"We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Mitchell and we’ve shared our conversation below.
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Who else deserves some credit and recognition? From an idea to product development, a big shout out to Nikko Liwag, Urbane’s brand photographer, who has visually developed the mood and tone of what it means to “Be Urbane.” If you scroll to the bottom of @theurbanetraveler Instagram page, you will see when we had no products to our first duffel bag set and how our brand aesthetic developed. I’m genuinely grateful for Nick’s loyalty and creative genius as I grow this business.
Throughout this journey, I was blessed to have a strong creative group of friends and family who were able to help me bring my product visuals to life(with Nick). My models/actors such as Courtney Williams, Diana Vergara, Frank Lagmay, Fray Forde, and Catherine Dee Holly. My creative writers and team, Michelle Thomas, NyAsia Burris, and Sydney Sweeny, and production designer Lorr Volatier. Each person listed and many more have kept me focused and collaborated their genius with what we have today.
I also want to give a shoutout to one of my recent mentors, TJ Walker, Co-founder of Cross Colors and president of LATTC Industrial Hemp Alliance. Before the pandemic shutdown, TJ sat down to analyze my current work and strategize new ways to scale within the hemp industry. Our conversation opened my eyes and motivated me to keep going to become a pioneer.
And, I want to give the biggest shoutout to my Urbane customers as they have endlessly supported us during the pandemic. They helped market our products, wrote reviews and feedback, and tagged us in their photos which profoundly helped positioned our brand to scale and comfortably launch new products this season! The amount of love and support that surrounds Urbane Luggage is humbly the greatest reward I received yet.