Lavender Craze

From the moment we launched ANDANTE HOME, my elder sister and I shared many long phone conversations, filled with news from home and her unwavering pride in both Nate and I launching our business. As children, she had delighted in the usual older-sibling mischief, teasing me as older siblings often do, but as the years passed, she became my fiercest champion. No matter the circumstance, she was always there vocally, lifting me up with words of encouragement, her steady voice never failing to remind me of her faith in me.
It was during one such call that I told her the lockdown had lifted; I could finally return to America for a visit. Without hesitation, she asked, “Are you bringing candles with you?” I laughed, assuring her that I was, and at once she declared, “Then make me a lavender candle.” At the time, Nate and I had yet to craft one, and I told her as much. But she would not be deterred. “Lavender, chamomile, and lemon,” she insisted, as if she had already imagined the fragrance in her mind.
After we ended our call, I set to work, blending the scents together. Though her chosen notes were lovely, I felt something was missing. With patience, Nate and I adjusted and refined, until at last, we arrived at the perfect combination. But there remained one final test; her approval. A few days later, I called her with a surprise. “What do you think of the name ‘Lavender Craze’?” I asked. Without missing a beat, she teased, “Because I’m crazy?” I laughed, assuring her it meant “crazy about lavender”, and to my delight, she approved.
Months later, I was able to place the candle in her hands myself, a creation we had unknowingly crafted together.
In our last conversation in August of 2024, she was filled with excitement over my return to Kansas, already looking forward to more of “her Lavender Craze”, as she liked to call it. But two weeks after our last conversation, she passed away, leaving behind a legacy of love, feistiness, and immeasurable strength. Of all the fragrances Nate and I have created, none hold more meaning than this.
It is beautiful, just as she was, and it is something we all three made together.