Ruby's Christmas Pledge!

My family and I are avid supporters of the RSPCA and recently received a letter in the post asking us to donate to their Big Christmas Feed. Last January, we adopted three very ill and very sad little cats, who had spent Christmas at our local RSPCA animal shelter. When we collected our new cats to take them to their new home, they admitted that they were surprised they surived.

The RSPCA do wonderful work and rely totally on donations. This Christmas they are campaigning for the public to help provide meals for animals, dontating money for "meal tickets".

From all of Ruby's sales from now until Christmas, I'll be saving money from card sales and dontating in December to the RSPCA's Big Feed. Ruby Wren tries to be as ethical as possible with our material choices and packaging, and this Christmas we hope to provide some abandoned animals with some Christmas Dinner!

All purchases, be it from Etsy, Folksy, NOTHS or even in person, will have money donated from the profits. Read more about the RSPCA's Big Christmas Feed at: RSPCA

Luckily, our three rescued cats have grown into heathly, happy little monsters, shadows of their former selves:

News from Ruby!

Following the feedback and comments I've been given from Etsy members and customers, I've decided to expand my little business and have signed up for the Prince's Trust Business Programme. The Prince's Trust, for anyone who doesn't know, is a charity in the UK run to help young people, with Prince Charles as the head of the organisation. The Business Programme is run to help get people aged 18-30 succeeding in running their own businesses.

I applied in Septemeber and was invited to an introduction session a few days later to talk about the Business Programme and what is involved. I begin a 4 day workshop on Monday, where I will get advice on bookeeping, legalities for small businesses, marketing etc. After this week, I'll be required to put my business plan before the Prince's Trust's panel, Dragons Den-Style and I'll get one-on-one sessions with a business mentor for the next few years.

I've heard such good things about the programme and hope to keep you updated via my blog.

In other Ruby related news, I've just listed some of my first Christmas Cards! It's getting to that time of year again! With the worldwide shipping I offer, I decided to get in early with the Christmas Card listing to give everyone enough time to get their cards before Christmas. I've got lots made up ready for the Made by Artisans Craft Fair and hope to get more listed on Etsy shortly!

Click Here for New Christmas Cards

Shop of the Week - Pouch

I have a friend who likes all things purple...actually, a few friends of mine love purple, so on an 'Early Christmas Gift Browse' of Etsy.com last week, I used the search term 'Purple' and 'UK'. I came across the shop 'Pouch' and her handmade purple owl was the item that appeared in the search. I was drawn into look at her shop further, the owl was just so sweet!

Her shop is full of gorgeous handmade owls, bunnies and bags...all eco-friendly and adorable! The lavendar-filled owls and bunnies are my favourites, a chemical-free alternate to moth balls or just a cute decoration for a drawhandle or to help you sleep.

Pouch is currently offering free worldwide shipping before her shop closes at the start of October. Her shop will close while she has her first baby, so grab a sweet treat for yourself or get started on your Christmas gift purchases before October 4th to make the most of free shipping and a super-cute product!