Em's Letter ~ Our Kind of Wrapped 24.12.25

HAVE FUN

Key principles here are:

Fun shows in the work we do – the product we make, how we communicate with you and the experience we offer in store

We enjoy ourselves – we’re excited by what we do, feel stoked when we achieve, experiment and learn, and have a happy work/life rhythm

We enjoy each other – we’re in it together, and celebrate each other. We have a laugh, and nurture a positive, collaborative workplace

So let’s start with the formalities – our awards. Names are engraved on cups and kaleidoscopes, or printed on ribbons. I absolutely love this part of our team calendar – I mean, who doesn’t love an awards ceremony? And they happen multiple times a year!

The Christine Sharma Cup

Outstanding contribution, resilience, mixed with the sparkling vibe of Christine Sharma. Just bloody gets stuck right in and gets it done

Ali Gibbons

De’s Wand

Astonishing, magical work

Mel Harvey

Sarah Parker

Sian Roberts

Ali’s Kaleidoscope

A kaleidoscope symbolises ever changing and endless possibilities contained in the human experience. This person brings together all of the possibilities contained in IRL in a way that creates a Rubette experience that truly sparkles

Julie Green

Captain of the Year

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The person brings people together in a way that adds something we never knew we needed

Georgia Edwards

Em’s Birthday Honours

For Rubettes who have done something cool, funny, exciting, or just is awesome. It could be how they have worked their way through a difficult situation, made something really fucking cool, or just plain done some Truly Excellent Work. Anyone can nominate anyone including, in true Em Style, themselves

Abi Barnes

Ashleigh Murphy

Bailey Salmon

Casey Greville

Chelsea Newell

Georgia Edwards

Grace Green

Imogen Staines

Julie Green

Katherine Katzoff

Kendall McCowatt

Maddy Hobson

Madison Shackleton

Mel Harvey

Zoe Stapleton

AND, how about the FQ Retailer of the Year Award!?!?!?!?!?!?! With some much thanks to the FQ team, and the judges – it was a proud moment for Lou, De and I to stand on stage with our peers in the industry to accept the award. Thank you also to Laura McGoldrick who generously allowed me to harp on over my two minute speaking allocation 😉

It was important to me then, and is now, to honour the key people who have shaped our IRL team. And so in alphabetical order by first name (because I get stressed about fairness) these are our current IRL Store Managers and store support, as well as our past Heads of IRL:

Aimee Ludeman

Ali Gibbons

Casey May Greville

Elise Dickson

Fiona Cameron

Grace Green

Grace Schirnack

Hannah Fiddes

Imogen Staines

Jaime Elliott-Tuporo

Joanna Kim

Katherine Katzoff

Lucy Gibbons

Lucy Turner

Madeleine Davidson

Mikayla Howley

Minty Macfarlane

Phoebe Brown

Sophie Luoni

~~~

I imagine you will be simply SHOCKED to hear that we go hard on our Social Club calendar. One of the coolest things about our team is they go all in on whatever rando thing we decide today. Some examples:

Liz + Cheese Day

Everyone makes a Liz Dress from our Liam Patterns collection, and brings a cheese or cheese-related snack. And we basically spend a few hours chomping through a pattern table-sized cheese board while Mel, our patternmaker, chooses the winning Liz number.

Desk Warming

Whenever we have a bunch of new people, or new roles, or just do a bit of a switcheroo at RUBY HQ, we have a Desk Warming. Each zone of desks hosts the team for a drink and activity. This year, the Planning team’s Club Wärm was a bit of a highlight.

RU-BALLERS Prizegiving

We have a social indoor netball team! We finished top of the table! We had a prizegiving and our mascot RU-BEAR handed out the awards!

RUBY + Ruby + The Warriors

Ruby Boshier, our Offshore Production Manager is OBSESSED with The Warriors. So we made her a Warrior-coloured Matilda Cardigan that Shaun Johnson presented her with at a Friday Drinks before we all went to the game together. It pissed down! It was awesome!

Learn, learn, learn, scheme, scheme, scheme.

RUBY Seminar

Each September, our Store Managers + 2ICs from around the country gather with the HQ team for a two-day seminar. We talk data, design, management, how to best serve you, and how we show up in the world. And of course, there’s a craft table

Exec Retreat

In February, our Exec Team go to the Whatipu Lodge (maybe the greatest place on earth?) to bro down, hash out our plans for the year ahead, and continue to craft our long-term strategy.

FOR GOODNESS SAKE EMILY, TALK ABOUT THE PRODUCT

Really and truly, our goal is the work that we make is fun – it brings joy to those who wear it, and the people that they hang out with. And the cool thing is, we have a bloody ball developing it.

Um, not sure if you’ve heard of the Coco Blazer? And her friend the Coco Short Sleeve Blazer? And the Coco Dress? It’s so cool when our pieces go out into the world and truly take on a life of their own. Honestly it is SO FUN to watch the content you post in it, and about it – thank you x

One of the things that came out of our Seminar was the half-sized Firebird Pants. We had a bunch of customers speak to our team about their experience with us – the pieces we make and they way we make them feel. Shout out to Bella Richards for asking for these, and our production team for making it happen

And the Liam Lingerie! WOW! You lot! It really does fit you all! I can’t tell you how stoked I am – a lot of energy went into ensuring our size 4-24 range really does work for everyone. The other day I was in our Ponsonby doing some shopping for my Summer Look and it was SO COOL because a customer came in to buy her second Isabella Bra. She said that she had worn it every day since she bought it (had even fallen asleep in it and it was totally sweet) and wanted to get a second one so she could wash the first one. Validating, very validating.

~~~

MAKE MONEY

Key principles here are:

• Sustainable and profitable growth
• Our team share in our success
• Freedom to take risks

So proud of our team – and grateful to you all – that while we are in a lingeringly difficult retail environment, we continue to grow.

RUBY Says Recycle, aka RSR

We started the year in our pop-up at the old Smith and Caughey’s space on Broadway, and then in May we opened our first ever permanent, standalone RSR! And our RSR sales through our normy IRL stores continues to grow. This year, we have taken back 3,985 pieces from you, and sold 5,948 pieces through all of our RSR channels. Goal is that 25% of our sales are made up of non-new clothing, so watch this space for new lil’ glimmers in 2026

RUBY Christchurch

Our IRL store at The Crossing got some major love this year. Special thanks to Sam Boanas, Emma Harkness, Madison Shackleton and Grace Schirnack for making this latest variation on the RUBY Dressup Box so magical x

CONTRIBUTE WISELY

Key principles here are:

• Doing what feels right
• Considered in the causes we back so that we make meaningful contributions that we can sustain
• Building knowledge – in our team, and our community

The Best Is Yet To Come, aka TBIYTC

How cool is this series? Thank you to all of our contributors for sharing your knowledge of, and vision for the future in areas that are important to you. I reckon my favourite one this year is Voices of Waitangi 2025 ~ Rubettes, Past + Present, where our wahine Māori Rubettes reflect on what Waitangi Day means to them.

MFNZ Hits the Beehive!

Mindful Fashion hosted a selection of Ministers, MPs and business leaders at Parliament. Man that’s a cool building. Jacinta FitzGerald (our CE), Juliette Hogan (our board chair) and Megan Welch (Kathmandu CEO and MFNZ member) spoke about the economic and cultural contribution our textiles and fashion industry makes to Aotearoa.

Some Kudos

This year we were finalists for Retail NZ’s Sustainability Leadership Award, and Sustainable Business Network’s Disruptive Innovation Award 😉 xxx

Still here!? Good on you!

I wish you all a lovely holiday season. I think it might be a bit of a wet one which is likely not The Dream. But here’s the thing: that’s just life? And if we accept the reality we are in, we can use our energy to seek out true beauty. It could an interaction; what we see, hear and taste; or the freezing cold shock when you jump into the water.

Another thought I wanted to leave you with: for some, 2025 has been an absolute pearler (yusssssssssssss). And for some, it’s been bloody tough. There is a tendency to say, “bring on 2026”, as if the shifting of what we recognise as the calendar year is going to on its own make a meaningful change. It’s not!

But that’s okay. You’ve done okay. Hold on to the moments of joy, and feel proud of the difficulties you have worked through. Know that you’ve got this, and you can keep walking forward on your path with compassion and strength.

With love,

Em

x