We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Zoe Ruddock. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Zoe below.

Zoe, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?

When I really think about how I started, it always begins with me putting pen to paper. I tell my friends this all the time but I get chills when I look through my old notebooks, because almost everything I’ve written down, whether that was some sort of sketch or idea, I’ve seen it all come to fruition and then some; even the silly things. It all really starts with getting that idea out of your head.

Everyone’s journey is different of course but I do believe in a general blue print of how you can bring something to life. For me the first thing was really organizing my ideas and my plan, asking myself “what do I actually want to put out into the world?”. Next was formulating my business plan, as a creative this is the “not so fun” part but a necessary piece to the whole business puzzle. I created a full layout for my business plan that included expenses, marketing, and my creative initiatives for my brand. This allowed me to get an overall idea of the money that I would need to actually get started. Thankfully my family helped me with a small investment to get my first line of T-shirts created. From there it was back to the “fun stuff”, I focused on creating a brand identity, a brand signature- if you will. This was the time to really let all of the creative juices pour out of me. I drew up designs, got thank you cards & stickers made, took photos, and kept creating.

Encouraging and empowering the creative side in people remains the main goal with my brand along with uplifting fellow creatives. I’ve now positioned my brand to go in any direction I want which is exactly what I wanted from the very beginning. Who knows what is coming next for RUDD. but whatever it is will be created intentionally.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself and your business to our readers.

I am a proud American-Caribbean creative. Growing up I had the pleasure of being immersed in the rich Jamaican culture. I embraced self-expression and creativity very early on. Fashion and how I present myself has been my favorite way to express who I am since as early as eight years old. I remember reworking dolls clothing and my own clothes (unbeknownst to my mom) to create completely different looks. That is why creating my brand, RUDD., has been the most meaningful journey for me to date, because I’ve always honored my desire to rework, reinvent, and create what I wanted. In my eyes my brand serves as a necessary reminder to always return to and nurture the creative spirit that lives in all of us.

Everything I’ve managed to accomplish with RUDD. has been done with intention. The goal from the very start has been to create quality and timeless items with comfort and creativity in mind as well as uplifting, supporting, and celebrating creatives along the way.

RUDD. is a minimal streetwear brand where quality, comfort, and creativity collide. The designs act as blank canvases where consumers can express themselves through their own personal style by interchanging and customizing their pieces in endless ways. As of 2021 I made a sustainably-conscious commitment to operate RUDD. as a slow-fashion brand.

Through my customizable designs, the “Black Canvas Mini Tote” and “Micro Bag”, I’ve opened a door for people to support other brands & creatives that create items such as pins, patches, or keychains, creating a fun way to support creatives and build upon something unique to only them.

I am most proud of the growth I’ve been able to witness with my brand and how, since launching, I continue to refine, rework, and build upon ideas and strategies I have to grow my business. Additionally, I am proud of being vulnerable with my business. Putting yourself “out there” is one thing, but putting yourself and your business “out there” is another. I am so grateful for the networks and communities that embraced me with open arms and helped me through my own imposter syndrome. It was through those networks I’ve managed to build meaningful connections with amazing entrepreneurs that inspire me to nurture my business and keep going.

One of my biggest accomplishments thus far has been my sustainability pledge. Moving in a slow-fashion direction aligns with my personal core values and I hope to inspire others to implement the same way of thinking in terms of how we consume fashion and even other items.

I hope, if nothing else, the biggest take away here is my intention. My intention to create things of quality, support others, and inspire creativity. I am intentional in all things I do and I want the same for others; speak intentionally, consume intentionally, and live intentionally.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

The lesson I am still unlearning is overthinking every, single, thing. As I said before I do all things with intention but I find myself doubting myself and overthinking with certain things and that can lead to not being productive at all. Creator’s block is a real thing and it happens usually because we let outside factors have a front seat with our ideas. I combat the doubting and overthinking by returning to a simple question, “what do I want”. It may seem pretty basic but it’s helpful to go back to the beginning of your whatever your idea was and decide if that idea IS something YOU want to see through or if it was even your idea to begin with.

Overthinking and self-doubt works for no one. I am always exploring ways I can find the balance of doing things that make sense for my business and also staying true to my overall mission. So now, I’m simply learning to ride the waves of being a business owner and embracing the ebb and flow of the business and creative side of myself.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

If you’re small business owner of any kind you are resilient, period the end. I remember when I started my first upcycle cut and sew project there was a lot I didn’t know. Everything was a major learning curve, but even knowing all there is to know there is a certain gatekeeping when it comes to fashion manufactures. Basically, most systems or manufactures are not designed for small businesses to thrive.

This is where resilience came in for me. I had to do so much negotiating and back and forth with a manufacturer I previously worked with because I would not budge on my vision. I knew exactly what I wanted and I was not at all interested in settling for anything less. For this specific incident I had a project where I ended up cutting fabric pieces myself from a patten template I had already purchased from the manufacturer. It took me a total of two days to carefully cut each piece, organize, and package everything to present to the manufacturer; thankfully after all of that the production team agreed to bring my product to life. It’s true when they say if you want something done, sometimes you just have to do it yourself.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ruddthelabel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ruddthelabel/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ruddthelabel
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ruddthelabel/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ruddthelabel
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/zoerudd/

Image Credits
Malvern Kirvin