Moscow High School student starts website to support students, businesses

Tyler Gehring started the website, The Moscow Local, as a place for members of the community to support local businesses from the comfort of their home and to support his fellow students.

Gehring, a senior at Moscow High School, said he wanted to find a way to support students in clubs like Business Professionals of America or National FFA Organization with purchasing equipment or travel costs for competitions.

“Moscow has a very helpful and thoughtful community,” Gehring said. “They’re very caring and supportive.”

While taking a marketing class, Gehring visited businesses in downtown Moscow and interviewed owners about running their shops. He wanted to find a way for individuals to support local businesses even if they were not physically able to shop locally. The Moscow Local is his answer to the dilemma.

The Moscow Local offers T-shirts and hoodies from Palouse Juice, Bookpeople of Moscow and Silos and Social with 10% of all sales donated career and technical education programs at Moscow High School. Gehring said he has made a few sales so far but the website is still in its infancy.

He started the website and Instagram account in October and is working on a Facebook page.

The site started as a blog where he posted his interviews and menu reviews. After a few blog posts, he approached businesses owners he interviewed to see if they were interested in marketing merchandise.

“It’s a place to support local business from your house,” Gehring said.

Businesses send Gehring a copy of a logo or image and, after an approved mockup on a shirt or hooded sweatshirt, Gehring posts the item on the site for anyone to purchase.

Gehring said purchased items are printed on demand, so the shops have minimal costs when adding designs. While options are limited, he said he is working on providing others. Shirts can go up to a 5XL and sweatshirts can go up to a 4XL.

Silos and Social co-owner Danielle Clark said she decided to run some merchandise through Gehring because it was a way to support the community and offer other merchandise options.

“It’s great to help the community in any small way we can,” Clark said.

Gehring split profits from the sales with the businesses, but Clark said any profits she will make from themoscowlocal.com will go towards the school. The convenience of not having to manage ordering and storing the shirts was also a plus for Clark.

Gehring said he is waiting to have more than a few dollars to make a donation. He plans to keep the store open after graduation and plans to attend the University of Idaho and study computer science.

The Moscow Local can be found online at themoscowlocal.com and on Instagram.@themoscowlocal.

Nelson can be reached at knelson@dnews.com.