Warwick store showcases products made by vets, military families

It’s been a busy holiday weekend at ‘Operation Made’.

The brand new store on Toll Gate Road in Warwick opened Friday. It has everything you’d find in a local gift shop, but with one special difference – all of their products are made by those who serve.

Greg Blanchette  Nicole O’Brien – both veteran business owners themselves – wanted to make it easier for others like them to get their product out there.

So they opened ‘Operation Made’. One of their vendors is Leah Van Helden – a military wife from Cranston and founder of ‘WreathObsessed’.

“We had some time as an active duty family and I was a stay-at-home mom with young children, and it only made sense I do something on the side to bring income in,” she said.

Army Veteran Shane Matlock served in France, and that was the inspiration behind his company ‘Burgundian Coffee and Waffles’.

He says sometimes veterans who come home struggle to find a purpose and end up pouring themselves into a craft or business, and having a place to showcase their work makes all the difference.

©WLNE-TV 2018