Salute to Spouses Blog

We're excited to be blogging about the latest topics in military life. We want to keep you informed on topics such as current events, education, career advice, etc. Feel free to post comments or questions to any of our entries.
Shop Local, Buy From Military Spouses

This holiday season, shop local.

And by that, I mean support military spouse small business owners. The best part is, that makes the entire world local.

Start by visiting your local installation. Many have craft shops where spouses and military members have handmade artwork for sale. Often there are military spouse-run gift shops too that carry both local treats and military-themed gifts.

The spouse-operated shop at NAS Pearl Harbor, for example, has fantastic finds for much lower prices than in downtown Honolulu. It was, in fact, one of my favorite places to shop while we were stationed there.  Most of these shops also use part of their profits to fund programs for military families on base. It's a win, win!

Next stop, the internet.

Most military spouses carry their home-grown businesses with them when they PCS which means consumers can buy from them anywhere in the world.

A great place to start is the Red, White & Blue Pages, run by the Military Spouse Business Association. You can search by location or business category and you will find everything from realtors to fashion accessories - all made, sold and managed by military spouses.

Find the page at http://www.redwhiteandbluepages.org/

A Facebook search of military spouse unveils hundreds of pages that spouses have dedicated to their businesses. One of our favorites is Shop Military Spouse Made, a page that culls the information of military spouse crafters and make shopping easy. This group also has a website with a full directory: http://shopmilitaryspousemade.wordpress.com/

At www.etsy.com you will also find thousands of military spouses and their handmade goods. This search takes a little more time, however. Type "military spouse" in the search bar and it will bring up vendors, items, everything military spouse related. If you click on the individual vendor to learn more about them, many of the military-themed items are handcrafted by military spouses.

I just ordered an awesome, handmade yard sign from a Marine Corps spouse in California who I discovered on Etsy. Doing business with her was a breeze. We chatted via email like we knew each other for years.

That is the joy of checking off your holiday to do list by shopping at spouse-run businesses. They know you. They have experienced the same hardships. They  have experienced the same joys. And when you walk into their business you already have a friend.

Shop local this holiday. Support your fellow military spouses!

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