Each R.Riveter handbag has its own unique journey and history much like a military spouse. These #BagsOnAMission are not only a unique source of mobile flexible income for military spouses around the country but they are also a unique representation of what it takes to be a military spouse.
Behind The Brand
The story of R.Riveter and it’s founders Lisa and Cameron is one that has always fascinated me. Two amazing women who took a shared desire to provide mobile flexible income to any military spouse who wanted the opportunity and turned it into an inc.500 company.
Yet there is more to this Brand than meets the eye. When you take a look at an R.Riveter handbag you are seeing the combined stories, passions and goals of military spouses working to share the mission of empowering women to do what they love while supporting the spouses they love.
The Generation 3
Recently R.Riveter launched the Generation 3 Collection. These bags take the term New & Improved to an entirely new level. R.Riveter has managed to take everything we as customers loved about our favorite bags and improve them based on our suggestions, new trends and put genius (I may be a bit biased)! When I had the opportunity to select one a Gen 3 Handbag to add to my own closet I went with the Otto. After using it for a bit I’ve come to notice a few ways this awesome bag and those of us who live the life of a military spouse are the same.
Versatile
Versatile: able to adapt or be adapted to many different functions or activities.
The Otto
The Otto is one of those bags you can take from day to night and work to play. With the versatility of being both a tote and a cross body this bag gives you the freedom to carry everything you need for just about any situation.
A Military Spouse
As a military spouse there were often times when I had to learn how to be versatile – to be able to change according to and when my situations changed. Whether it meant moving across the country while 7 months pregnant or learning how to parent my military child. I had to have the ability to be what my family needed when they needed it.
Moving away from our family and friends meant I had to become more than just mom. I became friend, confidant, support system and more all because I had to be. I learned how to mother my child while keeping communication open, support my spouse while being the friend he needed and still keep my sanity in the midst of it all.
Durable
Durable: able to withstand wear, pressure, or damage; hard-wearing.
The Otto
The Generation 3 Otto is made of water-resistant canvas. Heavy duty and able to withstand the worse we can put out as busy moms, entrepreneurs or simply women on the go. There’s no need for concern if you get caught in an unexpected shower or if your baby knock your beloved cup of coffee out of your hand and a bit hits your bag. A quick wipe of a damp rag and you’re good to get back to the tasks at hand.
Crafted from full grained leather this leather is chosen because of its ability to stand the test of time, durability and unique characteristics like patina. This leather is not only able to withstand wear and damage but for its ability to take on its own unique look with time that brings it to a place where it’s a bag like no other bag.
The new brass hardware of the Generation 3 Otto gives me the confidence that no matter how hard I am on this bag it will never let me down. It can withstand the tugs of a 6-year-old, sitting on the floor at all my appointments and even weight of all my extra chargers and batteries and even the pull of the wind when I’m riding with my Hubby on his bike. This bag was made to last.
A Military Spouse
The military life is not all Army Wife tee-shirts, FRG Meetings and dream PCS Stations. It’s hard. It was a lot harder than I thought. I admit I fell into that spiral of thinking that being an Army Wife was going to be as easy as finding my click, setting up our lunch dates and smiling at all the military balls. It wasn’t. It was full of early mornings kissing my husband goodbye, late nights hoping he’d make it home and months of stalking all the postings to be sure his unit was safe.
Still, those hard times helped to make me into the person I am today. The Wife, Mother and Woman I am today. Much like the leather of a Generation 3 Otto I started out new and fresh. I may have come through with a few scruff marks and even a bit of wear but I still endured. I’m stronger, better and me because of it and for that I’m grateful.
The day my husband retired I felt as if I exhaled a breath I’d been holding for nearly 10 years. It was a mixture of relief and anxiety. I wasn’t sure what the civilian life would bring us yet I knew that everything I learned during my military life had made me strong enough to handle it. It’s amazing how the things we go through change us and at times we don’t see the better of it until after. Yet I wouldn’t change any of it since because of it I can stand on my own two feet and make it.
Capable
Capable: having the ability, fitness, or quality necessary to achieve a specified thing
The Otto
Can I just tell you that the pocket on the Otto have won me over completely? This bag is capable of carrying everything I need from business cards, my cell phone and even all the extra Momma stuff that always seems to find its way into my bag like wipes, sanitizer, tissues etc.
So far my Otto as gone with me to cover several Local Events, A Girl Scout Field Trip and countless Momma errands. Through every adventure we’ve had so far this bag has been able to take all I could fit in it and then some. If I need it there’s a place in the Otto to put it and still get the zipper closed – I Love It!
A Military Spouse
I remember an incident during our station in Hawaii. I had a 10-year-old, 10 month old and a newborn and I was trying to get groceries at the Commissary. I had a baby in the seat, a car seat in the cart and my 10 year at my side. It wasn’t until I was halfway through the store that I realized this arrangement was not going to work. I mean where was I going to put my groceries?
I stood there as it hit me and suddenly a flood of emotions came. It was all I could do to hold back the tears. I wanted my husband. I wanted to have him hold a baby as I pushed the cart. I wanted my normal back. Yet right then, this was my normal and I had to make it work.
I swallowed back my tears, sent the 10-year-old to grab another cart and got that shopping done. I didn’t know it or even realize it then but it was in that moment I proved I was capable. I could do this. It wasn’t for anyone else but me but I needed to know it and once I did the other moments that came – yeah they came – weren’t as hard. Why? I had this to look back on. I would whisper I did it once I can do it again – I was capable.
The Military Spouse Impact
How does R.Riveter bring the truth of being a military spouse to each of its bags? Through each piece they use to make them. Each R.Riveter bag – including the Generation 3 Ott0 – has been hand crafted by military spouses from all over the country. The coolest part? You can see where and who made each part of YOUR bag from assembly to inspection . . .
Each bag comes with tags that share where your bag was assembled as well as which Riveters assembled and inspected it for alit control. To take it a step further you can check the interior of you bag and see the stamps that identify every Riveter who took a part in making your R.Riveter bag a whole representation of Military Spouses from start to finish.
“Believe in yourself, your passions, and your dreams. Your voice is unique – build on that. Embrace what is different about you and make it your greatest asset!”
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