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Our History We were founded in January 2008 after our owner became disillusioned with the amount of waste left behind after gifts were opened and groceries put away. She began searching online for other options and found her answer in reusable, fabric bags. Not finding any prints that she liked, she decided to make her own set of grocery bags one afternoon. What she ended up with was a well-designed, expertly hand-crafted, cute and useful bag! Soon after, Ruthie Pearl was born. Our Name Yes, Ruthie Pearl is actually a real person. She's a little southern lady (with a great big heart) who lives in Andalusia, Alabama. Approaching 90-years-old, she spent 45 years of her life sewing men's dress shirts in a sewing factory owned by Alatex. Growing up, Lauren Yant (her granddaughter and our founder) would use old shirt scraps that Pearl brought home to create doll clothes, nightgowns and other playthings. Through the instruction of both Pearl and her mother, Debi, Lauren learned how to sew clothes, books, bean bags, toys, hats, costumes, bags, purses...you name it! We can safely say that Lauren is probably the youngest person to ever lay her hands on an industrial sewing machine and not get seriously injured.  Lauren and Ruthie Pearl in Pearl's Alabama garden Our Founder Lauren Yant was born and raised in L.A.--that's "Lower Alabama" for those of you not in the know. Soon after finishing high school, she went on to get a bachelor's degree in mass communication at the University of Alabama. Within two weeks of graduating, she bought a one-way ticket to Colorado and headed out west. There she experienced a huge culture shock--the most notable being her Aspenite friends' passion for both the outdoors and protecting the environment. She'll never forget her first day working at The Aspen Daily News when someone yelled at her for not only printing on just one side of a piece of paper, but then for not putting it in the recycle bin when she was finished with it. Still, she wasn't out hugging trees just yet... After Aspen, Lauren went on to get a master's degree in advertising management at the University of Denver. For the next few years, she held various corporate advertising jobs in Denver, Aspen and Glenwood Springs (all in Colorado). A strange turn of events led her to Salt Lake City in 2007, and that's when she really started developing an awareness of how her actions affected the earth. She started brainstorming sustainable business ideas late that year and founded Ruthie Pearl soon after. Perhaps it was her love of skiing and snowboarding...climbing with friends...hiking in the pristine wilderness...camping under the stars. Or perhaps it was just her philosophy of "doing what's best for the most people." Whatever the reason, Lauren now endeavors to be a steward of the environment and also help others to do the same. While nobody's perfect, she strives to learn more every day about preserving this beautiful place for generations to come. 
Lauren bouldering in southern Utah |