The Genesis of Ruju
Hi, friends 🤍
Let’s start off on the right foot and keep it real: Ruju is a strange idea.
It’s my “passion project”, my “out of left field” business idea, as I keep telling people… I was honestly nervous to launch it because it’s so unique
and also..
it’s INTENSELY PERSONAL 🥸
Affirmations have come to play a really important role in my life over the past several years. Prior to the pandemic I was a full-time working mom in tech PLUS raising funds for my startup concept.
Life was intense, hectic and roller-coaster-y most days. During those years I learned a LOT about grit, confidence, sales, business and ⚠️ MOST IMPORTANTLY ⚠️ following my gut.
I found affirmations and visualization to be extremely helpful tools in staying positive and mentally strong in the middle of some extremely exhilarating yet anxiety-filled times.
Fast forward to 2020 when we all slowed waaaayyyyyy down… As a mom who had always worked outside the home, I felt like I tasted the sweet sweet peace of what a stay-at-home mom must feel…
But I also felt the monotony and tedium of stay-at-home parenting like I never had before.
Rather than staying mentally strong for work and my startup ambitions, I had to keep a positive mindset so I didn’t LOSE IT on my kids! (I KNOW you know what I’m talking about because there’s a thousand hilarious ScaryMommy writers who post about this every day 👋 )
I started thinking about my mom friends as well my fellow Millennials and even Gen Z sweeties who were going through similarly difficult times at home, behind the scenes… What tools did THEY have to stay positive and peaceful in the slow or sad times of the pandemic?
I suddenly felt so LUCKY to have developed the mental toolkit to help me stay positive while living through the madness of full-time work/startup life/mom-ing/wife-ing. I wanted to share this with others in a relatable, non-dorky way… but how?
Then I had a weird idea…
Which I will share with you now…
Even though it makes my armpits sweat.
I thought to myself:
What if I take my lifelong interest in geometric symbolism and create a modern-day rune?
AND…
What if each symbol’s meaning was an affirmation?
AND…
What if these runic symbols were displayed within modern, minimalist home decor?
(Psst: Rune /roon/ noun: An ancient alphabet letter; a mark or letter of mysterious or magic significance.)
‘Would that be cool or WHAT?’ I thought to myself…
So I took a business class (shoutout to my Business Class homies + my adopted way-cooler-than-me cousin/mentor Sophia Amoruso 🤩) to make the brand and business side of an e-commerce business legit (TOTALLY RECOMMEND), and I created what you see on this site.
I started with 12 symbols (which I astutely refer “The First 12” 😏), which you can read more about here.
I want you to sprinkle these symbols around your life to remind you of affirmations you want on repeat.
We’re starting with museum-grade wall prints, but you better believe there are more products to add to your “life decor” coming soon ✨
Peruse the initial collection, let me know what you think in the comments below 🤍