Our Story

Hi, we’re Mel and Kris, a sister duo here to make life suck a little less. 

From chronic illness to divorce to infertility, we know first-hand life can be messy, difficult and downright unfair. Grief comes in many forms, and it’s hard to know what to say or do for your loved ones when the downs seemingly outweigh the ups.

After tirelessly searching for empathy care packages and coming up short, we decided to take things into our own hands. We knew we wanted to go beyond the “everything happens for a reason” platitudes and confront life’s terrible situations head-on with meaningful gifts that not only sparked joy but also laughter.

So we created Good Grief to show up for one another with authenticity and vulnerability, to stick together through life’s most trying times and to remind people they do not have to suffer alone.

MELISSA

Title: Co-Founder and Chief Inspiration Officer

Superpower: Innate ability to start a million things and not finish a single one

Twist & Turn: Bad luck travels in threes right? For her 29th birthday, Melissa received a long awaited diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis after a hellish one and a half years of inexplicable pain. Four years later, she involuntarily boarded the infertility rollercoaster which, over the course of the next two years took her every which way, making a stop at miscarriage-ville in February 2017 before landing her with a beautiful bundle of joy in June of 2018. It’s been a long journey of grief and healing but hers has a silver lining – it’s connected her with a lot of amazing people along the way and it’s brought her here, to this place.

Bio: Melissa is a design professional with 10+ years of experience in specialty retail and wholesale. While the highlights of her career include overseeing the retail operations at the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and designing jewelry for Sundance Catalog, they were merely stepping-stones on her way to realizing her dreams of becoming an entrepreneur. When she’s not busy working, you can find her daydreaming about her next business idea, planning her next big vacation or obsessively Marie Kondo-ing an untouched area of her house. She currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her two favorite people – her husband and daughter.

KRISTIN

Title: Co-Founder and Master of Getting Shit Done

Superpower: Innate ability to eat a whole tub of ice cream in one sitting

Twist & Turn: At a time when all her friends were getting married, Kristin was going through a painful divorce. Lost and heartbroken, she embarked on a journey of rediscovering herself and learned a valuable life lesson: it's okay to walk away from something that no longer serves you. Although it's been a long journey of healing and forgiveness, it's paved the way to a new life with a loving partner and their beautiful baby girl. But it's not all rainbows and butterflies. Kristin prematurely gave birth 6 weeks early and suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety. The clouds have lifted, but there are still difficult days. I guess they call that motherhood.

Bio: Kristin is a PR major turned marketer who has spent the past decade developing and implementing successful marketing strategies and campaigns across an array of industries including beauty, retail and professional sports. Her hobbies include traveling and hiking, and if she can do both at the same time then it’s a win-win. After graduating from ASU, she left to Europe for what was supposed to be a year, and never returned. We wish we were joking, but it's been over 13 years now! Her and her partner Aadam reside just outside of London and recently welcomed a new addition to their family in September 2022.