Making The Leap
Ruby Durham, Miss North Carolina for America 2022
House of Red
Suited X Red
I have a passion for creating aesthetic spaces and dressing women. I started building the foundations for both businesses in 2020 during the beginning of the pandemic. I just recently resigned from my on-air tv news job as a journalist to go full time as an entrepreneur.
https://www.houseofred.co/
https://www.houseofred.co/the-collection
www.marlanasemenza.com
Audio : Ariza Music Productions
Transcription : Vision In Word
Marlana:
miss North Carolina for America 2022 on air TV news, journalist, entrepreneur. These are just some of the accomplishments of today's guest, Ruby Durham, who has recently left her full-time job to pursue her passion for elevating aesthetics. Welcome, Ruby.
Ruby:
Good morning! Thank you for that introduction, I appreciate it.
Marlana:
So first, tell us a little bit, how did you get into being a journalist and on television and all those kinds of things?
Ruby:
Okay, so I went to Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, not too far from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And I was running track there four years. And I started off thinking that I wanted to do, sports physical therapy because I wanted to remain in the sports background and on my own gym for women, have a fitness clothing line, all the hoo-ha under that sports fitness kind of belt under exercise sports science. That was the degree I was taking at the time.
Marlana:
You had to take electives?
Ruby:
Well, one of the electives, it was, public speaking and I remember after my first class, my professor pulled me to the side and she said, I think you should change your major to broadcast journalism. You did so well and I think you need to change your, your major. And so my mom always said, if it makes sense for you, if you can't stop thinking about it, then pursue it.
I ended up pursuing it and it was kind of crazy because as a full-time student athlete, there was really no room for changes. I was going into my junior year and I wanted to graduate on time, but by changing my major, it was likely that I would have to stay a little bit later. And I did not want that to happen. Well, lo and behold, I just had to clock in a whole bunch of extra study hall hours being a student athlete and I had to take 20 credit hour classes, which was beyond crazy being a full-time athlete cuz you're on the road a lot. And so somehow I just made it happen and it was literally a professor just seeing something in me, believing in me, being confident in me, and me just following her intuition and changing my major. So, I ended up changing it.
I got a hold of a teacher or a professor at the time, Kimberly Schumacher, who is still a mentor and a close friend for me today. She was in the business for 20 years. She retired and became a professor for broadcast journalism at the school that I was at the time. And so I just got under her wing and she just helped me create a resume reel while I was in the class. So basically a resume reel is kind of your resume to get a job on tv, but it's more so you being active, showing how you look, how you talk and your storytelling. Well, in the class we would build them and learn how to write for news and web. But on the side she saw so much potential in me. On the weekends, me and this professor would go out and she would tell me to look at the news and, and watch stories that I like.
And we would try to go find those same locations that the reporters would be at and we would wreck, we would create my reel based on what was timely in the news at that point. So let's say a reporter was at this fire that happened at this local restaurant. Well, she would tell me to watch it. We would go to the local restaurant and I would just remake the broadcast, but it would be me. And that's how I created my reel to get an internship. I couldn't do the internship during college because I was so busy with Trag. So, immediately after I graduated, I got an internship. Did that for about three months and then I got my first job on air. So that's how it kind of let up. Long story short.
Marlana:
So let me ask you this, what was it like the first time you were on air?
Ruby:
It was very nerve wracking because you know, you are practicing for that moment. You are working and interning and shadowing for that moment. I believe it was, if I can remember correctly, it was very nerve wracking, but at the same time I knew I was in the right place.
Marlana:
Yeah, I get that. So what do you think you learned from your years in tv?
Ruby:
Oh, so much. I don't even know where to start. Time management, working on a deadline, getting things done right then and there. Because when you're in TV news, you turn a story every day. So there's no pushing it off or waiting unless it's a longer story, there's no pushing it off or waiting. You have to get it done because you're already in your mind mentally preparing for the next day, which is an entire new story, an entire list of contacts that you're reaching out to get the story done. Because once you turn on the air and you see reporters, you don't want the anchor toss to you when they say, now we're gonna bring in reporter Ruby Durham for this story. You don't want it to go black. You want to have your stuff submitted. You want to time manage to be able to figure out what that story is.
Go find the right people to interview, go get certain shots that help tell the story. So if we're at a restaurant, we're uh, interviewing the restaurant owner, we need to talk to the restaurant owner. And then when you also need to get permission to get video inside the restaurant to see what we're hearing. But you have to do this in a short amount of time to get it on air that same day most times. So that's why I say time management, working on a deadline, communicating, working with different resources and figuring out how to put the entire puzzle piece together. And then storytelling, writing, speaking, figuring out how to take sometimes a complex story and breaking it all the way down so someone be able to understand and learn or it will make an impact or help someone figure out, okay, I needed to learn that.
I need to learn where to go get my taxes done at. Or this is the deadline. Okay, now this is the next question that I have, or this is the next step I need to take. But we have to dumb it down as a way so you can understand and then go do it. And not dumb it down so to speak, but put it in layman's terms, right? So you able to take what you're hearing and then go do it. Because at the end of the day, we're messengers. We're messengers for the public to be able to get something across. I go back to the word impact or let someone know, hey, this person is serving in the community, this is how you can help or this is how you can get involved. There's so many different tiers in the news, but I can go all day on what I learned. But really just sticking with the outline of the day each and every day to get work done. And then being in the community, cuz it's really not all about being a face. It's not all about telling a story. It is, you know, showing people that you're human, this is your job, but you know, you have a smiling face, you have a good heart, and you're just wanting to use their platform to help someone else.
Marlana:
I would think that it also elevated your people skills.
Ruby:
Oh, for sure. Yeah. I remember one time, one of my assignments, I had to go do a door knock. So a door knock is where you literally drive up to someone's home because it's a story that you're trying to get the interview, you're trying to get the interview, that person is the person you need to get an interview, but it's likely they might not answer the phone. So, you have to go do a door knock. And at that moment, I remember Ruby, you have to put all your everything aside and go do it. So I do label myself sometimes as a daredevil, a go-getter because the news just taught me, you gotta go get it. There's no other way you gotta go get it. You gotta come back with something.
Marlana:
Yeah. It seems like you enjoy having multiple things going on at once.
Ruby:
I do. I grew up, my mom, single parent, low income area. We didn't have money. We didn't have money at all, but she had time, time to put into to whatever, whatever I wanted to do. So for example, I remember I was switching school districts from sixth to seventh grade and I remember her telling me, try out for every sport, just try out for every sport to see what you're good at. And so, I still lead with that today. I wanna do everything. I wanna try everything to see what I'm good at because then I can see what I like, what I don't like, what I'm good at, what I'm not good at. So, I think the news was actually such a great fit because it allowed me to do so many different things, meet so many different people, go to so many different places and learn about myself too.
What I can accomplish, what I can, how I can really take myself to the limits, what I may need to back up off on because I know that's really not me. It just taught me so many things. But I go back to just growing up and just putting myself in, in so many spaces, always being active, always just leading with my heart, leading with my mind and going after it. So, I always said I wanted five kids. If the Lord blesses me with five kids, it'll happen. But I say that to say I have patience and I'm very calm when there's a lot of things going around. I'm not calm when there's nothing going on. So, I invest when there is chaos. And because I am the most calm person, I work really well under pressure and I'm pretty sure that came from the news too. But hopefully one day we'll see if, we'll see if my words match <laugh>, match my match, what I'm dreaming about. But I am definitely the put me in, give me the most task because I can figure it out. I can weave through the mess.
Marlana:
So, things change for you in 2020. Tell us how,
Ruby:
Okay, so 2020, the pandemic things changed and everybody has a story. You know, I decided I wanna work from home. I decided that I wanna quit my job. I decided I wanna spend more time with my kids. A lot of people had different stories and I was able to witness that through being on the news. But it impacted me because at the time at the news station, I was a traffic reporter. So, during the pandemic, during quarantine, we were all sent home. Nobody was frozen. So my time on the news at for a short period of time, thank the Lord, I was still getting paid 40 hours a week. I was still getting paid. So that didn't change. But my time, my workload did change because I wasn't necessarily needed as much, but at the same time, I wasn't needed as much.
My bosses were trying to figure out, okay, what else can we, how else can we use her time? But that wasn't an overnight thing. So I remember working from home and I would turn on my TV and I would put the station logo in the back and I would set up light and I would turn on my phone as if like you're FaceTiming people. But I would FaceTime the station and they would take that live. So I worked from home for about a year, but during the time I was only doing traffic. I would sign in about 4 45 in the morning, cuz the show was from five to seven. I would sign in about 4 45, I would talk about the traffic that was on the roads. It wasn't anything at all. But I was still, you know, I still had a job to do even though things were different until we figured out how to pivot.
So, I would sign out about seven o'clock and that was it. So, from 4:45 AM to seven o'clock, I was on the news. And then I would have the rest of the day because I didn't have another assignment at that time. Eventually I started doing stories that were called Reasons to Smile. So basically bringing stories that are gonna uplift people during these crazy times where we don't know what's gonna happen day after day. But before we got to that segment, I was just at home. So I remember my sister, she is a massage therapist, but at that time she stopped working because at that time you can't, business were closing. That was physical touch. So that was not okay during Covid. So a lot of people around me were either losing their jobs, their jobs were letting them go. And so in the back of my mind I said, okay Ruby, you have all this time at home.
What if you lost your job? What if you know, you get, you have your furlough and you don't go back because of the pandemic. Everything was an unknown. So I said, okay, what can I do to make money? When I started out on the news, I had to transition from being a college athlete to having to dress up every day and be this face. And not saying that it's all glitz and glamor, but it was a transition from wearing tracksuits every day to being on live TV every day. So I remember one day my boss, came in, brought me into the office. She said, Ruby, you have it. You have what we need on tv. You have everything but your look. We need you to, we need brighter colors, we need you to dress it up a little bit more.
You just looking a little plain. And while some people would take offense to that, I actually was like, I thought it was a challenge, like, okay, I'm gonna find the best stuff. Obviously money was not, I didn't have all the money at that time. Cause when you start off in news, you definitely don't make all the money in the world. You have to grow to that. So I was trying to find really nice outfits that would I guess fit my budget at the time. But I couldn't really find anything. I grew up watching the nanny. I love, I would say if I had a celebrity that I would take their wardrobe, it would be Nanny Fine or Olivia Polk. But I couldn't find anything at that time that would fit my budget. So I said, you know what, one day I'm gonna start a clothing line for women and I'm gonna have all everything, just everything.
And so I went back to that thought process during the pandemic, but that didn't make sense because people are working from home. Who's gonna buy a dress to sit in their living room or their kitchen, their makeshift office. Who's gonna buy all these glamorous things or, or just anything right now when it comes to not being just comfortable. So I said, okay, well what can I do to build the business but then also make money to invest in it? So, I love organizing pantries. Just anything of which you can think. I love organizing. I love interior design. I love everything home because at the end of the day, while I can be in the most chaotic spaces, I'm a homebody at heart. So, but I love to be comfortable and relaxed in my home and I like it to have a system. So one of my family members said, Hey, come up to Raleigh and organize my pantry for me.
Just organize the pantry, my whole kitchen actually. So when I did it, I said, Ooh, I love doing this. Maybe I can make money, you know, doing this, you know, as a side hustle and save that money as a way to invest in my clothing line. So when this pandemic is done, I can launch my clothing line. I can still do it cuz it made sense. Like I'm on the news. I always get compliments on what I'm wearing. And so it was just kind of like full circle for me to do it with the platform that I had. It just made so much sense. So long story short and, posting pantries, closets, cabinets, all of the above that I'm reorganizing and a lot of people would give me great feedback. So much feedback to the point where I end up getting a mentor through Score.
Charlotte's for Charlotte is a free business center here in the area and they offer business workshops, mentors, just all types of resources to give you a business outline, figure out how to form A L C, register your business, really go full throttle with learning how to build a brand. And so, I ended up reaching out to score. They paired me with a lady now that I've been working with for a year and a half called Susan Z. Brennan. She was in commercial real estate for a number of years and she is now retired and mentoring people like me who are trying to start businesses. So I ended up taking a small, uh, side hustle and because I started getting people asking me to come to their homes that I, I only would go to people homes that I knew, like word of mouth or referrals.
I still stay true to, I'm a face on the tv, so I'm not trying to do just anything, go into anyone's home. So I still try to remain exclusive in that part, but it started to pick up. So, I ended up creating a business outta that. It's called, my brand is called House of Red, house of Red Tears off now to the Aesthetic by Red. The aesthetic by red is all interior design professional organizing consultations. And then during that time I was just building what would my clothing line look like? Where am I sourcing the, this inventory from? Where am I handpicking the best of the best? So, I was just doing that groundwork while doing projects. My dad is a general contractor here in the Charlotte area. So that was a good, it was a good stepping stone because I already had people that I trusted and he had a team that, Hey, I need this bed put together cause I'm redesigning this kid's room.
Or hey, I need to this paint. I already had a list of contacts for the interior design side. So, it merged very easily. So pandemic, we started to come outta the pandemic. I started to inch closer to moving to how can I really launch this clothing line but also remain doing interior design and professional organizing consultations. Cause I didn't mean to do two businesses. It’s kind of just fell in my lap and I ran with it. And here we are in 2022 and I just launched a month ago, my clothing line for women, the suited by red. And I am just so excited to continue to learn and to continue to dress women and figure out how to go big because it's been inside of me for the longest time. And so now that it's finally here, it's just, okay, I decided to put the news behind and go full 100% entrepreneurship because it needs my time, it needs all of my time so I can build it to the best way it can and be built.
Marlana:
Now first, because I think it's important, explain to everybody what's red.
Ruby:
So Red is actually my family nickname. My full name is Ruby Elizabeth Durham. And I have two Ruby's in my family. My grandmother's name was Ruby. I have an aunt named Ruby. And so I, they just formed this nickname for me when I was younger. And it's always stuck with me. So if I hear somebody say Ruby in my family, that means they're trying to get my attention in a serious way. They all call me red. And it's kind of like my alter ego as well because it just takes me back to my childhood, the things that I had dreams of wanting to do, wanting to be so, and it's a bold color. It's bold, it's sassy, it's fierce, it's confident. If you see a woman walking into a restaurant with all red, I'm pretty sure you are gonna stop and look. That's how I want people to feel when they wear my dress. I want you to feel confident, I want you to feel bold. I want you to feel like you are gonna get the job done the best way and you're gonna look good while doing it. Because when you feel good, when you look good, you're gonna do good. And that's kind of the message behind my brand, but it's also me.
Marlana:
So what would you like to see happen for this brand?
Ruby:
That's a great question. And every day I think about how can I expand my thought process and really think big. I want every woman in the world to wanna wear my clothes. I want magazines to want my dress on their specific person on the front cover of their magazine. I want fashion shows to be able to want me to have models in my dresses. I want it to also give back. I want my business to be able to one day fund a young girl who is starting a business. It doesn't have to be closed. Just starting a business who is trying to figure out who is wanting to go into entrepreneurship at a young age, because I'm figuring it out. I'm in my twenties and I'm figuring it out. But there are young girls who are out there who are, making lemonade to make money, who are selling jewelry, baking cakes.
And I met a lot of these girls, younger girls through the news and it just inspired me because it's like, wow, when I was younger I was not thinking of a business. And in my twenties now it's like kind of chaotic and you were trying to do this and you were in middle school or you were in high school. So I want my brand to be able to give back to young girls who are taking a leap of faith and they don't even realize it. They don't realize it or are stepping out and, and putting themselves in a different lane while going to school. So I see it so many different ways, but definitely wanting to give back to young girls who are going after it. Cuz I love the grind. I love that hustle and it inspires me to keep going because I know there will be people who look up to me and hear my story and say, she took the leap of faith, she went after it and she succeeded. So, I wanna help other girls do that too.
Marlana:
It seems that you have had a lot of great mentors and mentorship has been a major piece of your story. Do you see that in your future as well to pay it forward?
Ruby:
Oh yes. I have to. The way Susan z running from score, I didn't know what to expect. Long story short, I was actually taking therapy. I was taking therapy during the pandemic because mental health is everything and my mental health was not okay during that time. And it was during some of those therapy lesson, sessions that my therapist, she was just talking to me and I was telling her about the business and she is actually the one who referred me, Ruby, go, there's business centers in Charlotte. Go look at that. And so that's kind of what really led me to score. And I didn't have an expectation. I just know if someone refers me to something, and again, I go back to if I can't stop thinking about it or if it makes sense, I'm gonna pursue it. So, I get a lot of confidence from my mentor.
I get a lot of drive from my mentor direction organization. I get a lot of questions answered. And I would recommend someone who is starting out in business or even if you were decades in business, I'm pretty sure Oprah Winfrey has mentors, you know, so I am so thankful that I just leaned in, I leaned in during those therapy sessions and not only took what we were talking about personally, but also, you know, business side and following with these directions. I I'm, I'm a person who, I can go after it myself. I'm very self-sufficient, but I do take direction and I take control of criticism and I listen. And so because of that, I would love to mentor someone one day because I just know the impact that it has on me. And I don't ever wanna let my mentors go. At this point in my life, I talk to my mentors more than I probably talk to my best friends.
And it sounds kind of crazy to me because I mean, my best friends are my best friends, but my mentors are just so pivotal in my life right now. I feel like I'm in a transition and if I didn't have my mentors, I would probably still take the leap of faith. But it's a little bit easier when you have someone who's done it, who's made mistakes. They're not telling you all the answers, they're letting you make mistakes. But I love the fact that I can call and say, Hey, I did this or I accomplished this, or vulnerable and say, Hey, my mind is all over the place. I don't know what I'm doing. And it is just that moment where they ground you, they give you a little balance to be able to get through the next day or the next week or a plan.
So I have to, there's no other way. Like I have to be a mentor to someone and hopefully that can come along with me wanting to give back, to young girls who are trying to start a business or mentor in a way where I'm still figuring it out. I don't have all the answers, but as I get more experience under my belt, I can create some sort of system where I'm telling someone who's trying to start out exactly what I did. And that's even going back to therapy, that's going back to having your mental on a certain page, having people in your corner because it's not all about, ooh, what is this color for the brand or what is this piece of fabric? It really goes back to just having people having relationships and connections. So I definitely have to be a mentor one day and I, and I will be, I will be.
Marlana:
So what would you say to that young girl who is, or any girl, anybody really who is looking to make a leap, whether it be to change a major or to um, pursue something that is a passion of theirs or to start a business. What would you say to them?
Ruby:
I would say make sure that you are in a space where it's you making the decision. I always tell people, I found myself at one point asking should I, should I, should I to so many different people to where that clouded my judgment even more. So I think first being very still and being with yourself and really deciding, is this what I want to do? Is this really what I wanna do? Because when those, when it gets hard, when it gets lonely or when it gets kind of like you're second guessing, it's you, it's not all those people around you that you ask that are gonna be there. So that's number one. Make sure it's for you, it's a decision that you made. And then after that, do it. Do it. And make sure that you have people in your corner that are gonna support you.
And I'm not saying support you by buying your stuff, support you. Like that mentor who is going to be able to answer that call when you're, Hey, I don't know how to make this judgment call. What is some suggestions that you have or just to give you balance or to give you the confidence that you may need to get through that day. So those are the three things I would say. Make sure that it's a decision that is yours and make sure that you just have that grit inside of you to do it because you don't wanna think about it. I'm a thinker and so if, because I'm a thinker, I don't wanna think so much on something that I regret not doing it. So just do it. If it's in your heart, if it's in your mind, if it's in your dreams, if it's something that you clearly see is coming full circle, do it. And then have people in your corner that can help you adjust, pivot, make a decision, help you figure out how to decision make on your own because you're not gonna have that person all the time. But it can just be that foundation to help you figure it out through the process to where you kind of take your hand away. But you have so much wisdom and so much, uh, communication with a person where you trust yourself a hundred percent.
Marlana:
Love that. And with that, Ruby, I just have four final questions for you. First one is, what's the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Ruby:
Let me think. Cause I've gotten a lot. Let me think. A fail to plan is a plan to fail.
Marlana:
Love it. Share with us one thing on your bucket list.
Ruby:
I wanna go skydiving.
Marlana:
I do have to say that always, you are not the only person to say something along those lines. It baffles me why anybody wants to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
Ruby:
I mean, it baffles me too. It kinda like scares me and I told someone, I tell everybody that I don't care who I'm going with. I'm going to be extra. I'm gonna do the most. So, I'm preparing whoever that I'm gonna be extra, but I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna be so extra. And I just think I, why not? I have friends who've done it and they're like, you gotta do it. And not saying that I would do it just because they've done it, but I'm just a person that will just do it and we'll just go for it. And I think later, I definitely do and think about it later, uh, I do and ask permission or ask for forgiveness later. So I think it's just something to where I would definitely say a thousand prayers before I did it, but I would just want to release, I would look at it as like a release, not just, oh, I was skydiving, but an experience and a release and just shoot. If I can skydive, what else can I do?
Marlana:
That would be true <laugh>. When the toy companies finally get around to making an action figure of you, what two accessories will come with it?
Ruby:
Ooh, that's a good question. Let's see. Two accessories?
Marlana:
Action. And I do realize who I'm asking. <laugh> <laugh>.
Ruby:
Oh, that's hard. That's a hard question. Can I get an example?
Marlana:
Yeah. Mine for example would probably be a camera and probably a killer pair of shoes.
Ruby:
Ah, okay. Red Nails and a good eyebrow pencil. <laugh>
Marlana:
<laugh>. And the last one. How do people find you and your business?
Ruby:
So my brand is House of Red and House of Red Sells professional organizing consultations and interior design consultations. It is called The Aesthetic by Red. And I also dress women. I suit women for Success. Suited by Red is my clothing line for women. And you can find me on social media Suited by Red. S uited X Red on Instagram and on Facebook and on TikTok. And then House of Red is D House X r e d on Instagram and Facebook and TikTok <laugh>. So I'm definitely promoting that red brand because again, it is me personally and it's an aesthetic. It's bold in itself. So it has a lot of different meanings, but one in itself is that, it's quality, it is modern, clean, and it's gonna be seen everywhere one day. We're manifesting it now with my Red Nails <laugh>,
Marlana:
And I can't wait for all of that to happen for you. Thank you so very much for being here, Ruby.
Ruby:
Thank you.