Upscale handbag designer is moving its headquarters to Bluffton and plans to add jobs

Popular handbag designer Spartina 449 announced Monday it is moving its headquarters to 10 Buck Island Road, Bluffton.

The Lowcountry-inspired brand, known nationally for its colorful patterns and coastal chic designs, is leasing 40,000 square feet of warehouse and office space at The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette building.

Both newspapers will continue to operate from their Buck Island Road location.

The handbag designer, an Inc. 5000 fast-growing company, got its start on Daufuskie Island in 2009 and employs 79 people in Beaufort County, according to a news release from the company. The move is expected to bring 15 new jobs to the area.

"We’re very pleased to keep all of our employees local as we make this transition to a larger facility,” Spartina 449 president Curt Seymour said in the release. “Spartina 449 has so many loyal fans in the area and it supports our brand to remain rooted here."

Spartina 449 is available in more than 1,500 specialty retailers nationwide, according to the release. This is in addition to its eight retail locations, on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton, Savannah, Pooler, Charleston and Highlands, N.C.