1 of 5
Photos courtesy Rue Handmade
2 of 5
Photos courtesy Rue Handmade
3 of 5
Photos courtesy Rue Handmade
4 of 5
Photos courtesy Rue Handmade
5 of 5
Photos courtesy Rue Handmade
“I just want to constantly be creating,” says Kimberly Reist of Rue Handmade, her line of handmade embroidery. Reist explains that she has always been creative and that she has done a lot of different types of art. “It’s always been something that was part of my life,” she says.
Reist was into knitting for a long time, until about a year ago, when she taught herself how to embroider. She first picked up the needle and thread when she made some embroidery hoops for an adoption fundraiser she was having (Reist and her husband recently adopted a baby). “It felt like a natural progression that I wanted to try,” says Reist. By April, she felt like she had enough pieces of embroidery that she wanted to see if people would like to buy them. Turns out, people really like this old fashioned art form.
When asked where she gets her inspiration for her projects, Reist explains that she pulls from different places. She takes a lot of creativity from nature, often going to Longwood Gardens to find inspiration for flowers or other pieces of wildlife to embroider. Reist also uses personal stories, who she is, and ideas of the world around her as inspiration as well.
Her father’s parents are Amish and her mother’s parents are Mennonite. Reist used her heritage as a theme for her September Collection of embroidery hoops. She focused on Lancaster and the things that have shaped her, such as Amish sayings and other PA Dutch imagery. Lately, Reist has been thinking ahead to create monthly collections, despite sometimes letting loose and seeing where her needle takes her. She was excited for fall to get here, so Reist’s October Collection was autumnal themed, with burnt oranges, warm reds, and fall florals. She is likely to do a Christmas Collection, as well.
Reist is big on making designs that are uniquely her own and nobody else’s. “It’s sort of like creating a piece of art every time I start,” she explains, “and each time, I want it to be original.” She tries not to take inspiration from online because she wants it to truly come from her imagination. Reist says it might surprise people how long it takes to make one hoop. On average, it takes about three to four days, and two to three hours on each of those days, to finish one embroidery hoop. Reist will start with brainstorming ideas of what she wants to make, and then she sketches it out if she needs to. Sometimes she will just start stitching, which she says can take a while.
As for the name Rue Handmade, Reist is an avid traveler and rue is French for street or road. She spent some time living in Greece and Belgium, stating, “I have been shaped by the places I’ve been.” Her brand’s name is the idea of exploration and the avenue to which her art takes her.
Reist is learning how to share her art with the world and she is branching out by participating in local craft fairs. Reist is excited to meet people in person to share her embroidery.
Reist appreciates when the world celebrates makers and the work that goes into creating art, especially when we live in a society with so many mass-market products. “People love handmade products,” Reist says; “I love the world that we live in.”
Rue Handmade
To see more, follow Rue Handmade on Instagram @ruehandmade
