Valentines Day: Gift Ideas

February brings gorgeous hot summer days, lazy warm evenings and .....Valentines Day!!  This year, why not do something a little different and treat your beloved to a gift that will last and make their hearts flutter!  Take a look at some of our favourite gift ideas:

Wooden block mini hearts - R15

Wooden heart shape tea light candle holders: Small - R120 // Large - R140

Cards - blank inside for your own message - R28

Love Vouchers - R30

Stacking bowls - R65

Heart drawing mini milk jug - R150

Tiny dipping bowls - R130

Wooden people - R140 (L) // R55 (S)

Hearts on a block - R155

 Heart Platter - R160

Dotted heart mug (turquoise)  - R105

What a start to 2015 - January review

Well where did the month go?!  January 2015 has come and is almost gone - already!   We hope your January was a very good one - a fresh, happy and positive start to your new year.    Our January has been a productive month, lead by our bucket list, here's what we have been up to...

1// We launched our January sale - lots of lovely bits and pieces marked down and great bargains still to be found, but hurry!

2// We marked down some of our lovely furniture to make room for some great new pieces.

3// We joined Twitter! @therubyorchard.  We are still learning, but will endeavour to tweet what we are up to!

4// We launched our Business Blog posts in earnest - written by Hannah, it's a series of business tips, advice and open honest thoughts gained from experience - a must read!  Being different & Reasons why your business should write a blog were on the blog in January.

5// January has seen tables, servers and cupboards fly out the shop!  New stock is being refurbished weekly... and THE COUNTERS! Vintage shop counters are in store and making our little shop a little bit more WOW!

6// We are getting our shelves re-stocked and full again after a fabulous and busy December. Check out the new stacking mugs on the way from Papertales,

7//  We wrote about the importance of being organised, planning ahead,making 'to do' lists and show cased some of our gorgeous products in store to help you be and do just that.

8// Sandi listed 10 uses for Skinny La minx soft buckets... these are not just handy, but oh so pretty!

9//  We are getting ready for the month of  Love - yep Valentine's stock ordered and almost ready to go out - yay!

10// The Ruby Orchards website revamp is well under way thanks to Nicola Tweed.  We've been busy styling and shooting our products too, Lets hope we are ready for the launch next month!

10 Uses for the Skinny La Minx soft buckets

Here at The Ruby Orchard, we love our Skinny La Minx products!  We have cushions and purses and stash bags and tea towels and .... soft buckets!   What is a soft bucket you ask?  Well, a soft bucket is exactly  that - a soft, fabric bucket!  It has so many different uses, we decided to put together our top ten for you, so read on and be inspired:

1.  To put your pot plants in // 2.  A pretty loo roll holder// 3.  A desk tidy// 5.  A Bread 'basket'//              

 

6.  A place to keep all your craft materials // 7.  A place to store kiddie's small toys  //8.  A tidy for your sewing or knitting

9.  A tidy for all your phone chargers // 10. The perfect hiding place for your secret chocolate stash!  :)

Reasons why your business should write a blog!

Source 

Writing 1-3 posts every week.... about what...??  Planning and scheduling posts months in advance... finding and taking pictures for each post..... Why you ask???  Why would a little shop go to all that bother?? Well... this is why we write a blog!

Our blog is our stage for connecting with and sharing relevant information with our customers. It not only creates a place for us to talk about our products but lets our personality sparkle and shows people what we’re all about!

Our blog tells our story and offers an insight into our business, our team, our ideas and things that inspire us.

Our blog gives us food for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our newsletters. Our social media overflows with what we are up to!

Our blog creates a conversation with you, our customers. It encourages interaction, comments and feedback. 

Our blog means our webpage is being updated every few days, which means search engines love us!

Blogs are free! Free marketing.... yes please!

Blogging keeps us ahead of the game. It helps us be a leader, not a follower of trends and our competitors.

Blogging is hard work, don’t get me wrong. But it is inspiring! It makes me think about our customers, our readers and followers. It keeps me focused on our marketing strategies. I find it stimulating and I often look forward to writing a new post! Why not give it a go!