MEET THE FOUNDER

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, let’s call it, complicated, albeit often playful household. My parents ran an eclectic gift shop, so my understanding of retail — the why and what of it, the ins and outs — was deeply ingrained early on. While my exposure to the world at large was limited, one gift of that time was access to an incredible classical ballet studio, where I learned the discipline and freedom of creative expression. That foundation led me to train at the North Carolina School of the Arts and American Ballet Theatre.

At 16, I had a quiet realization: I had outgrown dancing’s function for me — and I wanted to speak. I was fortunate to be accepted to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where, at 17, I studied acting and deepened my connection not only to myself, but to performance and new approaches to the creative process. Growing up in retail taught me how to be sensitive to people — how to read them, anticipate their needs, and meet them where they were. But NYU took me somewhere further, somewhere deeper. My acting training taught me how to step into someone else’s experience — and how to step back out.

After graduating, I moved to Los Angeles and unexpectedly built a career in wellness. While an acting career didn’t flow for me, my work in wellness did. I became an elite spin instructor in West Hollywood, taught yoga and meditation, and became a certified holistic health counselor. During this time, I experienced incredible opportunities — touring with Childish Gambino sharing yoga and mindfulness sessions and hosting health and wellness workshops for high-profile clients across industries, including Genesis, Paul Smith, Fremantle Media, Josie Maran Cosmetics, Friends at Work, The Bay Club, among others. My work centered on the mind-body connection — helping people explore themselves through movement, music, breath, and mindfulness.

But over time, as I expanded and grew, I felt the ceiling — there were limits to my capacity to help and heal. I’ve never been one to accept limits on my capacity. The physical body was only one part of the equation. As my own psychotherapeutic process deepened, I knew I wanted to understand and support the deeper emotional and psychological layers of healing — both for myself and my clients. This realization led me back to school to study clinical psychology.

While earning my hours toward licensure as an LMFT, I began developing Lyrically Induced Conversations — a workshop blending psychological education with musical exploration. It started in a local coffee shop. By December 2019, I was hosting them at The Standard Hotel in West Hollywood. New music as a starting point for conversation — a way to help people explore their inner landscapes through sound. That creative-meets-clinical approach became a hallmark of my work.

After becoming licensed and opening my private practice in January 2022, my work was thriving — but in June 2023, my mother passed away. Just over seven months later, in February 2024, my only sister was killed. The weight of my grief was overwhelming. I knew I couldn’t carry the emotional load of my practice at full capacity, so I scaled back.

In the space that grief left behind, I turned toward creation. As a child, ballet was my escape and safe space for expression; now, I found myself needing to return to art. I started taking studio art classes — drawing, painting, sculpture — reconnecting with the physicality of creation and expression. From that tender place, Halsonus was born — an offering to myself and to others. The name comes from Latin: hal (breath) and sonus (sound) — because breath and sound are the foundation of presence, healing, and life itself.

In the months that followed, I began experimenting with handcrafting products I personally needed — candles and aromatherapy blends made from the highest quality essential oils and purest ingredients. I’ve always had uncompromising taste, but as I learned more about candles and the lax regulation on beauty products in the US, it became clear to me that a commitment to quality and sustainability had to be at the core of these products. I handmade these products for myself — and I use them, proudly.

My line is free from: paraffin wax (a petroleum derivative), synthetic fragrance oils, phthalates (which are often hidden under the vague term "fragrance" on labels, meaning manufacturers don’t have to disclose the full list of ingredients — so you don’t always know what you’re breathing in), lead wicks, and artificial dyes and colorants. I only use ingredients that are not only clean and sustainable but therapeutically effective. I wanted these products to do more than just smell amazing; I wanted them to align with my values while also serving as meaningful tools to help shift the mind and body into intentional, restorative states.

Grief is inconvenient, and our modern world is equally unforgiving in its demands.

As I considered how to simplify my aromatherapy experimentation, I kept coming back to brain wave states. While holding space for my psychotherapy clients — and privately navigating my own grief — I realized how much I needed support in a variety of ways.

Aromatherapy exists in this invisible but profound space — a quiet undercurrent shaping how we feel and function. By creating a meaningfully charged atmosphere through scent, I discovered a way to support myself and others — an ambient layer of comfort, clarity, and calm woven into the air itself.

Gamma and Beta waves helped me stay focused while working. Alpha and Theta helped me relax. Delta became a mainstay for unwinding before bed.

And thus, the Brain Wave Collection came to life — a line of aromatherapy products, handcrafted by me, a psychotherapist, designed to align with the brain's natural rhythms, supporting focus, calm, creativity, and rest.

Halsonus is deeply personal to me — but it’s also a gift I’m honored to share with you.

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here.