Tealightful began in my basement in 2000, back when I was a young mom with a toddler on my hip and another on the way.

But the real spark came years earlier — at age 12, during a trip to England, where I first experienced teatime as more than a drink. It was a pause. A presence. A way to connect that felt warm and real. I came home wondering why we didn’t have more of that here.

So I started creating it — first at home, then with friends, and eventually with people everywhere craving something offline, something meaningful.