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I've always been an "eyes-forward" person, making lists, setting goals, and moving on to the next thing once I've accomplished what I'm working on. Rarely have I celebrated accomplishments for more than a hot minute because there's more to do - maybe a quick dance party and then back to business. But when I take the time to actually do a review of the past year, I am always blown away at what we were able to create, who we were fortunate to collaborate with, and how many lives we touched through our jewelry.
Grateful doesn't even come close to how we're feeling after an incredible 2023, filled with encouragement, new connections that seemed to be created out of magic, inspiring words and stories from our customers and fellow milspouses, and friendship and support from the the Charliemadison Community - one of the best there is. We are so excited to see what 2024 has in store!
We kicked off the new year with the release of the first Mini of the Month (always a Community favorite) - this year we added a special theme each month, thanks to the suggestions from our lovely Community.
And because we have so many fellow book-lovers in our Community, we shared our favorite reads each month in our CMO Book Club reviews.
Another new addition this year - Quarterly Stacks - a set of three bracelets thoughtfully curated for the season. The Shades of Pink stack was a hit with our community of expert stackers.
We were so lucky to get to collaborate with Stacey Morgan this month on the release of The Astronaut's Wife Bracelet to go along with her book and give back to her nonprofit organization.
A lovely press feature this month - Wendy was thrilled to chat with Gracie on Grace of a Military Child and Life podcast.
And another amazing collaboration with fellow military spouses, Megan Brown and Jess Manfre on the Raised Together Bracelet to celebrate the publication of their books and the work that MilspoCo is doing within the military spouse community.
What a treat to chat with Jen McDonald this month on her Milspouse Matters Podcast.
Another fun collaboration with fellow military spouse, Tess Partridge and her company, iStroll, on the Forged in Motherhood Bracelet.
May was a fun month celebrating two more collaborations with military spouses who work tirelessly to support the community. We teamed up with Package & Press and the Wives of the Armed Forces on a limited-edition curated gift box to celebrate Military Spouse Appreciation Day.
A second bracelet collaboration highlights the mission of the Association of Military Spouse Entrepreneurs (AMSE), whose mission is to create a global resource database for Military Spouses to connect, learn, and empower themselves with the tools needed to become successful entrepreneurs.
June is a favorite month because we celebrate our shop's Anniversary - 8 years in businesess on our own website, plus nine years of giving back to military-affiliated non-profit organizations.
Wendy was also featured in the 7th edition of Stars & Stripes Military Spouse Entrepreneur Guide as she shared her thoughts on "Dominating the Market: 5 Powerful Strategies for Small Product-Based Businesses"
Our family got to enjoy some time away and fun in the sun as we celebrated my brother-in-law's 50th birthday in Mexico with a group of 24.
The "Set Sail" Collection was released this month and we were thrilled that you loved this nautical-themed collection as much as we did!
Madison and I snuck away for our 3rd annual planning retreat to get ready for the holidays and the upcoming year. We spent three days in my favorite place - the mountains of Virginia.
Another military spouse collaboration this month - the Clarity Bracelets - a collaboration with Clear Vision Consulting- a platform for holistic education and development of authentic leaders of the future.
We kicked off September with another nonprofit collaboration - the Stronghold Bracelet - a collab with Stronghold Food Pantry to highlight their mission of fighting food insecurity, feeding families, and building community.
We released the Always Bracelet, which has been on our idea list for years. Through connections and introductions from our friends, the Wives of the Armed Forces, we collaborated with a group of the loveliest Gold Star spouses to create this beautiful tribute bracelet for Gold Star Families - we are so proud of this one!
Our collaborations continued in October - this time with the Air & Space Forces Association's United Forces & Families (F2) Initiative and its mission to bring awareness, resources, and solutions to some of the toughest issues impacting our military families. The United Forces & Families Bracelet represents F2's mission to bring awareness, resources, and solutions to some of the toughest issues impacting our military families.
We were honored to share our story in Military Families Magazine and give a peek behind the scenes of how Madison and I work together to run Charliemadison. We are grateful to fellow military spouse, Lizann Lightfoot for crafting a beautiful article.
November was a whirlwind and a dream come true - all in one month. We jetted off to Las Vegas to attend the Military Influencer Conference (MIC) where we met SO MANY military spouses in person that we've only known virtually. An absolute dream!
Wendy pitched Charliemadison in the Second Service Foundation's Pitch Competition. We hosted a booth in the Marketplace at MIC, where we met loads of folks doing incredible things and came home with a stack of business cards for future collaborations.
We released a new addition to our Empowerment Collection - the Trailblazer Bracelet - at MIC, where we shared swag bags with 150 ladies at the Mighty 25 Gala. Such an honor!
We wrapped up the year with a sparkly, stackable Holiday Collection for you to gift to your favorite gals.
And what an honor to be featured in multiple Holiday Gift Guides, including The Rosie Network, Military.com, Military Spouse Magazine, and Sass Magazine.
We continue to be grateful and humbled by your support of our business and mission. Thank you for continuing to believe in our small business!
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