About Ruby

The woman behind Rabbit Brush Goods.

I'm a musician + plant person in Santa Fe, NM. You can listen to my music streaming everywhere! Just search for ‘Ruby Oland’. I’ve been compared to Angel Olsen, Hayley Heynderickx, and maybe a bit of Karen Dalton or Patsy Cline.

I'm originally from Salt Lake City, Utah & spent my childhood in the high deserts of the Rocky Mountains, where Chamisa (Rabbit Brush) grows. I am constantly inspired by the land, and consistently expand my sustainability efforts to reflect that in my business. I studied environmental philosophy at the University of Utah and have been bouncing back and forth from the NW to the SW.

I began working in an adorable terrarium & plant shop- where I expanded my knowledge of crystals, perfumery & of course house plants! This job at Artemisia Collage with Nature gave me my first opportunity to be creative at work, and inspired me to dream about a business of my own.

After about a year in Portland, I was pulled to the South West and moved to the small town of Taos in northern New Mexico. I found an amazing job at a bean-to-bar chocolate shop/factory called Chokola! I learned all about the third wave of chocolate-makers in the US & the de-industrialization thereof. I wrote a book of poetry there called Adobe Bones, which is essentially a collection of sonnets for the Rio Grande. After about a year and a half in New Mexico, I packed up my car and headed to the West Coast again.

Starting in San Diego, I drove north all the way to Oregon again and ended up back in Portland! I worked for Jasmine Pearl Tea Company and saw a larger scale local business do well with a wholesale department. I learned lots about tea & how to properly brew. I also returned back to Artemisia and began developing workshops, as well as managing social media.

Eventually, I began working for Wildish Botanicals, learning all about herbalism & running an apothecary. While working at Wildish in the summer of 2019, I began Braided Root (my old business name) beginning the line with our signature Dry Shampoo. I have been using this formula on myself for years, originally creating it when I recognized the need for a natural, non-aerosol Dry Shampoo that was dark enough for my hair.

This brings us up to the spring of 2020, when we were all in lock down for months. I studied Astrology intensely, and considered even doing it professionally! I was originally even thinking about having an astrology themed beauty line, but that didn’t work out.

I began developing Rabbit Brush full-time, selling vintage & hair care. It’s been a journey of trial and error, an exploration & honestly SO MUCH FUN! I love what I’ve built and find myself so happy and fortunate to be able to work for myself.

I'd known for a long time I wanted to have a small business, but ruled out retail pretty quickly because I saw a shift in buying habits. I made a lot of "mistakes" on my earlier incarnations of my brand- and it took me a couple years to really find my confident voice. My brand has turned into a collaborative effort, which I love. It's not just my voice now- it's all of my customers, the creative women I choose to work with, etc.

Thank you all so much for being a part of this Rabbit Brush journey! I can’t wait to see it grow day-by-day with your support.