As we look back over the highlights of 2016, we feel so blessed. We have grown and expanded our borders in ways we never expected. Folks who support our brand have been so instrumental in helping us define it — from influencing new bag designs and building a new website, to signing a contract for New York Fashion week.

Thank you for being here.

Honestly, Urban Southern wouldn’t be a company or even a brand without your support. Whether you’ve been following and supporting our journey from the beginning or whether this is the first time you visited our website, we thank you for being here.

The first new design of 2016: The Crossbody Wallet

The crossbody wallet has been the single hottest seller of 2016.

We drew inspiration from the simple sophistication of the leather itself for this leather crossbody wallet. The raw look of our full grain leather is showcased in a relatable way with it’s easy, everyday functionality.

It swings easily over your shoulder and carries comfortably at your side all day long. It’s light and effortless style compliments many outfit styles for every occasion. Simply remove the strap and hold it in your hand to go from day to evening.

It’s all you need. Honestly!

A New Website Launch

Before:

After:

Behind the scenes:

The day our new website launched, we were laughing and tearing up all at once.

Maybe it was because of all the sweat and tears we poured into it and the big risks we took when we decided to work together. Maybe it’s because we never wanted anything to work so much before in our lives. Maybe it’s because we were so nervous to find out whether our new website would work well since we only had three weeks to have it built. Had we thought of everything? Had we rushed everything along too quickly?

Websites seem to be a dime a dozen these days. We wanted a website that would be meaningful, yet simple.

We love our leather bags, but we weren’t satisfied with just a list of products on a page. We dreamed about a comfortable, trustworthy online experience that could feel like a warm, sunlit shop where a girl finds her new favorite fashion accessory.

Now here we are, with a new beginning and a new website to move forward with. We are actually doing this.

There is something special and beautiful about the raw imperfections of a new business that we are embracing as we grow.

There really is no such thing as “perfect”. No matter what you are doing, you’ll always find an area that could be improved upon. Here at Urban Southern, we walk the fine line of giving everything our very best efforts and talent without allowing perfection to be the enemy of our progress.

So far we’ve received so much positive feedback about our new website. As technology goes, we have the occasional kinks to straighten out. Your feedback has been invaluable to us as we target what we need to work on next!

Tap here to contact us anytime.

Another New Product Launch: The Half Moon Crossbody Bag

Along with the new website launch, Urban Southern launched a new bag design — the Half Moon Crossbody bag.

We love the clean design of this medium sized handbag so much, we decided to launch it in two different leather options: classic brown saddle leather and a taupe-colored greige military boot leather.

Tap here to learn more about designing this bag.

Tap here to shop the Half Moon Crossbody Bag

A New Tote Design for Our Holiday Special: The Mini Market Tote

When Regina had the Mini Market Tote idea, we were beside ourselves with excitement. Not only did our daughters love this mini tote, but many others did as well. Our first video upload of the Mini Market Tote on Facebook was our first “sort of viral video”, garnering over 9.5k views!

The mini market tote turned out to be the biggest seller of the season! It won’t be available after December 31st, but watch for a possible restocking of this popular tote later in 2017.

Tap here to shop the Mini Market Tote.

Made South Holiday Market Highlights

Friendly southerners, 100 layer donuts, Forest Gump and buttery leather bags — what more does a girl need?

Besides working hard and selling more Urban Southern bags in a single weekend than we have had to date, we had a lot of fun hanging out with each other. We’ve been working in this business remotely, so we jumped at the chance to work side by side.

3 Top Shared Blog Posts of the Year

We compiled how-to fashion tips and wrote about our obsession with leather bags and you shared our posts a lot — in fact, you shared our news stories a total of 604 times since our website launch mid-October.

1. →How to Dress Chic for Your Holiday Party (133 Shares)
2. →Five Fun Tips for Working Remotely The Everyday Way (47 shares)
3. →What to Look for in the Ultimate Leather Laptop Messenger Bag (41 shares)

Urban Southern Goes to Tokyo

Tokyo — with its sunlit cafes, bizarre fashion trends, interesting food, and exotic gardens — what better city could a young creative woman get lost in?

When I (Meg) had the chance to spend the holidays abroad in Tokyo, Japan, I took the opportunity to take our Urban Southern bags and introduce them to connections in Japan.

Urban Southern will be in Tokyo until the first week of January, 2017.

Follow our Instagram stories each day to watch new adventures.

Looking ahead to 2017

Urban Southern is going to New York Fashion Week

The day before Meg flew to Tokyo, we were invited to New York Fashion Week. At first we were positive it had to be a spam email, but after some research and further communication we found out that we legitimately had the opportunity of a lifetime. Participation in NYFW happens by invitation only and we were excited but nervous.

As of today, it’s official. Urban Southern is going to New York Fashion Week Spring 2017 as an accessories designer!
Who knew that two Amish toddlers would grow up and debut a leather bag line at New York Fashion Week? Certainly not us.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram as we get ready for this event!

Blog Posts in Our Queue

Our goal for our website has been that it will be more than a list of products. We want it to feel comfortable.

As we plan new posts for our news page, our goal is that this will be your go-to guide for every day style tips with dashes of humor and recipes thrown in.

Coming soon:

→ New how-to style posts with local stylists — Contact us if you would like to collaborate with us.
→ More of Regina’s mouth watering recipes
→ Inside the Fashionable Lives of Urban Southern’s Two Power Moms — this is a special collaboration article where we’ll share our daily routines and how we balance mothering while running a business. Here’s a secret: we’re still figuring it all out.

We want to hear from you!

What are you hoping to see from Urban Southern in 2017? What are your favorite moments from your year?

Leave a comment below!

The post Looking Back: the 6 Best Highlights of 2016 appeared first on Urban Southern.