Colour Chronicles – How Ruth Sturdy Designed Memory Books that Celebrate Every Family

Welcome to the bring your product idea to Life podcast. This is the podcast for you if you're getting started selling products, or if you'd like to create your own product to sell.

I'm Vicki Weinberg, a product creation coach and Amazon expert. Every week I share friendly, practical advice as well as inspirational stories from small businesses. Let's get started. Hi.

So today on the podcast, I'm speaking to Ruth sturdy from colour Chronicles. Colour chronicles make modern guided memory journals for every age and stage with a focus on inclusivity.

Ruth's goal is to celebrate every family, however that family looks. I've really enjoyed speaking to Ruth.

We spoke about what inspired her to create her products, how she went about it, where she sells, and the experience she's had on every channel. I think this is a really interesting conversation, as they all are. And I would love now to introduce you to Ruthenhenne. Hi, Ruth.

Thank you so much for being here.

Oh, thanks for having me.

Oh, you're so welcome. So, can we please start with you? Give an introduction to yourself, your business and what you sell.

Yes. So, I'm Ruth. Ruth Sturdy. My small business is color chronicles and I make memory books for every age and stage. So they're inclusive.

They make no assumptions about family or first. So I just wanted to have sort of a non judgmental memory books, really, for baby and childhood.

Amazing. Thank you. So let's jump right in with what inspired you to create your memory books.

So when my daughter turned three, I was doing a memory book for her. So one you filled out once a year. And when she turned three, I thought, oh, she should really be having an input into this.

She was so chatty and the things she said was so funny. So I ended up handwriting out some questions and asking her and writing them into the book.

And then I went on a search for a childhood memory book that had questions for the child as well as prompts for me. And then I realized there wasn't one. So I thought, right, so I'm going to make one. And that's how it all began.

Oh, amazing. Was it honestly? Was it honestly like, this doesn't exist? I'm going to make it, because that's really. That's really bold.

And I mean that in the best possible way as well, because a lot of people have these ideas and they sit on them for so long and they say, oh, you know, I always thought I would do something and it's amazing. Did you literally have the idea and go, okay, off I go, off I go.

Because I knew I wanted to start a product business, but I wasn't ever sure what that product was because I had sort of back to back maternity leaves and I was doing a big job, which was Nashville, and took an awful lot of my time. And then I was looking to open up a soft play cafe. That was an idea.

And then the premises fell through, so I sort of knew that I wanted to start something, but I didn't know what. And when I've got something in my head that I want to buy, I mean, my mom refuses to shop with me. She's like, oh, no. Because I just.

Bit of a nightmare. Cause I know exactly what I want. And so I was looking, looking, and it just sort of presented itself. I thought, this doesn't exist.

There isn't a book.

And I also wanted it to be one that didn't say mom and dad and two sets of grandparents and sort of presumed everything about the family, which by doing that, you either have gaps or you isolate families. And it's, you know, so I wanted it to be really inclusive and for everybody.

That's amazing.

And then my husband knew. He was like, oh, but, you know, not everyone's like, you writing things down? I was like, well, I think they are.

And I just really had it in my head it was a good idea, and then just ran with it.

Really amazing.

And before you got going with the creation side, did you do any sort of speaking to people, checking if people thought it was a good idea, or did you just have the conviction?

And I did have the conviction. I did speak to people and I did, I did. I did. I did ask a lot of people, actually. And then I worked with my designers. We created the books together.

She was fantastic. So she sort of brought to life what was in my head and made it exactly how I wanted it to be.

That's really quick. And I'd love to dig in a little bit to how you did that.

It sounds like you had a real clear vision for what you wanted in the books and didn't want in the books and how you wanted them to look. So did you have a designer that you knew already, or was it a case of going and finding someone who could of produce what you had in your head?

Well, she fell in my lap, really. So I went to her husband's because he'd done all the branding for the soft play and he'd also done all the branding for my husband's business.

So I went to him and then he called me up and he said, oh, it's really funny. My wife's had a similar idea, something she wanted to do for Godchild. So she already sort of had it in her head as well.

So he put us in touch and, yeah, we sort of got on with it quite quickly.

That's amazing. And then how about the design side? Sounds like it was fairly straightforward. But how about actually getting these books produced?

Because I've seen your books, they're really lovely quality. How did you go about finding someone who could produce? Because, again, I'm. What, little one? Over you, Ruth?

I'm assuming you really knew what sort of quality you wanted and how you wanted them to turn out. How easy was it to find someone who could produce it up to those standards?

So I approached three different printers and then there was this one woman who came back to me, answered all my questions. I was like, she's the one for me. She was absolutely fantastic. Had the samples, the fabrics, I wanted them to be fabric covered.

So we had them everywhere in the house. And when they arrived, I was just so relieved.

But it was an anxious six weeks waiting for them to be printed and to arrive, and then they were exactly, exactly what I wanted. So I think I was quite lucky. It all worked out really well.

I think. Yeah, probably some luck, but also, I think some sort of.

I think the clarity you had probably helped as well, because I think if you're not sure exactly what you want, if you're thinking, oh, do I want a fabric cover or do I want a paper cover? And you're, you know, you're not entirely sure on what it is you're asking for, that, I think, can be when you don't get exactly what you want.

Because sometimes it isn't until you see it, you go, oh, actually. Oh, yeah, that's not quite what I wanted. So you have to give yourself some credit for having a really clear brief and vision as well.

Yeah. Thank you.

And I wanted the insides to be not plain, but like an exercise style, because lots of the books are, I don't know, Winnie the Pooh or they're covered in patterns. So I wanted them to be. To come alive when they were full and almost the book to be in the background.

So you're not really seeing the prompts or you're seeing the handprints and the writing, and that's what brings them to life.

That makes a lot of sense, because a lot of those books as well, I find, don't have a lot of space for you to actually write in. So I remember having a baby book and these tiny little boxes.

Well, maybe they weren't tiny, but they felt like quite small boxes to try and get everything into. Quite hard to personalize, I guess.

Yeah, exactly. And with the book of you especially.

So it's once a year, because I think, as mums, we all think we should keep hold of everything and are we making enough memories, are we doing everything?

And it's just once a year, just one little snippet that snapshots in time, and you feel like you've sort of done all the memory making for their child, so you've done your bit. So all in one book, it's sort of all the guilt's gone and you don't need to keep hold of all the pictures and all the rest of it.

You've just got that one book and that's you sort of done for your memory making still taken care of.

That's really nice. And speaking of just one book, so obviously you have. You are selling more than one book now.

So do you want to tell us, like, the range of books that you have and how each one came out?

So the book of you proved really popular with same sex couples, single parents maybe, where books haven't catered for, you know, people, different families before. And it was the rainbow colors.

And I thought, well, bring a baby book in the same vein because lots of the baby books can be quite triggering, especially for new parents. You know, it tells you when your baby should be doing something. And, you know, you look at the book, you know, my baby's not rolling over.

The book says it should be Rolling over.

So I thought I'd bring out a baby book in the same vein, one that doesn't assume anything about family, one that doesn't assume anything about firsts. So I created that one, and we were really careful to make sure there were no triggers in there. So we had lots of favorites.

And one of the favorites I wanted to put in was favorite thing to put in your mouth, but you think that could be triggering for someone who maybe wanted to breastfeed and couldn't feed. So we just made sure there was nothing in there that was TRIGgeR anY. Any new parents and then.

So just sort of just ask for first for this month rather than saying what and when you should be doing. So you're just recording the things that matter to you, not the things that the book's telling you you should be aware of.

So that one's done well as well. The baby book. And then I bought out the book of me and you, which is for older kids. And I know this is all a bit confusing.

The baby book of you, book of you, book of me and you. So the book of me and you is probably one of my favorite books.

Me as an adult and you is still a child, but an older child, and it's a way of the adult telling their story but for and with the child. So it's got grandparents in mind.

But I did design it for a friend of mine who was really poorly, in a way, of her children being able to know all the little details about her after she'd gone. So a lot. Lots.

Those people sort of write these big letters or whatever when they're sort of facing their own mortality and they're quite a lot for a child to read back. And maybe what they want to know is what their favourite time of day was, their favourite pair of shoes, all the little details.

So it's two thirds filled out by the adult, and then there's twelve sections filled in together with the child. So you fill it out together and then it ultimately becomes a memoir of the adult for the child to keep, if that makes sense.

That does make sense. That's so nice. What kind?

And then we obviously will be linking for each website, Ruth, so everyone can go and see the different books and decide, you know, which one is best for them. What kind of feedback have you had from customers about your books?

Because they are really unique and I haven't seen anything else out there like them.

Oh, thank you. The feedback's lovely, actually. It's, you know, people really enjoy it, really enjoy filling it out.

So once a year, and they say it becomes part of their birthday tradition.

So actually you do the party and everything settles down and then you sit down and write in the book and you remember the year gone by and you just sort of capture it. So it's something. It's become quite a treasured tradition, actually. And people give it with such good intentions.

You know, they can see them, see the child reading it back, you know, in years to come. So, whereas maybe a toy is very much for now, or clothes or whatever, this has got the longevity.

So it's the imagining that child reading back what's written about them and what they've said their answers in years to come. That's the really nice feeling behind it all.

That is really lovely. I can imagine that would be such a treasured item for all the children that have one, like, in adulthood. I would love to have that.

I don't know about you, but I would just love to have that with my childhood.

And you can find out what you wanted to be when you were three.

And, you know, the most embarrassing things happen when you were 13, and it stops at 16, because I think, especially these days, they're grown up, aren't they? They're fully cooked by 16. So, yeah, that's the end of childhood, really, in many ways, yes.

But I think it'd be lovely, as you say, to have it everything and, you know, to look back and see how you've changed from three to 16 is just. Yeah, I think that's a lot of fun.

Even now with my nine year old and she, you know, you fill it out and you look back on the years gone by, you know, you see how the drawings have evolved or, you know, the answers have changed. So it's quite nice.

I think that's really lovely. We actually. This is very. This is a bit different, but not maybe, but we.

For Father's Day every year, because it's just been father's days, we're recording. We get my husband one of these cards every year that the children fill out what they have to fill in. You know, what does daddy do for a job?

And how tall is daddy? And what's your favorite thing to do with daddy?

And I've been doing that, I think, back from when they were so little that I had to actually write it out.

And it's just really nice because every year it's just a prompt to get out the ones from previous years and go, what did you think I did three years ago compared to what you think I did? Do you know what I mean?

It's like.

I think. And your book is just such a nice. Yeah. It's like a bigger way of doing that for the child and the parent as well, which is really nice.

So how did you. Because obviously, because your product is so new reef. How did you go about launching it, telling people it was available?

Because I think that can be quite hard when you're selling something that is quite new.

And I actually took some orders there, and so it was like, great, this is something. And then just really showcased on social media. I did lots of baby shows.

I did all the shows actually going, you know, all the local ones or the school fair. So I would man lots of shows and do that, which I don't do so much anymore because I've moved to a fulfillment center.

So I don't have the stock here anymore. But it just sort of slowly grew.

And I could see if, say, someone in an NCT group had shown someone, I'd get sort of five or six orders from the same postcode. So it was lots of organic growth, which was lovely.

Amazing. And so you mentioned top draw. So was wholesale part of your plan right from the beginning?

Probably more so than it is now. It's not. Wholesale is not something I've really concentrated on.

I've got a few really solid stockists, but it's not something that I just don't have the time. It's on the to do list, the evergreen to do list.

And actually, at one point, I had to sort of park and think, you know, just concentrate on what, what you can do. And then I've actually just recruited somebody to do my social media and emails.

So once she started next month, I'll be a lot more free to work on other aspects of the business. And wholesale is always there in the back of my mind. Yeah.

To do, as you say, as a business owner, there is always so much that needs doing, and it's hard to find the time.

So it's great to hear that you've got someone to help you through social media because I think outsourcing is something that we need to do to grow, but it can actually be really difficult.

Yeah, it is really difficult. And it's hard to relinquish control in some ways. But I was very.

I mean, I did a good, I feel like it was a good recruitment process this time, really sort of dug deep into the person that I wanted to find paid well. So I've got. I want the right person. I want someone who knows more than me, who can do it better than I can.

And actually being part of the course, the Santander course, sort of gave me the. The confidence, I guess, to. To go out there and get it.

Were you there for the launch when she said, there's that lovely dragon, Sarah Willingen, is it? I can't remember her name. She said, you should be the most stupid person in the room.

So when it comes to your business, you know, you have people who know better than you. And I thought, right, that's what I need.

I need somebody who knows this better than me who's going to come up with the ideas and, yeah, had the confidence to go and find them. So, yeah, I can't wait for her to start.

That's amazing.

So I should say that Ruth and I are both taking part in a Santander mentoring program at the moment, which is amazing for kind of getting ideas and support to start a business or grow your business. And speaking of grown, is this the first person who you've recruited to your team or do you have.

So I've taken. I've got my trusty accountant who's been with me from day one, and she's the backbone of everything. I think we all need one of those.

My husband's taken, joined the company and he's doing all things Amazon. So I had to sort of relinquish some control there as well and let him get on with it, which he's doing, which is great.

So I'm trying not to, you know, stick my nose in, but it's quite hard. But, yeah, it's doing well. So the stocks landed in an FBA center now just a couple of days ago. So that's all starting to. To get momentum.

So it's a really small team. So this is the sort of first external person that I've really gone on a recruitment drive and found. So I've got high hopes for her.

I think she's going to be great.

Well, that's amazing. And I think you're right. It can be so hard to relinquish control.

However, I think there's so much benefit in listening to, as you say, experts who know more about a subject than you do and seeing what they. And bring.

Yeah. Yeah.

So I've got sort of people that I reach out to, someone who looks after shopify side of things, someone who's an expert on Klaviyo set that all up for me. So I think actually, the more you grow, it's about knowing who to ask when you need help. I think that's really important.

So you mentioned a moment ago that your husband will be looking at Amazon.

So tell us a little bit, if you don't mind, about where you're, you know, the various platforms you're selling on now, and if you've had anything you've learned or experienced from any of those, it might be useful for people.

So the majority of my sales go through my website. So I just moved last June, I think it was August, to Shopify from Squarespace, which was a big move, but I couldn't recommend it more.

Shopify is just fantastic for e commerce. I do a little bit of, not on the high street. I used to do much, much more, but it's changed. That platform's changed a little bit on etsy.

TikTok's a new avenue for me with the affiliate scheme, and that's something that my new starter is going to be taking on for the best one in the world. I haven't got TikTok in me.

Me neither.

No, no. So I thought, oh, no, I just can't.

So, yeah, so she's doing that because the affiliate scheme is amazing, but you need to have about 40 to 60 affiliate videos a week, I was told. So, yeah, that needs managing. That's a job on its own.

That's a lot. So. Wow. So you're selling quite a few platforms.

It's really good to hear that most of your sales are coming through your website because I think obviously that's, that's the goal, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah, it is. Because you've got more control over it. You can see what's happening and where.

So, yeah, the majority comes through my shopify website, which is good.

That's brilliant. And actually, I hear people. I mean, I used to sell on Shopify years ago, and I think Shopify is really the platform.

If you have an e commerce site, it's the one that I hear spoken about most highly. Anyway.

Yeah, it's really good. It's really good.

And you just need to find someone who knows it inside out, which there's a lovely girl locally, Pip, who I call on, and she does all things shopify. So again, it's like knowing who to sort of ask, but a lot of it you can do yourself.

You know, the setup, it's just the, you know, the intricate stuff that you need help with.

And it's interesting when you mentioned not on the high street as well, because I'm hearing about that as a marketplace less and less now.

And I don't know whether it's because it's becoming less popular or I don't know what it is, but I'm finding, I don't know how long you've been selling on there for, but I'm finding very, very rarely now do people say to me, oh, I said on loss on the high street, whereas it used to be. When I started this podcast four years ago, I feel like there were a lot more people talking about them as a marketplace.

Yeah, well, they was on there from the beginning, actually, and they were really, really good for me and probably my most profitable stream because there's no advertising anything. So although they take a huge chunk, there isn't any advertising.

So it's just, it is what it is, but I don't know, I don't want to slate them, but I just feel like it's not the same marketplace that it once was. Excuse me. I remember I used to be a massive not on high street shopper, and then my daughter was born, I wanted a bauble.

And then, you know, it was like 27,000 to choose from. It's like, oh, maybe 50. You want 50 to choose from.

And then they had a massive cull which think works really well, but I think they've gone back to that just volume. So you kind of lost in amongst everything.

And they do have quite strict rules, you know, so you can't be here, you can't be there, mustn't do this, mustn't do that. So they have a naughty list of people that you can't sell through if you're with them. I don't know, it's just not the same as it was.

So that's really interesting.

And actually, I used to be a huge fan of not on the high street as a customer, but now if I was looking for that type of product, so something that you might not necessarily find on the high street, I was going to Etsy every time.

I feel like as Etsy has grown in popularity and there seems to be more choice on Etsy now, but it's still not yet for me as a customer at the overwhelming stage.

Yeah, I agree. Completely agree. Yeah. Yeah. Etsy's one of my ones that needs work.

The problem with Etsy is, well, once you do your listing, you have to let it bed in for sort of 60 to 90 days before it sort of gets any traction. So you have to make sure it's completely perfect at the point of changing it. So I've done some, but I just need to redo my listings. But it's hard.

I didn't realize that. That's interesting.

Yeah.

So it takes that long, that long to get picked up by their search engine?

Yeah. It's not one you can tinker with.

You know, some of them like, you know, you, they like you to sort of change things and go through, but Etsy likes you to just leave it alone.

Oh, that's really interesting. That's one I probably know less about. And since we are talking about marketplaces, what your experience on Amazon been so far?

So I had a really good start with Amazon and then when I was doing seller fulfills prime and then I got ripped to my prime badge because, well, the fulfillment center, royal Mail, whose fault is you just don't know. But anyway, one thing led to another and I lost my prime.

So that really affected sales and then decided that, I mean that everyone at Amazon is so knowledgeable, you know, they are super impressive.

And I was talking to some of the guys at the white label Expo, so I went along to that and then decided that the best thing to do is to put some stock into an FBA center. So that's the route we've gone down, which of course it means you have to have all the labels right. All the barcodes have to be completely perfect.

You know, if it says it's a red book but it's a green book, it's a red book, you know. So anyway, they're in and we just started, but it's literally two days in two days since they landed. So it's brand new.

So I'm hoping we'll get the traction back up again. It seems to have got off to a good start. So pleased with how it's gone.

And then I'll look to get the baby books in and then possibly the book of me and you.

Oh, that is exciting.

And it's also really nice to hear someone say something positive about Amazon because often I hear the complete opposite where they say, oh, they're not very helpful. And actually in my experience, they're often not very helpful. However, I think that's more the people on the front line.

If you ever meet anyone who works for Amazon, like you say, a conference or a exhibition, they actually are always, in my experience, very nice and very knowledgeable. I think it's the customer support that sometimes can be a bit lacking.

Yeah, I mean, I know sometimes you feel like you're just feeding a glitchy algorithm, but yeah, the people behind, I think the people like you say, the integral people are really, really good and really helpful. But it's just, I mean, it's, you know, it's a minefield.

Yes. It's not, it's not the effect of all the marketplaces, I think, out there.

I personally think it's possibly one of the most difficult in terms of the interface and what's involved and the support that you get should something go wrong. Because unless you happen to have a contact, if you're going through the general sort of seller support, in my experience, it's not, not the best.

No. So we had one problem my husband had. He had four different replies with four different answers.

It's like, oh, so anyway, now that the stocks in their fulfillment center, we're hoping that those problems are going to disappear. Yeah.

That's amazing and very exciting. So, yes, we'll have to, but I'll put links to everywhere. People can buy your products in the show notes.

Everyone can go and have a good thing, have a good look. And before we finish off Rafe, the final question I have is what would your number one piece of advice be for other product creators?

So my number one piece of advice would be, if you know that you've got a good product, believe in it and stick to what you believe in. It's your product. And yeah, go for it. That would be my advice. Leap and the net will appear as they say.

That's brilliant. Thank you so much, Rafe.

Oh, thank you for having me.

Thank you so much for listening. Right to the end of this episode, do remember that you can get the full back catalogue and lots of free resources on my website, vickywineberg.com.

please do remember to rate and review this episode if you've enjoyed it and also share it with a friend who you think might find it useful. Thank you again and see you next week.