Ruby's Song

From as early as I can remember, I have been making things. Mostly songs or plays or stories. There was a brief obsession with making Christmas decorations for anyone I'd ever said hello to; Jewellery came to me later. From a very young age I was convinced I was destined to perform. I loved to act, but singing... Nothing made me feel quite so free or indeed quite so myself, as singing. Especially singing my own songs. After years of touring solo and in bands, and as a mature student at Goldsmiths studying Popular Music, I was encouraged by a producer I was working with at the time to paint the music I could hear in my head, but couldn't quite get off the tip of my tongue. We were recording my music and although there were cello's and harps and trumpets swirling around my brain, the melodies couldn't be communicated.

The paintings opened up a whole new universe for me. The musicians I then showed them to did a damn good job of making sense of them and I was marvellously proud and satisfied with the compositions we produced. More than that though.. I was taken with the graphic scores (AKA the paintings). I wanted to wear them. I thought of printing them on to silk or linen and making clothes, but after a truly fabulous and impossibly sunny day spent walking around London's free art galleries as a penniless student (Alexander Calder was at the Tate Modern and Hilma af Klint at the Serpentine) I realised it was the shapes in the paintings that needed to be brought to life. So I married my original idea with this new realisation.

 I printed the paintings on to acrylic and created strikingly graphic silhouettes. Silent mobiles for one's ears. I gave them to friends and sold them at tiny Christmas markets. But more importantly I started selling the jewellery at my gigs alongside my records. The reception was so wonderful, I felt there must be something truly magic happening. I threw myself in to design and slowly taught myself most things I now know about making jewellery. After 18 months of working with acrylic jewellery, I progressed to metal and launched the brand as it is today. I made friends along the way who introduced me to working with wax and stones and there is always just so much more to discover. I've never looked back. I still love to sing, but I only write songs for me now. Jewellery has become my most fulfilling adventure.

Our Story

Created by Ruby in 2018 and now run by Ruby & Chris Jack, partners in love and business. We employ a small UK based team and do most of the making in house, only outsourcing to UK based tradespeople for our casting and gold plating. Ruby is our designer, she is also a stylist, and singer, with firm roots in music and the visual arts. Her former career as a musician has deepened her appreciation for how sounds can conjure shapes and forms. Her path to jewellery came when her head was turned to coax a song, but a shape whistled in her ear. Her songs were destined for metal, resolved to adorn bodies and to echo their stories. Chris is a visual artist who enjoys working behind the scenes at Ruby Jack whilst also pursuing his own creative practice.