Happy New Year, my friend!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season!  Here we are at another year which means we get a fresh start.  

The first thing I would like to do is to say thank you.  Thank you for being here and supporting my small business.  When I started Back to the South Bling almost 2 years ago, I never imagined all of the love, support, and amazing friendships I’d receive and find.

Supporting a small business doesn’t always have to be monetary.  Liking a post, sharing a post, sending an encouraging email are all support and mean so much!

You taught me a lot in 2021.  If you’re a member of the Sparkle List, I sent out a survey several months ago to get feedback and to learn more about you.  To those who filled out the survey, thank you so much because you are the reason for the many changes that are coming to Back to the South Bling this year.  If we’ve had a chance to talk at a market, thank you because you gave me some great feedback and ideas also.

So what’s coming in 2022?

You’ve known Back to the South Bling as a business that specializes in bling drinkware and cigar accessories.  Over the next few months, you will see that I will carry more than just drinkware, but of course, it will have bling!  Every girl deserves to sparkle and feel special, that will never go away!  But, I want to bring sparkle to you in other ways!

You will see bling T-shirts and tank tops (yes, you can wash them in the washing machine, but hand wash is highly recommended), accessories, and a revamped bridal collection as this is going to be a large part of Back to the South Bling this year.  

You may wonder why weddings?  Before E (my husband) and I moved to Raleigh in 2016, I owned a wedding and event planning company called Heels Above Weddings and Events.  I always knew I would return to the wedding industry, but I just wasn’t sure in what capacity.  During Q4 of last year, as I thought about where I wanted to take BTTS Bling, weddings were on the list.  Even to this day, I keep up with the latest trends and happenings with weddings and I’m so excited to return to this space!

One of the questions I’m often asked about bling drinkware is, “Is this dishwasher safe?”  Of course, the answer is no, but it also made me start thinking about creating drinkware that was fun and beautiful but is also dishwasher safe.  

Later this month, I will introduce a new line of cups and mugs that are stainless steel with fun and sassy designs, that are dishwasher safe.  Yes, you read that right!  I’m super excited about these cups and will begin adding them to the website with the small Valentin’s Day collection that will come out next week.

If you’re local to the Raleigh-Durham area, this year I will teach crafting classes at different venues in the area.  If you aren’t already a part of the Sparkle List (the Back to the South Bling email list), sign up if you’re interested in classes because they always know about classes before anyone else.  I keep the classes small so that I can give you more attention.  

As you can see, there is going to be a lot going on this year and this is because of you.  Thank you for being here, thank you for your support, thank you for your encouragement, thank you for your feedback, and thank you for helping me grow, and most importantly, thank you for helping me live my dream and grow closer to one day having a brick and mortar store.

That’s it for now.  

Keep shining that light, my friend!