jenuine ruby

For some time I've been wanting a name for my hand crafted items. I've made lists, searched google, referenced the dictionary + thesaurus, and racked my brain for months. I have finally landed on a name.

Here's where the name comes from. In making my lists, I wrote down words that mean something to me. Who I am, what I want my items and shop to represent, what I stand for. I had so many words and names that I liked, but had to narrow it down, and when I came to jenuine ruby, it just seemed right.

genuine |ˈjenyoōin|

adjective

truly what something is said to be; authentic : each book is bound in genuine leather.

• (of a person, emotion, or action) sincere : she had no doubts as to whether Tom was genuine | a genuine attempt to delegate authority.

1 a genuine Picasso authentic, real, actual, original, bona fide, true, veritable; attested, undisputed; informal the real McCoy, honest-to-goodness, honest-to-God, the real thing, kosher. antonym bogus.

2 a genuine person sincere, honest, truthful, straightforward, direct, frank, candid, open; artless, natural, unaffected; informal straight, upfront, on the level, on the up and up. antonym insincere.

Genuine. Honest. True. Pure. These are all things that I aspire to be, and that I want to carry over into my creations and my business. Of course if you google search “genuine ruby”, you’ll be directed to numerous jewelry sites. Since my name is Jenny, that was an easy fix. I just changed the spelling.

ruby |ˈroōbē|

noun ( pl. -bies)

a precious stone consisting of corundum in color varieties varying from deep crimson or purple to pale rose.

• an intense purplish-red color.

• Printing an old type size equal to 51/2 points (smaller than nonpareil and larger than pearl).

When reading about the physical attributes of rubies, I came across this: “All natural rubies have imperfections in them….” I LOVE that. It sort of validates my handmade items and their imperfections. Everything I make is handcrafted with love, but if you look closely, you’ll see that they certainly have their flaws (and if you look closely at me, you’ll see that I certainly do too!). I think that’s what I love about handmade things. When you see the imperfections, you remember that they were made by a real human with their time, passion and talent.

My great grandmother’s name was Ruby Hart. She died when I was young, but I remember sitting on her lap eating grapefruit for breakfast, and I remember her sewing. I think that my love for sewing and creating things started with a seed she planted in me. I so love the name Ruby. If our last child had been a girl, the name would have been Ruby Grace. But we’re not planning on having more children, so I thought it would be fitting to use Ruby as part of my handmade items name. Also, my favorite color is dark red (aka ruby red), so that just fits perfectly.

(Ruby Irene Hart)

(great-grandma Ruby and me. 1973)

The heart following “Ruby” has a two-fold meaning. First, my great grandmother’s last name, Hart. And secondly, it’s a symbol to represent the love that goes into the things that I make.

So there you have it. The new name and the background on its meaning. I’m still working out how to incorporate it. I need to make or order some labels to sew into my handmade items, but I did create a label for something I made yesterday. I kind of like it and may keep doing them this way until I figure out a lasting solution.

(I'm REALLY loving corduroy right now.

More photos of this latest creation coming soon.)

Also, I haven’t decided yet whether or not to move my handmade items to a separate etsy shop, separate from my artwork, or if I should keep it all in one place. What are your thoughts?