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Melody Miller

Ruby Star Founder and Creative Director Melody Miller is a goal-setter, and the big, scary, long-term ones are her favourites. “The hardest part is knowing what I want, but once I’m clear, I go for it.” Those goals pushed her down an entrepreneurial path – one that eventually wound its way toward founding a fabric business.

“I had to advocate for myself starting when I was a kid,” she explains. “My childhood wasn’t easy. If I wanted something, I had to make that happen, and it’s become part of my nature now. I'm just very driven to keep moving forward.” From growing up in the South Carolina Lowcountry and attending Furman University, followed by a time studying industrial design at Pratt Institute in in New York, to a crash course in branding while working at an Atlanta real estate office and endeavors selling curtains and pillows on Etsy, she eventually entered the fabric industry designing for Japanese manufacturer, Kokka.

Then in 2013, she dreamt up the idea of Cotton+Steel, a modern fabric brand that began with collections and collaborations from five diverse female designers – something fresh and new for the industry that no one else had done at the time. For Melody, it was the perfect amalgamation of her past experiences and skills, combining art, illustration, sewing, marketing and branding into one magical, creative venture.

Led by that same intuition, Melody – and the four other founding designers – left Cotton+Steel in Spring 2018, and she began working to form Ruby Star Society. “I had built my dream job. I knew what I could do, and I wasn't ready for it to be over,” Melody says on deciding to create the new brand. And it’s to continue a career path she’s built for herself, sure, but when Melody talks about what she wants for Ruby Star Society, it’s clear that it’s not really about her, but rather, the collection of artists she’s brought together, and the women out in the world they’re creating fabrics for. “Our designers have each grown in really beautiful ways, and I so strongly want this brand to accurately reflect the growth, wisdom, and courage of our artists,” she adds. “In a lot of ways, it's the same job, the same people. But it feels so different…I’ve learned so much, and we're all stronger. It’s been exciting to watch this new vision be realised.”
Clementine - Spritz in Coral Cotton by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society - The Village Haberdashery

Clementine - Spritz in Coral Cotton by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society

£4.00

Clementine by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Fabrics is a brightly coloured pop art fabric collection with lots of spark! Featuring fun pops of pink,...

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£4.00
Roadster Red Spark Cotton from Ruby Star Society Basics by Melody Miller - The Village Haberdashery

Roadster Red Spark Cotton from Ruby Star Society Basics by Melody Miller

£4.00

Like a polka dot, but better! Spark is a basic featuring a delicate asterisk motif you'll find through Melody's work. Ruby Star Society Basics are ...

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£4.00