Valerie

When we need someone to have our back

As many of my customers know, Valerie is my mother-in-law. I formulated it for her for Mother’s Day 2024, right after I launched my company. She’s always well-put together, but one of the things I really admire about my in-laws is that they aren’t particularly flashy, despite also growing up on Long Island. Valerie has had the same well-worn Longchamp purse pretty much the entire ten years I have known her. I think that the scent Valerie is very much a scent expression of her: she’s approachable, inoffensive, and often refreshing. 

One of the topics I want to cover in this blog post is the concept of found family. If you don’t know, I am no contact with my parents. Occasionally, I see my parents at family functions, as I am Italian-American. Not only is our family huge, but they are also frequently looking for ways to celebrate. I think the last time I saw them was over a year ago at my nephew’s birthday party. I occasionally see them at Christmas, but since it’s just me, Chris, and our independent contractor, Fiona, I spend most of my waking moments running the company or walking Ben, our Havanese. I don’t always have time to attend family functions, especially when they usually fall on weekends, which is when I work pretty reliably. 

I was recently featured on a podcast, The Most Millennial Podcast. I mentioned that one of the things that helped me immensely when I left the cult was that I was quickly embraced by the vendor community, especially the community of the Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire. 

The people who run Midsummer run a number of fairs throughout the Northeast, but the finale to their season is the Delaware Renaissance Faire, a three-week romp in an area so rural that cell phone reception was a pain. To not go into too much detail, I was free for the finale weekend. I asked the vendor coordinator, Holly (whom I have purchased a gigantic crocheted pickle from, which I have dubbed Kevin Kosher), if she had any cancellations. She told me that she would make space for me. 

This is the kind of relationship that I thought I was getting when I was involved in the cult that started Sif Sniffs. I wanted to surround myself with people who would always have my back, regardless of the circumstances. 

Valerie is like that, too. In 2021, I suffered from a pulmonary embolism after having a small outpatient surgery. I was hospitalised, and there was an instance where stuff was rough. I called Chris crying, and he called Valerie. Immediately, she stopped what she was doing, took the first train from Grand Central to Stamford, and walked from the train station to the hospital. She came in ready to yell at anyone who dared to try to speak to her daughter-in-law. 

I hope that when people wear Valerie, or smell it on someone else, it gives them the loving embrace of the people who will always have your back.