Skip to content
They say you shouldn’t dwell in the past - that you should keep walking your path and not look back. I’m pretty certain that I want 2020 to stay back there in the past! But when it comes to growth, looking back to see what you accomplished and how far you’ve come is so important.
Celebrating your wins is crucial to keep you focused on what matters most to you. 2020 was a tough year in so many ways, but it was also a year of amazing growth for Charliemadison Originals – from national features, to military spouse collaborations, to fun Community events, and support for fellow military families.
When we look back at 2020, our most important accomplishments had nothing to do with making sales or increasing social media metrics. For Charliemadison Originals, our biggest wins were the collaborations we had, the women we were able to serve, and the friends we made along the way.
A Monthly Look Back at What Mattered Most in 2020
JANUARY
We joined Spouse-ly – a virtual marketplace of handmade products and services from military spouses and veterans. Shopping through Spouse-ly is a way for you to support and champion military families seeking income-generating opportunities no matter where the military life takes them.
Mini of the Month: Our Community loved that we featured a special bracelet at a special price each month in 2019, so we mixed it up for 2020 and started the Mini of the Month program. Each month we released a brand-new Mini Bracelet for just $22. They became quite the cult following by the end of 2020 – some months we sold out in just a few hours.
FEBRUARY
Giving back through mentorship: Mentorship is the key to business growth and especially for military spouse entrepreneurs who often struggle with employment from one duty station to the next. I decided to give my time and mentorship to a fellow military spouse entrepreneur through American Corporate Partners (ACP). I know I learned as much about myself as I shared with my mentee.
Went LIVE with Mrs. Navy Mama and her community to share some essential oil tips and tricks to using oils with our essential oil diffuser bracelets.
Collaborated with Daily Mom Military to make Valentine’s Day extra special with a giveaway event featuring nine days of prizes for some lucky readers.
MARCH
Collaborated with InDependent for the third year in a row to create an exclusive bracelet for their annual Wellness Summit – a virtual event promoting rest & rejuvenation. Exclusively for military and first responder spouses--past, present, and future.
The Strength Bracelet is an everyday reminder to take time out to feed all the dimensions of your strength so you can grow a holistic sense of wellness for yourself
APRIL
Collaboration + Giving Back: We reached out to 16 of our Community members and fellow milspouses to create a free 40-page E-Book called “It’s What’s Inside That Matters.” Filled with articles, recipes, book recommendations, blogs, and more – we made this E-book available to our Community and beyond with no strings attached as a way to give back during the COVID quarantine.
Collaborated with Brittany Boccher, the 2017 Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year and her brand, Discovering Your Spark: Find Your Color in a Camouflage World. Together we created the Discovering Your Spark Bracelet - a companion to Brittany's message and workshops that help military spouses reclaim their identity and discover their purpose.
MAY
In support of the law enforcement families in our Community, we released the Love My LEO necklace as a way to honor the service of their LEO heroes.
We proudly sponsored the 2nd annual virtual Police Wife Conference, hosted by the Proud Police Wife and created to support, equip, and encourage police wives and girlfriends.
Collaborated with R.Riveter to create two new bracelets for their Kinship Collection – Catch Me By the Sea and Down to Earth
JUNE
Celebrated our shop’s 5th Anniversary with an amazing event just for our Insiders Group.
JULY
Collaborated with the amazing ladies of Inspire Up Foundation - an organization created by military spouses to empower communities to create a kinder world through education, social services, and volunteer opportunities. We teamed up to create the Inspire Up Bracelet - your everyday reminder to chase your passions and inspire others along the way.
Annual charitable donation: Supported fellow military families with our annual contribution of 5% of sales to Operation Homefront. Through their Urgent Needs Program, our 2020 donation was able to help three military families with immediate needs for housing, food, and income that were all due to the COVID pandemic.
AUGUST
Joined forces with an amazing group of fellow military spouses for the inaugural celebration of Military Marriage Day on August 14.
Featured in the inaugural issue of Legacy Kids Magazine – a publication for military kids and their families
Launched the Caregiver Bracelet - a symbol of hope and steadfastness during the toughest of days. A beautiful trio of gemstones with special meaning, reminding you to take time out for yourself - an everyday reminder that every day matters. Read the story behind the bracelet.
Our essential oil diffuser bracelets were featured on the Waiting Warrior Blog
SEPTEMBER
Collaborated with The Mission Continues to create a special bracelet for their Women Veterans Leadership program – helping to change the narrative on what it means to be a woman veteran by leveraging their leadership skills and authentic selves to become change-makers, all while enhancing their personal and professional networks.
Launched Treasure Hunt Kits: We entertained our Community with a unique treasure hunt that gave them something to do while they were stuck at home. With clues taken from 80’s movie quotes, they solved their puzzles and claimed their treasure box filled with bracelets.
OCTOBER
Charliemadison founder, Wendy Hively, shared her story with fellow military spouse Kohlie Browning for her podcast, Still With You - episode 76
Collaborated with Semper K9 to create the Man’s Best Friend Bracelet - a tribute to Semper K9's mission of rescuing dogs and veterans and represents the bond between the service dogs and their veterans.
Charliemadison Originals’ founder, Wendy Hively, was selected as a finalist in the Rosie Project Veteran & Military Spouse Entrepreneur Awards.
NOVEMBER
Released three brand-new bracelets to honor our deployed troops around the world – Remember Everyone Deployed and One Day Closer in Blue and Green.
Collaborated with Wellness & Wisdom to create the Women Who Do Wonders Bracelet. The Wellness & Wisdom mission is to build, ignite, and inspire wellness and purpose for women around the globe.
We proudly sponsored the 1st annual virtual Pillar Retreat – an event for military spouses to learn strategies to make every moment count while counting down deployment!
Featured in Military Spouse Magazine - 7 Affordable Holiday Gifts to Pamper the Milspouse in Your Life
DECEMBER
Featured in USA Today’s Year of Defense, “Making It Work: Military spouses turn to entrepreneurship to create flexible careers.”
Charliemadison Founder, Wendy Hively, was selected as a 2021 Community Leader for the Milspouse Creative + Entrepreneurs group
The overwhelming response of our Community to our $22 Mini of the Month program in 2020 convinced us to bring it back again in 2021 with a new look and fresh packaging.