBETTES PLAYLIST!

So much love to you all, enjoy these last days of 2023, and BRING ON 2024 bbs - we have some very cool things brewing in our little brains, and I can’t wait to share them with you

x

Em