hi ! Andrea here.

to share more about the brand and the reason i wanted to create it, i’d like to share my story on a more personal level.

my mom passed away when i was three years old. i never really knew the reason as to why she passed until i was about 17- my dad very lovingly protected me from knowing that my mom suffered from depression and ultimately took her own life. prior to this, i always felt something missing within me. for a long time, i was in denial about any and all pain i felt from my childhood or any emotional issues i didn’t necessarily know how to resolve.

years passed, and before i knew it, i was 20 years old- feeling lost, confused, empty, lonely, sad. i believe that many of these emotions had been simply numbed inside of me, screaming + waiting to be let out. it was right at the beginning of covid that i decided (or, my body decided for me) that it was time to deal with everything i had been avoiding for years. i started therapy (which was infinitely helpful), read many self-help books, journaled, cried, laughed, and sat with my Self to just listen to what my body, heart, mind and soul had to tell me. it felt as though everything that was blocked within me was starting to flow- my relationship with my family got better, my relationship with myself became a positive one, i started feeling more and more confident. it took a long time (and a lot of painful moments) to release everything i had buried deep within me in the form of denial, coldness, and ease of building barriers, but- i started to feel healed.

after (and during) this journey, i sort of felt obliged to try to make something that could help people in the position i was, or possibly in the position my mom was in dozens of years ago. from this, ‘alterations’ was born, and ‘the unapologetic society’ followed as my ideal of a positive moment in society towards more kindness, vulnerability, acceptance, love, and happiness. i truly hope to provide tools and journals that can aid in that mission- i believe that by changing ourselves as individuals, we can create a ripple effect and eventually create a positive movement in society.

the brand has developed in ways i will forever be grateful for and i promise to always give my full heart for it to keep growing and hopefully help more people. there are many issues in our society- many of them which we can do a lot for, many of which we can’t do much for. i simply hope for this to be a place of positivity, vulnerability, and open conversations. as i’ve experienced firsthand, ignoring issues only gives them more power. the more i share my story, the more power i gain back, and the less power it has over me. maybe, the more we speak about hard things in a careful manner, the more we can grow together.