Alexandria’s Pink Rubies Boutique

Pink Rubies Boutique is a children’s clothing store located in Alexandria. Their merchandise is one of a kind because almost everything there is designed by owner Amber Walden! Her and her daughter Ruby took the time to speak to me about the family business! Go and check out their new storefront location off of 431 in the heart of Alexandria.

• Tammy (T): How and when did your business begin?
• Amber (A): Pink Rubies was started in February 2017. We recently opened a storefront August 1 this year, so we’ve been here about a month and a half. The store was named after my daughter Ruby and she was named after my grandmother. So the name is very special to us, and it’s also her birthstone! Even though it’s named Pink Rubies, we do carry boys’ clothing!
• T: Tell me about your location here in Alexandria.
• A: We’re located at 546 Valley Cub Drive in the heart of Alexandria. We sit on a side road parallel to 431. Back when I was a child this building was the post office.
• T: Tell me about the different things you sell here.
  
• A: We specialize in 12 months up to 7-8. We have a VIP group on Facebook where I do pre-orders and those sizes range from newborn sizes up to a 14-16. I am slowly adding some newborn items and giftables for baby showers and birthday parties, and we do gift wrapping! In the store, we just got all of our Alabama and Auburn collection in time for football season. One thing we did last year was Mom Ruffles for moms to match their daughters and we’re offering pre-orders for those now. The pre-orders are always easy if you need sibling sets so you can guarantee the sizes you need.
• T: I think it’s very unique that you actually design most of the clothing sold here!
• A: I would say 75% of the clothing is something I have designed and I have a manufacturer to create them and send them to me. I do work on the designing and we try to change that up every year and we’ll bring back favorites.
• T: Where can people find you online and in person?
• A: We have a business site, www.pinkrubiesboutique.com, an Instagram page @pinkrubiesboutique and we have our VIP Facebook group which is Pink Rubies VIP, that’s where I do all the pre-orders and a lot of the firsthand info goes to the VIP group first.
• T: What are your store hours?
• A: The hours vary right now, I always post them on Monday for that week. I’m in the process of hiring right now. Our hours vary but our days are Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and every other Saturday. In the coming weeks, that will be more of a set schedule.
• T: Anything else you’d like to share?
• A: I would love for you to come out and see us and tell your friends. We are slowly growing and we love kids. Something I’d love to share that is in the works, is a ministry that I’m working on for Pink Rubies. We’ve always done tornado relief or helped with families that have had a house fire, and we’re creating the Pink Rubies Closet. People who are in need due to natural disasters or foster care can come by and pick up clothes that are donated, clean, and gently used. They will be available by size and gender and ready to wear. Its very important to me and my husband to be able to give back to the community.

I hope you enjoyed this small business spotlight, I’ll be back next week with another local business!