Hey all,
I will be changing my business name from HELLOREDRUBI to Vonnie & Co.
I started helloredrubi back in 2013 when I created my instagram account to share my crochet. It was a fun username for me. By 2016, I decided to go forth and make it a business. I thought, since I already had this instagram name for 3 years, that I should continue using it and turn it into a business since that’s what people have known me by. I loved it during the time. It was unique and had a meaning behind it.
Hello, hello came from my love for the word hello. I’m not sure how, what, when, where, and why, but I’ve always thought it was cute and I’ve had silly names with hello in the front in the past. Red Rubi, I wanted something that honored my brother’s memory. His birthstone was an amethyst. I didn’t technically want to name it hellopurpleamethyst (in hindsight, doesn’t sound so bad, I kind of like it now -_-‘) I picked red ruby because I thought it sounded cool and I like how rubies looked. I changed ruby into rubi with an I, to be different, lol! Even though, I didn’t end up using an amethyst, the whole process behind choosing a name had meaning to me. A little part of me, a little part of something that means a lot to me.
Changing my name, does NOT mean I stopped liking the name, the memories, etc. It really was time for a change. I went through the highs and the lows of starting a business. I cried, I laughed, I learned, I went through a roller coaster of crazy emotions, CRAZY (ask my bf). The past year, I contemplated of changing my name, but I was hesitant because I thought I’ve semi-established my name as helloredrubi and was scared of the repercussions from changing.
The more time I’ve spent learning about myself, what I wanted within this business, and so on, I wanted a new name and a fresh start. Since instagram changed their algorithms (and probably a whole bunch of other stuff as well), I felt like it caused my account from growing, among other things. I’ve had troubles with IG the past couple years, but recently it has not been good for me. I am not able to interact with my community, my community isn’t interacting with me because no one sees my posts and I don’t see everyone’s posts. Long story short, I felt like IG has blacklisted me. Sounds stupid to some, but you’ll know when something is really off with your account. Other than IG, I started to become interested in other things like knitting, photography, photo retouching, etc. I’m sure 95% of people who followed me were there for the crochet. When I started posting knits, I knew it might not be a good thing. It’s like me following a beauty account then they started posting fitness. I didn’t follow them for fitness, so I would only be interested in the beauty post and leaving the fitness post alone. Something like that you know?
What’s better than taking this growth and frustrating opportunity and start fresh! Through time, I’ve expanded my skills and interests and I wanted my new name to reflect the “new me”. Vonnie & Co. really spoked to me. It sounds generic, but I like it. It wasn’t the first name I thought of, I had dozens in mind. I’ve never been a person to feel proud of myself, to think good things of myself, to speak of myself. I’ve always felt shy and embarrassed, talking about my business and what I do. For a long time, I felt ashamed because I wasn’t doing what I majored in college (clinical lab science). I wasn’t a doctor, an engineer, a profession that made a crap ton of money that was drilled into my brain since I was little (society done messed me up, lol). No one ever told me it’s okay to be an artist, it was always, “why” and “it doesn’t make money.” I felt embarrassed talking about my little business that was starting off. I guess, I never had people in my life ask me and be interested in what I do, other than asking for the sake of asking and I’ll answer, “it’s doing good,” and that’s it. I’ve never spent hours talking to someone about what I do, my interest, my struggles, my highs and lows (other than my bf), so through my journey I stayed quiet, dealing with everything on my own. There were SO many times, I wanted to give up and get a regular 9-5 job and be miserable. I cried so much, felt so alone, and wondered what I’m doing with my life. I still feel like giving up all the time, but I’m pushing through it.
Vonnie & Co. it stands out for me. Vonnie, that’s me. I am proud of myself. I am proud of where I’ve gotten, I am proud of everything that I’ve learned, not only just designing, but business and life-wise. I am proud that I’ve learned so much. I’m proud that I’ve been doing everything that I’ve always wanted to do. I have never been able to express so much creativity in my life. Creativity runs in my blood (corny, I know), I’ve suppressed it in the past and felt sad. I felt sad for a long time. I still struggle everyday, but I’m happier. Doing something very unconventional was not easy. I was going into the medical field, but I picked being a starving artist (lol, I now understood what starving artist meant). It’s scary. Deep down, I still have no idea what my parents think, what my siblings think, what anyone thinks. I don’t even want to ask because I don’t want to hear none of it, what if it’s bad? What if it’s good? I don’t know where I’ll be years from now, but I’m happy right now and I don’t want to regret the things I do. Things changed when you see a person you grew up with die at a young age. Things can happen to you, that you thought wouldn’t. It affected me. I don’t know how long I’ll live, 5 years form now? 10 years? 20? 40? Who knows! I hope a long time, of course. I’m proud that I’m happy (not saying I don’t go through my fair shares of shits). This was a scary thing to write because it shows my weaknesses, my struggles, and some of the things you don’t see through social media. I cried when I read this out loud to my bf because it was sad that I felt the way I felt about myself. I cried because helloredrubi was my baby and now I’m moving on from it, but everything changes, eventually, for the better.
Vonnie & Co. gives me the opportunity to expand in the future and not just do crochet/knit, but for other things as well.
If you haven’t realized it yet, I’m Vonnie. Hello. Thank you for reading this and getting to know me a little more. Thank you for supporting me. I hope you continue to support me in my future endeavors.
FOLLOW ME!
http://www.instagram.com/vonnieandco (new account)
http://www.facebook.com/vonnieandco (new account)
http://www.twitter.com/vonnieandco (switched over from helloredrubi)
http://www.vonnieandco.etsy.com (switched over from helloredrubi)
http://www.vonnieandco.wordpress.com (switched over from helloredrubi)
vonnieandco@gmail.com (I will forward emails from helloredrubi over)
VONNIE AND CO. 