2023 has been a whirlwind year for us all. King Charles celebrated his coronation, “Barbenheimer” saw people return to the movie theatres in their hoards and Taylor Swift reported the highest grossing music tour the world has ever seen, single-handedly boosting the U.S. economy!
But here at SH, we’ve had one of our most exciting years yet. Travelling the world, tweaking our bestsellers and expanding into America! Take a moment this holiday season to reminisce our fabulous year as we look back on all we have achieved.
Defining our Range
We kicked off the year with some changes to our most loved handbag, Dahlia. Swapping poppers for interior snap hooks was a well-received design change, giving the Dahlia extra security and a more sleek finish when worn in her expanded shape.
We also introduced a new, satchel style bag, Forget-Me-Not. Recognising the gap in our range for a more relaxed everyday crossbody with a bit more room than the Jasmine, Sarah dreamt up this perfect little satchel. Forget-me-not’s slouchy style has been a huge hit with our customers as well as the fabulous Anthea Turner and Melissa Nicholson of Kettlewell Colours.
Curated Collections
This year saw 5 new capsule collections in our range – more than any year before! We introduced an exquisite navy suede with gold leather for the Kings coronation, a pink mermaid skin for the release of the Barbie movie and our gorgeous Party Animal chromatic leather wowed in the final quarter.
We also welcomed two collections that have been a long time in the making. First, our heritage Tartan Collection joined us in time for St Andrews Day, adding a classic, timeless option to our range. Then we wowed you all with the metallic collection. We know how much you love your metallic Dahlia’s, Mini D’s, Mini P’s and Millie’s, as well as all of the beautiful accessories to be paired with them.
face
Sarah Suffered Jet Lag!
With an invitation to Walpole’s “Art of British Luxury Hospitality” in New York, Sarah started her year off on the right foot. An exceptional institution, it really was an honour to be invited along and see our handbags hold their own among brands like Chanel, Rolex and Rolls Royce.
Later in the year, Sarah and Martina took a trip to our ateliers in Turkey. They confirmed all of our new handbag styles for 2024, as well as all of our new, limited collection leathers… But we can’t tell you much more than that!
SH Steals the Show
It was a year of getting out and about for us all as we took our Joy Bus to shopping events and shows up and down the country. Our team set up at the Wealden Fair (twice!), The Big Christmas Press Show, Postcards from Midlife and Stylist Live. We’ve had a fabulous time introducing new people to our life changing handbags, seeing faces light up as they discover the joy of Sarah Haran.
A Brand Ambassadors Takeover!
With the frequency of shows ramping up, there was no one left at Joy HQ to look after all of you! So along came the launch of our very own Brand Ambassador Team! Jo and her fabulous team of SH enthusiasts took the baton and ran, setting up shop at over 5 shows in just a couple of months.
We Conquered America
Well, not quite, but we did dip our feet in the big pond that is the US. Putting more time into advertising in America has been a huge focus of our year and will continue to be as we move into 2024, so thank you to every US lady who has bought a bag and helped us spread the word.
We Snapped
Photoshoots are always big moments of our year. Ordering the right stock, styling models, arranging venues and putting our faith in the hands of our trusty photographers is a truly wonderful experience as we watch all of our hard work pay off. This year we took our photography to the next level, with Sarah travelling to London for shoots and hiring venues with an evening vibe to really elevate our brand image.
Kettlewell Colours X Sarah Haran
When some of our customers highlighted a mutual love of Kettlewell Colours and Sarah Haran, we knew a collab had to happen! We released a limited run of Jasmines, one for each “season”, handpicked by Melissa, and paired them with a matching Ivy for a complete look. This collaboration was so much fun, and make sure you look out for more SH X KC content in the new year.
HQ became a Festive Emporium
We hosted our first ever Festive Emporium right here at Joy HQ. Sure to become an annual do, we were joined by over 20 female founded local brands, each one perfect for Christmas gifting. TV’s John Amabile MCed the evening and we raised a great sum for Smartworks Scotland.
Visits to the VIPs!
The highlight of every year is getting to see our incredible VIP’s as often as we possibly can. We’ve welcomed familiar faces into our offices and seen a few of you pop up at our shows down south. But the best day of the year is undoubtably our annual VIP Christmas party! This year we were joined by Anthea Turner for the first time, and the lovely Michelle from Two Women Chatting popped along too.
Its been a crazy year, made special by our fabulous Joy Squad. We already have so much in store for the coming year, but we’ll need to keep that a secret for now! Thank you so much to everyone who has helped us get this far, we really do love and appreciate every one of you.
Here’s to 2024!
Congratulations Sarah and all the amazing team at Joy HQ – because I don’t want to miss anyone out, I hope you won’t mind the collective term!! Another year of fabulousness, another year of great friendship through the BOJ club – one of your best inspirations, in my opinion – and another year of celebrating beautiful bags. I am sure I am not alone in having given bags and scarves to friends and relations in the US and Australia and they have been very well received, so I have every confidence in your brand becoming a global phenomenon. I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us all in 2024.
Thank you Sarah and Team as after reading that amazing Blog about 2023 I can only tell you how I am looking forward to seeing, hearing, watching, feeling, giggling and being overwhelmed by the gorgeous Sarah Haran’s new bags and assessories for her BOJ ladies in 2024 💖💞💕 xx
Leave a comment