Welcome to the Second edition of our Newsy Newsletter
The Rock & Ruddle Story: How we came to be
Rock & Ruddle founders Alexandra and Jackie first met through a mutual friend in the late 1980s and then by total coincidence they found themselves working as brand managers in the same department at the beauty giant L’Oréal. It was there that they developed their love and interest for fragrance, beauty and haircare. It was the perfect place for them to learn the finer details of creating and marketing high quality products where the focus is always on the customer’s dreams.A few years later Alexandra lost her favourite hairbrush and when trying to replace it discovered that it was quite impossible to find a hairbrush which combined good quality natural bristles with lovely bright and beautiful designs. Alexandra and Jackie then put their heads together with the idea of creating a unique range of hairbrushes that gave both top haircare performance and beauty combined.
Alongside the great quality and design of the hairbrushes came two very popular features. The first is that our hairbrushes do not pull the hair or hurt in anyway whilst brushing which is so popular especially for children and adults (like Alexandra) who have a sensitive scalp. The second and quite unique feature is that all of our bristle pads can be removed for a thorough clean or to replace with a new pad.
To create irresistible and uplifting designs the team at Rock & Ruddle has worked with amazing artists and designers including wonderful illustrator Clare Mackie and superb graphic designer Catherine Barnett.
Essential to our business success has been the work of so many amazing people including fabulous photographers Nick Moore and Diana Oliveira, designer and animator Chio Romero and our social media star Shaya Pabari and our administration and our customer service magician Fiona Sutherland. Not to forget the behind the scenes work of Gemma and Vanessa our great warehouse team and Peter, Clair and Ben at our amazing factory.
In the years since we created our hairbrushes and combs, we have seen the business grow faster than we could have imagined. First concentrating on consumer fairs, initially a great way to test the market and to get to know our customers, then moving on to wholesale in the UK through such great retailers as Harvey Nichols and John Lewis and then on to exporting our hairbrushes and combs around the world. David Jones in Australia have championed our hairbrushes and combs since 2013.
Each day brings new challenges and projects which is all part of the fun of running our business!
One of our favourite activities is reading our customer reviews.
Our Team's Favourite Designs
We thought that you would enjoy knowing our team’s favourite designs too….so very hard to choose.Alexandra – I love the Giraffe and the Darling Dogs because Clare Mackie has included my dog Luke on the handle.
Jackie - My favourite is the Acorns & Butterflies for sure…. but the Shower Power Brush is a close second and I wouldn’t be without either of them!
Fiona - I love all the Rock & Ruddle designs but my favourite is the Green & Purple Shimmer which adds a bit of glamour to hair brushing!! I also love the Personalised Beautiful Blue – it is so pretty.
Shaya – My favourite is the ‘I can & I will’ brush.
Clare Mackie – Acorns & Butterflies Wide Tooth Comb which I keep in my handbag and have become fond of. My other favourite is the Folio Society Stripes Wide Tooth Comb which I use every morning.
Catherine Barnett – I love the blue green metallic one because it always reminds me of a moira silk evening dress my mother had in the 70’s. Plus the latest Pretty Blue by Maggie of course!
Nick Moore - For me it has to be The Darlings Dogs (but secretly it's Miss Daisy with her Union Jack 😍)
Diana Oliveira - My favourite design is the Flamingos 🦩
Gemma Farr – My favourite is English Blue
Vanessa Hayes - My favourite is the Toucans, I think this is a lovely, bright, vibrant design 😊
Clair Blackaby My all-time favourite has to be High Seas, I just think it’s cute, fun, colourful and really different. Having said that my favourite baby brush has always been ducks – love that as a personalised gift for a new baby. I also love the Giraffe from the Endangered Animals collection…
Ben Childs - My favourite design is the Turtle brush!
We hope that you will love your Rock & Ruddle hairbrush too.