ABOUT OUR FOUNDER

From ballet to acting, from fitness to psychotherapy, Maranda Barskey has always lived at the intersection of art and healing. Her background spans movement, meditation, holistic health, and clinical psychology — a rare skillset that shaped Halsonus into more than a product line. Born from both creative exploration and personal grief, Halsonus reflects Maranda’s belief that the body already knows what it needs. By translating that wisdom into sensory tools such as candles, scent, sound, and ritual, Halsonus helps people reconnect with themselves in real time. At its core, Maranda’s work is about cultivating presence, balance, and self-trust through the subtle cues that shape daily life.

 

THE FULL STORY:

From the beginning, I’ve lived at the intersection of art and healing. I grew up in a small town in North Carolina in a household that was complicated but often playful. My parents ran an eclectic gift shop, so retail — the why, the what, and the how — was woven into my life early. At the same time, I had access to an exceptional ballet studio, where I discovered both the discipline and the freedom of creative expression. That foundation led me to train at the North Carolina School of the Arts, the Joffrey Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre.

At sixteen I realized I had outgrown dancing function for me and I wanted to speak. At seventeen I was accepted to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where I studied acting and deepened my connection not only to myself but to performance and new approaches to the creative process. Retail had taught me how to read people, to anticipate their needs, and to meet them where they were. Acting taught me how to step into another’s experience and, just as importantly, how to step back out.

After graduation I moved to Los Angeles and, unexpectedly, built a career in wellness. Acting didn’t flow for me, but teaching did. I became an elite spin instructor in West Hollywood, then taught yoga and meditation, and later trained as a holistic health counselor. That period opened remarkable doors: touring with Childish Gambino to lead yoga and mindfulness sessions, and leading workshops for clients including Genesis, Paul Smith, Josie Maran Cosmetics, Friends at Work, The Bay Club, Fremantle, and Whalerock Industries. My work revolved around the mind–body connection, helping people explore themselves through movement, music, breath, and presence.

Over time I began to sense the ceiling. Movement and wellness practices were powerful, but they addressed only part of the whole. My own psychotherapy process had shown me the importance of deeper emotional and psychological work, so I returned to school to study clinical psychology.

While earning my hours toward licensure as an LMFT, I began creating workshops called Lyrically Induced Conversations. They blended psychological education with new music as the entry point for reflection. What started in a coffee shop grew into a residency at The Standard Hotel in West Hollywood. That format — part clinical, part creative — became a hallmark of my work.

By early 2022 I was licensed and my private practice was thriving. Then life changed. In June 2023 my mother passed away. Seven months later, in February 2024, my sister was killed. The weight of my grief was staggering. I knew I couldn’t carry the intensity of my practice at full capacity, so I scaled back.

In that space, where I could no longer show up for others in the way I was used to, I tried to show up for myself. Creating Halsonus — learning about essential oils, experimenting with blending, working with my hands, and listening to my own body — became a deeply meaningful and healing practice. It gave me a way to stay anchored when the rest of life felt unmoored. As a child, ballet had been my sanctuary; now, with years of clinical training and lived experience behind me, I turned again to creation through drawing, painting, and sculpting, reconnecting with the physicality of emotional expression. From that tender place, Halsonus was born. The name comes from the Latin hal (breath) and sonus (sound), because breath and sound are the foundations of presence, healing, and life itself.

I began handcrafting what I most needed: natural candles and aromatherapy blends made with the highest-quality essential oils. I didn’t want them to simply smell beautiful — I could already buy those. What I needed were tools that could meet me where I was: to help me focus while working, to relax when I could, and to rest when grief left me depleted while the world kept spinning - never ceasing with its daily demands of me. GAMMA and BETA became anchors for concentration and energy. ALPHA and THETA guided relaxation and creativity. DELTA supported deep sleep.

If retail had taught me to listen, and acting had taught me to understand, psychotherapy had taught me to hold — to sit with discomfort and complexity without rushing to fix it.

And so, Brain Wave came to life: a collection of sensory tools designed to align with the brain’s natural rhythms, supporting clarity, calm, creativity, and rest.

Halsonus is the meeting place of art and science, body and mind, grief and healing. What began as something deeply personal has become a gift I am honored to share: tools that support presence, balance, and trust in the body’s innate wisdom.