We were lucky to catch up with Grace Marks recently and have shared our conversation below.
Grace, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
So why Ruby’s Attic you ask? Well, we have to go way way back. From the time I was teeny tiny little girl, I spent my evenings after school and every summer with a very, very special lady, my Great Grandma Ruby. To know Grandma Ruby was to love her. She was kind, strong, loved Jesus fiercely, and her family meant everything to her.
When my sisters and I were at her house, we were free to create, imagine, and try new things. We spent hours cutting and gluing construction paper, carpeting and wallpapering our wooden dollhouse, using scraps of fabric to sew our barbies their own pillows and blankets. We baked in the summer heat in her backyard, splashing around in the little plastic baby pool with a slide that she would buy for us every year. Our most favorite thing though, was climbing up the creaking stairs to her attic to the rooms where she kept all of her fabric scraps, buttons and ribbon, and our mom and aunts dresses from the 80’s. Grandma would let us bring them down stairs and play in them all day long. She had so much big costume jewelry we would go through and accessorize with. We would take the bolts of fabric up there and create our own dresses, and cut, pin and secure all day long. We would find artificial flowers and make bouquets, decorate her living room up as the church and have “weddings” or dances, or sing Patsy Cline to her record player. I always felt so fabulous in those dresses and had the best time.
Fast forward 15-20 years and here I am. I spent a year and a half under a MLM business retailing clothes. I loved what I was doing. I loved meeting new people. I loved seeing them fall in love with their clothes, but I needed more control. You see, I’m a dreamer. I stayed up late for weeks on end searching for a different company that would give me what I needed. It came down to two different companies, and I just couldn’t choose. After pros and cons, sleepless nights and lots of YouTube videos, I sat in the couch one night, super frustrated, and looked at my husband and said “I just want to create my own online boutique.” And it hit me right there and then that there really was nothing keeping me from doing that. And the dream was realized. And when naming this little business I just couldn’t get my Grandma Ruby out of my brain. She was such a huge part of my life growing up and her home is really where I gained my love for all things “dress up.”
So, my prayer is that as I start this journey with Ruby’s Attic, I can create a place for you all to find something that makes you feel as beautiful as those dresses did in my grandma’s attic; that I can create a space that shows every woman, size small and beyond, just how fabulous they really are and that I can keep my precious grandma’s memory alive.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
After high school, I got married almost immediately and pursued cosmetology at the local community college. I thought that making people look their best was what I was going to do for the rest of my life, but I never anticipated for that to shift into what it is today. I realized pretty quickly that the 9-5 was not for me, so I started selling Lolaroe on the side and absolutely loved it! I would set up the basement like a little shop and my family and friends would come browse the racks I had for new pieces to add to their wardrobe.
Once my husband and I started growing our family, foster after foster, we wanted to move to our hometown to start paying off debt and be closer to our family. Seeing our hometown from a different perspective is what gave me the dream of owning a sweet little boutique on main street in my Hallmark-Christmas kinda town. Just a few short years later, that became a reality for me!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Growing up in a small town, people tend to come up with allll the reasons why it is not the best place to be. There’s too much drama, there’s gossips everywhere, not enough to do, etc. I have ALWAYS loved it. It’s full of family and friends, supportive neighbors, churches on every corner, and a very supportive community for small business owners like myself. I have had the opportunity to grow through events and social media, but my favorite thing to do is a good ole hometown event with all of my people right on mainstreet.
Does your business have multiple or supplementary revenue streams (like a ATM machine at a barbershop, etc)?
In addition to by shop, I am also a brand rep for Seint Makeup and have parties at the shop quite a bit. The beauty of it is that it is a simple and natural application, but it takes your big, bulky makeup bag and puts all of your foundation, contour, bronzer, blush and eyeshadows and turns it into one simple palate. It’s a great quality for the price, and all it takes is a photo for me to color match my clients. Having a chance to combine my love for makeup (especially with that cosmetology background) and the fun of playing dress-up in the shop with all of our seasonal favorites is the perfect combination!
Contact Info:
- Website: [email protected]
- Instagram: @rubysatticonline
- Facebook: rubysatticboutique