THE INSTA EDIT

We want to see how you wear Ruby+Ed!

Thank you to all of our lovely customers who have been sending your photos into us. There is no better feeling than seeing and hearing about our happy customers, so if you have received a pair of our beautiful slippers, stylish snoods or anything else from Ruby+Ed this year, make sure you snap a photo!

You can send them on Facebook, simply post them on our wall. If you are on twitter then @rubyanded and on instagram simply #rubyanded. We will be monitoring them all and they will be appearing on our website, very soon!

Show us your Ruby+Ed style! 

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Love Ruby+Ed xx

CHRISTMAS JUMPERS

The Christmas Jumper day is becoming a tradition in the work place, but did you join in?

Here at the Ruby+Ed HQ we love going a bit over the top when it comes to Christmas. We had our office Christmas day this week. The whole team dressed up in our festive jumpers and wrapped ourselves in tinsel for the day ahead. The office Christmas tree had a little face lift this year with sparkling battery operated lights, mini baubles and a picture of  Ryan Gosling is sitting nicely on the top.

In the morning, we all gathered around our very large and very real Christmas tree in the courtyard. Surrounded by our luxurious black gift boxes and outer cartons, it created the perfect setting for our annual Christmas photo.

What festive fun have you been up to?

Love Ruby+Ed x 

CHRISTMAS WISHLIST

As the elves are busy selecting all of your presents this year, Santa has asked us to give him a hand. We want to know what is on your Christmas Wish List this year? From a small stocking filler to a lovely faux fur coat, we want to know.

We have put together a couple of drawings and paintings to create our very own Christmas at Ruby+Ed.

We have a very special offer on until Midnight! You can now receive 20% off of everything on our website, including our Christmas stockings!! All you need to do is enter the code GIFT20 at the checkout before completing your order. Please not this cannot be used after the order has been placed.

Love Ruby+Ed x

GIFT SETS

You can spend and save this year with our exclusive gift sets that we have created especially for you. With ready-made gift sets shopping can now be stress-free, you can buy for everyone in the same place. 

There is a few different sets for the ladies in your life, we have our glamorous Orchid Pink Filigree Set which comes complete with slippers and matching make up bag or if you prefer something a bit more tonal and cosy we have our Shimmer Slipper gift set which includes our ballerina slippers and Cloud hot water bottle cover. 

Let your wild side take over and choose the Snow Leopard gift set, includes our best selling slipper boots and matching hot water bottle cover. If she is a slipper queen, worry not because we have a few more Rosewood accessory sets left. Complete with Rosewood beanie with pom hat and funnel knit snood. 

Keep sending us your photos in, we love to see how you wear Ruby+Ed. All you need to do is #rubyanded or @rubyanded on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

Happy Shopping!

Love Ruby+Ed x 

CHRISTMAS CAKES

Who is looking forward to their Christmas pud this year?

We cannot wait! Our top baker in the office Gretel (our designer) has followed Mary Berry’s Christmas Cake recipe, she swears by it and we just cannot wait to finally get a taste. If you will be baking your Christmas deserts this year, we recommend Mary’s recipe below.

Ingredients

•  175g/6oz raisins
• 350g/12oz natural glacé cherries, halved, rinsed, and dried
• 500g/1lb 2oz currants
• 350g/12oz sultanas
• 150ml/¼pt brandy or sherry, plus extra for feeding
•  2 oranges, zest only
• 250g/9oz butter, softened
• 250g/9oz light muscovado sugar
•  4 free-range eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp black treacle
• 75g/3oz blanched almonds, chopped
• 250g/9oz plain flour
• 1½ tsp mixed spice

 For the covering

• 3 tbsp apricot jam, warmed and sieved
• icing sugar
• 675g/1lb 8oz marzipan

For the royal icing

• 3 free-range eggs, whites only
• 675g/1½lb icing sugar, sifted
• 3 tsp lemon juice
• 1½ tsp glycerine

Preparation method

1.  For the cake, place all the dried fruit into a mixing bowl. Pour the brandy over it and stir in the  orange zest. Cover this with clingfilm and leave to soak for around 2-3 days, stir daily. 

2. With your tin, it should be a round tin with measurements 23cm/9in deep. Grease and line with a double layer of greased, greaseproof paper. Then preheat the oven to 140C/275F/Gas 1.

3. Measure the sugar, butter, treacle, eggs and almonds. Place into a very large bowl, beat well

(preferably with an electric free-standing mixer). You can now add the flour and ground spice, mix throughly until blended. Stir in the soaked fruit and spoon into the prepared cake tin. Don't forget to level the surface. 

Place in the centre of the preheated oven for about 4-4½ hours, or until the cake feels firm to the touch and is a rich golden brown colour. Check back around 2 hours later if the cake is a perfect colour then cover with foil. Push a skewer into the centre of the cake, the skewer should come out clean if cooked well. Leave cake to cool in the tin. 

4. When the cake has cooled, pierce the cake at intervals with a fine skewer, feed it a little extra brandy.  Wrap the cold cake completely in a double layer of greaseproof paper and again in foil. Store in a cool dry place for up to three months, feeding at intervals with more and more brandy. (Don’t remove the lining paper when storing as this helps to keep the cake moist.)

5. To cover the cake, you will want to start the week before you actually serve it. 

6. Stand the cake upside down, flat side uppermost on a cake board that is 5cm/2in larger than the cake size.

7. Brush the sides and the top of the cake with the warm apricot jam.

8. Dust a work surface generously with icing sugar then roll out the marzipan to5cm/2in larger than the cake surface. Keep moving the marzipan to ensure it isn't sticking to the work surface.If sticking occurs, dust the work surface with more icing sugar. 

Technique: How to marzipan a fruit cake

9. Lift the marzipan over the cake using a rolling pin, be careful. Gentle level and smooth the top of the paste with the rolling pin, the easy the maezipan down the sides of the cake. If careful your marzipan should cover the cake with no excess, however if there is any excess trim carefully with a sharp knife. Cover the cake loosely with baking parchment and leave for a few days to dry out before adding the royal icing.

10. For the royal icing, whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy. Mix in the sifted icing sugar a tablespoonful at a time. You can do this with a hand-held electric whisk however keep the whisk on low speed at all times.

11. Stir in the lemon juice and glycerine and beat the icing until it is very stiff and white and stands up in peaks.

12. Cover the surface of the icing tightly with clingfilm and keep in a cool place until needed.

13. To ice the cake, place all of the icing on top of the cake, spreading evenly over the top and sides with a pallete knife. For a snow-peak effect, use a smaller palette knife to make a rough effect.

14. Loosely cover the cake and leave overnight for the icing to harden a little. Wrap and store in an airtight container until served. 

We hope you have a jolly time making this and we would like to see the pictures of your Christmas cakes. 

Love Ruby+Ed x 

BETTER PACKAGING AND IMPROVED SERVICE

Christmas is no doubt our busiest time of the year, we're all thinking about gifts to buy for the whole family. We have been working hard here at Ruby+Ed HQ to improve our service for you this year. We have a dedicated customer service team who are here to help with any query you may have, this includes sizing queries, making orders and returns.

We always keep our customers in the loop, we send out emails every two weeks to keep you up to date with what is going on at Ruby+Ed. The benefits of joining our mailing list is that you are the first to know about upcoming sales, offers, deals and competitions. To become part of the Ruby+Ed family please sign up to make an account with us.

When ordering from us your product will arrive in a black outer carton (picture 1 below) this is what you will receive your full order in. Please note this is not a gift box and will come with courier stickers on. Every order leaving our warehouse will be wrapped inside either the outer carton or gift box in purple tissue paper. Alternatively we do have gift boxes available to buy, these are delivered inside an outer carton therefore sticker free. 

This Christmas we have a brand new gift box to introduce you to. The new gift box has a matte black finish with a Ruby+Ed branded patch on the lid. You will be able to fit all ladie's, men’s and kids slippers in. The box is £4.95 to buy on its own, however if you are choosing a gift set then it is included in the price, how fabulous!

Alternatively our classic white gift boxes are still available in small and large. The small gift box is the perfect size to fit in Women’s accessories such as hats, gloves, scarves and also baby slippers/accessories. The large box will be able to fit multiple items in as a gift to one person or individual items such as a coat, gilet or yeti boots.

 

You can now cut out the middle man this festive period as we are happy to play Santa and deliver the gift for you!

When buying a gift box we will actually pack the gift and contents ready for the person receiving it. The gift box will arrive in an outer carton with the gift inside, when opening the lid you will find that all the contents have been wrapped in luxurious purple tissue paper and sealed with a Ruby+Ed sticker, ready for them to unwrap. 

Whats on your wish list this Christmas?

Love Ruby+Ed x 

HOW WE WEAR RUBY+ED: SOPHIE

The days are becoming shorter and we are waking up to darker mornings, our drive to work is often clouded by the thick mist. We took these pictures really early in the morning, so we could give you a sneak peek into the surrounds of our office. Sophie, our Customer Service assistant is wearing the Reversible Aztec Stone gilet and Pewter Shimmer arm warmers. 

"The reversible gilet is my must have piece, because it is reversible there is no labels so you can actually wear both ways for two completely separate looks, so it is well worth the money! I wear a lot of gilets throughout Autumn and Winter, they are more practical and plain as I do a lot of eventing, so it is always nice to mix up my look with a bit of colour and faux fur.The arm warmers are practical and pretty, so what more could you ask for in a glove? " - Sophie

You can get Sophie's look now, the arm warmer collection is proving a popular choice with Christmas approaching. If you are looking to stay warm but still have full movement then we would recommend our arm warmers. 

If you haven't already, take a look at our Christmas Shop! 

Love Ruby+Ed x 

CHRISTMAS SHOP

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? 

If not, don’t worry, there's still plenty of time left!  We've done the hard work for you and selected the top Christmas gifts that they will love. We have everything in one place for you whether you are looking for that stylish stocking filler or that big present under the tree; view them all in our Christmas Shop now.

We're going to be kicking off the festive fun with gifts for her! If you are buying for Mum, Sister, Auntie, Gran or your Wife, we have granted all her wishes this year.

Perfect presents for Mum: 1. Snowdrop tweed mule £37.50 2. Mink fur neck warmer £39.75 3. Orchid Pink filigree mule £37.50 4. Wolf cuff knit glove £25

  

Treat your Sister: 1.Orchid Pink velvet bow ballerina £39 2. Burgundy suede lace up £49 3. Mr & Mrs Sno mule £34 4. Snow Leopard fur snood £37.50

Spoil your Wife: 1. Dusty Plum velvet bow ballerina £39 2. Wolf fur snood £37.50 3. Jet hooded coat £275 4. Oriental embroidered ballerina £36

If you love what you see, then view our full collection online, or alternatively see more ideas in our Christmas Magazine. 

Love Ruby+Ed x 

STORE IN THE SPOTLIGHT: THE BATH HOUSE

This week we had to highlight one of our favourite stores,The Bath House. With four fantastic shops located in and around the Lake District it’s a must see! Focused around The Bath House’s own brand of naturally good bathing and body products the stores are everything a British Made Brand should be. Made almost entirely from the Sedburgh head office, the products are enriched by an inspiring location deep within the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

All four boutiques create a memorable shopping experience through having a unique collection of products, genuine customer service and an exciting visual concept with a modern twist. Whether you are looking for a gift for a friend or a treat for yourself there are a variety of ‘All things Lovely’ to delight the senses. 

Make sure you pop in and visit if you are in the area.

Love Ruby+Ed x 

HOW WE WEAR RUBY+ED: HOLLIE

You have probably noticed that our on trend Wolf Biker Jacket is now available on our website. It is set to be a best seller this season and the team loves it! Hollie, our UK Trade Manager was one of the first to grab our biker jacket. She is always driving around the U.K, meeting new buyers and visiting regular stores so she needs a light and breathable jacket to take with her. Hollie looks great teaming the jacket up with her Pewter shimmer beanie.

"This beanie never leaves my head when it’s cold, beanies are a hard accessory to buy because they tend to be too slouchy, over sized or slightly masculine. I love the Pewter Shimmer beanie because it has a feminine edge without being too girly! A metallic thread that is laced within the knit gives you that added bit of glamour, all my stores have loved the range! The Wolf Biker Jacket is so practical for me when I'm out and about, whether it’s Scotland or London. I always have the jacket with me, it is a great investment piece." – Hollie 

Read the story of our twist on the classic biker.  

Love Ruby+Ed x

REMEMBER, REMEMBER

Remember, remember the fifth of November. Gunpowder, treason and plot. 

Bonfire night is a tradition that many of us take part in. November 5^th is the day designated by King James I labelled “the joyful day of deliverance.” Bonfires are lit around the world to celebrate the capture of Guy Fawkes and the survival of the King.

The Gunpowder Plot took place in 1605, led by Robert Catesby and his men. They placed 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellars underneath the Houses of Parliament, ready to set off an explosion, planning to kill King James I and the House of Lords.

Robert Catesby took it upon himself to recruit members, those including Guy Fawkes, Thomas Wintour and John Wright. The planning all took place in the Plotting room at Lypiatt Park. The exact location of our AW13 Collection backdrop.

With over 10 acres of gardens, a sculpture park and a turret topped house filled with art pieces by Damien Hirst, we found ourselves in the perfect location. There were so many nooks and crannies that our slippers could fit in, a maze of bedrooms to shoot our nightwear and an abundance of gardens that accompanied our faux fur coat collection.

We hope you all have a safe but fun night tonight and don't forget to wrap up warm with our faux fur or knit accessories. 

Love Ruby+Ed x 

HOW WE WEAR RUBY+ED: GRETEL

October is gradually coming to an end, making us anticipate chilly, fresh walks across crunchy leaves, wrapped in knits and faux furs. This week we joined our Product Designer, Gretel on one of her tranquil walks, seeking new influences around the surroundings of our office. You may already know that we work in the middle of the countryside and for Gretel this is the perfect setting to gain inspiration for upcoming collections. The setting is very peaceful and the change of colour in the leaves and falling conkers spark Gretel’s imagination.

The day was lovely and sunny, with a crisp chill in the air. Gretel wore her Byzantine Tee, Rosewood Knit beanie with pom, Almond Shimmer knit snood and matching arm warmers.

“I am wearing my Rosewood knit beanie with my Almond Shimmer Knit Snood, I love the slouchy fit of the beanie and it looks great with my hair down. The arm warmers are my must-have, they are so practical for when I'm out looking for inspiration as I can feel different textures and keep my hands warm!” - Gretel 

What are you wearing to keep out the chill of October? Don’t forget to show us your pics using #rubyanded or see others here!

Love Ruby+Ed x

THINK PINK

With the colder temperatures upon us, it can be quite easy to wrap up in blacks and stormy greys for winter. Don’t hide away this season, be bold with the designers selected colour, pink. Our slipper collection has various styles and shades to choose from, so worry not, Ruby+Ed have got it covered.      

"Making a stand against the dark, moody tones of this season; pink is a prominent colour on the catwalks, appearing in the collections of the biggest designers. Whether you like bright pinks or more subtle shades, we have something in the collection for you. Stand out with the Cerise Leopard ballerina or relax with the Peony Wildflower mule."

Take a look at our AW13 Magazine for more trends and outfit ideas!

Love Ruby+Ed x 

HOW WE WEAR RUBY+ED: MEGAN

The leaves are falling off the trees and readjusting themselves in piles on the ground. There is a chill in the air, especially in the morning. And as you can probably guess the whole team here at Ruby+Ed’s HQ loves faux fur and chunky knits, so they make up a large chunk of our winter wardrobe!

Here at the Ruby+Ed office, we are very lucky to work in the middle of the countryside and as you can see it is very green around our office. This week we have Megan our Logistics Manager, showing us her Ruby+Ed style. Megan is wearing our Jet Hooded Coat and Almond Knit Beanie with pom.

Megan says that

“The Jet Hooded Coat is my favourite piece from the collection, it is such a timeless classic piece that will never get old. The coat is such great quality, it has deep pockets that I can put my phone, car keys and purse in. As for the beanie, I never usually like wearing hats, but this is loose fitting and keeps my ears so warm.”

Don’t forget to let us know what your favourite item is from our AW13 Collection. Keep showing us how you wear Ruby+Ed by using the hashtag #rubyanded on Instagram!

Love Ruby+Ed x

STORE IN THE SPOTLIGHT: THE PRESENT

The store in the spotlight this week is The Present. For those of you who live around the Hadley Green area you may already be familiar with the lovely boutique. They have a selection of Ruby+Ed treasures, so if you get a spare ten minutes make sure you get down to the store and have a browse.

A bit about the store

“ The Present is an independent family run shop established in 2000, situated by picturesque Hadley Green at the top end of Barnet High Street. They sell a range of beautiful design led gifts, jewellery and unique home accessories for adults, children and babies. All of their products are exclusive to The Present in the Barnet area offering the local shopper something a little different from the usual High Street stores. The Present is very passionate about creating an enjoyable ambiance so customers feel welcome, comfortable and enjoy their shopping experience. Nice music playing, nice smells burning and good customer service!” 

Love Ruby+Ed x

HOW WE WEAR RUBY+ED: LUCY

Despite the weather getting bitterly cold again, just days ago we were blessed with a beautifully sunny weekend. Not knowing weather to dress for warm or cold weather can always be tricky so a faux fur gilet is the perfect piece to complete your outfit whatever the weather. Our Product Development Assistant Lucy looked fab last Friday when she came into work wearing the Wolf Faux Fur Gilet teamed with a black dress and ankle boots. She told us 

“The gilet is my must have this season, the weather keeps changing so this keeps me nice and cosy whether I am out shopping or working hard in the office. The gilet is an investment piece for me, I will wear it again and again. I can dress it up or down, depending on the occasion."

Don’t forget to let us know what your favourite item is from our AW13 Collection. Keep showing us how you wear Ruby+Ed by using the hashtag #rubyanded on Instagram!

Love Ruby+Ed x

BOY VS GIRL

It is from one extreme to the other this Autumn Winter 2013. Mix up your wardrobe with a nod to femininity one day and a clash of androgyny the other. Embrace your girly side and dress up with our luxe fabrics, gorgeous embellishments and soft faux furs. For the colder days, throw on our Mink Fur Neck Warmer and Bear Clutch Bag to keep you feeling warm and looking fabulous, or if you are staying home snuggle up to a hot water bottle and kick your feet up in one of our ballerina slippers from our pretty range. If androgyny is more your style then channel your masculine alter ego in our Crane Jeans, Tribal Tees and Beanie hats for a effortlessly cool look.

What look would you rather wear? 

Love Ruby+Ed 

x

HOW WE WEAR RUBY+ED: LAURA

The time has come to hide away our sandals for another year and bring back the boots for Autumn. October is one of our favourite months, we love seeing the change that October brings. Earthy-tones, crunchy leaves and a cold chill means we can wrap up in our beanies and snoods.

We wanted to give you an insight into how the team wears Ruby+Ed for Autumn and Winter. We truly love the products that we create here at HQ. There is such a wide variety of different styles and looks here at the office. This feature is dedicated to our team, we are celebrating the way we dress and we would love to hear how you wear Ruby+Ed too, so please email tanya@rubyanded.co.uk with your outfit/slipper pictures.

Laura, our Product Manager, can be seen mixing up her outfit with the Jet Fur Gilet. Laura wears this gilet for a day to night look. The gilet is the ultimate transitional product that you will wear again and again. This statement gilet looks great over a tee and jeans for a casual look, or pair up with our Ebony Sheer Panels Dress for a traditional take on black.

“ The gilet is one of my top pieces from the collection, there are literally so many different ways to wear it. The other night I went out for dinner and I paired it up with my leather leggings and heels, it kept me warm and I still felt great!”

We hope you like the outfit post, don't forget to show us your style. 

Love Ruby+Ed x

LONDON FASHION WEEK

This time last week we were in the middle of Somerset House rubbing shoulders with some of the top stylists and fashion bloggers at London Fashion Week. Tanya, our PR & Marketing Assistant centered her outfit around her Jet fur gilet (third picture along).

Tanya managed to meet up with the lovely girls from Your Coffee Break down in London to have a good catch up over a lovely cup of coffee! The girls have always been really supportive of the brand so we loved seeing Charlotte (bottom right) rock our Mink Cossack Hat at London Fashion Week, doesn't she look great! 

Whilst queueing for the KTZ Show we recognised a familiar face wearing Ruby+Ed. Spotted in Somerset house looking effortlessly cool and very on trend was music and fashion blogger Karis Jones from bettersungthansaid, sporting a tartan cropped jacket and monochrome jogging pants. Karis was wearing our Bzyantine Tee and Wolf fur snood. When she caught our eye we had to ask what she thought of the Ruby+Ed AW13 Collection. Karis told us that she has always been a huge fan of the brand after being given a pair of slippers as a gift. “The collection is beautifully versatile, I love my velvet ballerina slippers but I have to shout out about the embroidered tee shirt collection, the design and hand crafted workmanship is absolutely beautiful, I had to get this one and I have my eye on the Long Sleeve Tee in Jet and also the Jet Gilet.”

Our time at fashion week had us wishing it was Summer again, the pretty pastels were charged this season with an outstanding palette of duck egg blues, spearmint greens and soft violets seen on the catwalks of Burberry, Christopher Kane and David Koma. The schoolgirl pleats also had a comeback on the catwalks of Jonathan Saunders, the premium fabrics and foiled finishes were something that we were all lusting over for next season. For those who can’t wait until then our Illusions Skirt features a digital print and is loose fitting giving the illusion of flowing pleats. We are also in love with the floral prints and 3D blooms on the catwalks, seen on various runways including Matthew Williamson, J.W Anderson and Eudon Choi. We have always loved what a flowery flair can do to a garment so brace yourself for Ruby+Ed’s SS14 Collection. 

What was your LFW highlights? Email tanya@rubyanded.co.uk and share your experience with us! 

Love Ruby+Ed 
x

GREAT NORTH RUN

On Sunday 15^th  September our UK Trade Manager Hollie ran the Great North Run for AGE UK.  Here is what she had to say about the event:

I always wanted to take part in a big event and as the UK’s Largest half marathon the Great North Run was the perfect opportunity to raise some money for a good cause and improve my fitness! The event itself was huge, it felt like everyone in the city was running or at least coming to watch. On the day I wasn’t expecting such bad weather, but thanks to some good ‘carb loading’ the night before, great company and an overwhelming atmosphere I got round in 2 hours and 4 minutes.  

I just wanted to say a massive Thank you to everyone at Ruby+Ed who bought cakes, donated cash and encouraged me! You’ve been a huge support!

We would love to know what you have been getting up to for charity, get in touch and you will get the opportunity to share you proud moments on the Ruby+Ed blog! 

Take care and keep active, Ruby+Ed x

COLDER DAYS

The days are becoming shorter and the chilly mornings are upon us so this can only mean one thing… winter is coming. But worry not, we have exactly what you want and need to get you through!

Let me introduce you to our wardrobe saviours.

BIG is beautiful this winter. Oversized coats have been reminding us how much we love the androgynous style and we are all shouting out about the tom boy look this season.  Previously seen on Sienna Miller, our Faux Fur coats come in styles including long coats, jackets and hooded coats. Choose either the Mink or Jet hooded coat for that oversized look that’s sure to keep you warm and cosy.

Textured coats were seen all over the AW13 Catwalks with Prada and Givenchy stealing the shows with their oversized furs. We have a new shorter version of our classic hooded coats available in our beautiful mahogany Mink and the wilder option of Snow Leopard. You can also match the jackets up with our winter accessories, a snow leopard headband or mink cossack hat is sure to finish off your outfit. Shop our selection of winter accessories.

We are bringing back the charm and sophistication of the 1920’s. Unveil your inner lady and drape yourself in our luxury long coats that remind us of the upper class heroines of the roaring twenties. The classic styles come in both a long coat and a shorter version jacket, in two different faux furs, Bear and Siberian Stone.  The vintage treasures all have a wide collar and hook fastenings. Team with the Bear or Stone clutch bag for a super sophisticated look.

For a modern take on the faux fur look, we would like to introduce the Mink Cropped Jacket. Whether you're shopping in the day or having a playful night on the town, the Mink cropped jacket is the perfect option to add that extra bit of chic to your outfit!

If you aren’t ready for winter just yet, then the gilet remains the perfect tran-seasonal piece. A great addition to your Autumn/Winter wardrobe, you can wear it whatever the weather and it will carry you right through until next summer! Team it with our Tribal Tee Ecru for a casual day look. 

To see the full AW13 Collection click here. 

Love Ruby+Ed 
x