So many of us have a story, have something we went through that changed us. 

We became a little darker, a little softer, a lot stronger. We started listening to ourselves more and others less.  

Sometimes it's one big Thing that happened. And for us there’s before that, and after that. 

That one life-altering event often serves as a catalyst for change, growth, and healing. 

My story includes birth trauma, faith deconstruction, motherhood, divorce, and a whole lot of learning who I really am.

Years of change uncovered a version of me that finally felt authentic.

I became what I was taught to fear, and I've never been freer.

I think a lot of us reach some version of that point. Maybe through motherhood or divorce. Maybe illness, loss, getting older, leaving a career or religion, falling in love, coming out, starting over, or just realizing that the future we envisioned at 25 doesn't quite fit the person we are at 40.

We don’t emerge from those things as the person who went in. We're not supposed to.

Sometimes a big part of becoming your authentic self is learning how to show it on the outside, no matter who is looking.

I was told that the dark is something to be afraid of, to stay away from. No one ever told me that beauty can come from the darkness. I had to learn that on my own.

Vael is about mixing beauty and darkness together. Both soft and strong. Delicate with teeth.

And willing to be seen for who you became.

- Britt