Ruche: A Beautiful Mess

Meet Elsie, also known as elsiecake. She's a blogger, talented designer, and boutique owner with a vintage vision. In a studio littered in glitter, paint, and fabric, Elsie created A Beautiful Mess. The blog is her muse and a place to explore everything fashionable, crafty, and pretty. ♥

Her blog also provides updates on her dream come true, Red Velvet. In 2002, Elsie teamed up with her sister, Emma, and friend, Rachel, to create the independent boutique full of indie and vintage items. It started with the girls making and selling their handmade creations, and as Emma said, "that's pretty much what it still is today." Their days are busy and full of online and in-store work, editing photos, and photo shoots. While they admit to being workaholics, they love their jobs and find themselves to be "pretty lucky."

Elsie and Emma are sisters, so we wondered, of course, how well they work together. Emma remarked, "I think the biggest fear everyone has about a family business is that there will be a fight that will damage your love/friendship for good. And sure, we are sisters, and we disagree about things here and there, but if we didn't get along, I think we would have figured it out by now." She also added that they have different strengths, which creates the right balance. "I would hate to compete against her anyway, she's feisty."

As their dreams continue to become reality, the ladies remain a strong team, they know they can rely on each other, and they continue to feel joyous and thankful.

If you haven't yet, visit A Beautiful Mess and find vintage inspired looks and beautiful inspiration. If you live in the area, stop by their Sweet Shoppe too (we wish it around the corner from us). We fell in love with it all and we hope you do too. ♥ And as always, we hope you had a lovely week!