Year two has been such an exciting and prolific one for us over at Tchoup Industries.

In 2014, at a glance…

We added 10 new products to our line!

This includes the Nutria Le Tour purse, the Fanny Pack, the Flora & Fauna Bandana, the Trace Satchel, the Flap Pack, the Mini Flap Pack, the Flap Messenger, the Woven Tote, the Drink Holder, and the Woven Clutch! (Shop all of our bags on TchoupIndustries.com. We will be restocking now that the holiday rush is behind us.)

We added 3 new employees to our Tchoup Industries design, production, sales, and marketing team.

[From Left: Deja (Sales), Jayke (Cutting & Sewing), Sadie (Sewing), Ursa (Sewing & Illustration), and Patti (Founder & Designer). Not pictured: Rachael (PR)]

[The Tchoup studio, on Bienville Street in the French Quarter, where we handmake each of our bags]

We are now available in 13 stores around the country! We hope to make Tchoup Industries available in your city ASAP.

Louisiana

New Orleans: The Beauty Shop, Branch Out, Dashing NOLA, Defend New Orleans, Friend, IJ Reilly’s, Ogden Museum of Southern Art, SOPO, West Elm New Orleans

Lafayette: Genterie Supply Co., Red Arrow Workshop

 [The Tchoup Industries display at IJ Reilly’s]

Minnesota

Minneapolis: Forage Modern Workshop

North Carolina

Kinston: The Overland Gallery

We were praised by the Shreveport Times, New Orleans Tidbits, Bloodhound, New Orleans Home & Lifestyle, IHeartNola, Invade, Where Magazine, GoNOLA, and Legends Magazine. Check out all of Tchoup’s press on our blog.

And as much as our business flourished this year, we’ve stayed true to our “Raison D’etre“: to support the local Louisiana community, economy, and environment. So…

We sponsored the LifeCity/StayLocal “Small Business Saturday Kickoff Party” in support of shopping from local, New Orleans business owners during the holiday season. P.S. Tchoup is proud to be a Certified Green LifeCity business!

We made upcycled Rice Zipper Pouches (from recycled rice bags) and eco-conscious Nutria Zipper Pouches (with genuine nutria fur) for the 2015 ZomBeads recyclable Mardi Gras throw line. Learn more and order guilt-free throws, including ours, for your parade Krewe here.

We showcased in Righteous Fur’s NUTRIA-PALOOZA fundraiser in Lafayette. The event featured local designers who use nutria fur, with a unified mission to save our shrinking wetlands. Righteous Fur was able to raise $1500 for The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana.

And speaking of nutria, we launched the Nutria Le Tour nutria fur purse, in an effort to protect our wetlands from those invasive swamp rats. We donate 20% of the purchase of each nutria purse to the Gulf Restoration Network. In 2014, we are proud to have donated over $600 to G.R.N. through these sales! Purchase your own here.

We want to thank each of you for shopping locally, sustainably, and handmade with Tchoup this year. We would not be growing without your love and support! We have some very exciting developments and new designs in the works for 2015, including a BIG announcement coming in mid-January…

Stay tuned through our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and by signing up for our monthly E-Letter.

Happy New Year, y’all!