The first time Kate Nunnally craned her neck out of a New York City taxi and couldn't find the tops of the buildings, something in her clicked. She'd grown up in a small Alabama town where big concerts were a three-hour drive and opportunity came in familiar shapes. New York, with its vapor trails of ambition and windows stacked to the clouds, cracked her bubble in an instant. It wasn't just the skyline; it was the feeling that the world could be so much bigger than what you can see from the porch. That awe – the sensation of life stretching beyond its frame – has a way of staying with a person. In Kate's case, it became the inspiration for a brand.

Montemaré, her line of handbags and travel accessories, emerged from that wide-eyed beginning and the practical, hard-won knowledge she gathered along the way. It's also, quite literally, stitched with a reminder to stay curious: a vivid orange thread crossing each piece like a heartbeat—what she calls the Journey Line. Anchored between two grommets—departure and destination—the line inspired runs bright, a note to your future self that the treasure is in the going.