Haley Riordan
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Ms. Haley was a friend of the Lavender House in 2018 when she worked at the deli across the street and came over frequently to drink coffee with us and read in the hammocks. She was a last-minute hire the following season when we desperately needed someone we could trust enough to bypass our typical search and interview process. The Lavender House got extremely lucky that day (or maybe the Lavender House somehow arranged it all). Since then Haley has truly held down the fort, building strong relationships in the community, keeping our lovely products well-stocked, and taking care of all of the little things that make such a disproportionately big difference. She is the first team member to stay with us all winter and we have no regrets! Haley has a background in psychology. She loves: making and experiencing irreverent art, radical feminism, and her cat Mr. Spaghetti.
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Taylor Drouet
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Taylor is one of the Lavender House’s resident licensed massage therapists. She is currently studying structural integration with Tom Meyers, and also has a background in contact improvisation and partner acrobatics. Unfortunately most of this work is on hold during the pandemic so Taylor has been delighted to rediscover her love of gardening and snuggling with small animals, in this case chickens and ducks. She has stepped into the role of Garden Manager for the season and can typically be found munching on leaves and flowers in the kitchen garden, building or enhancing chicken coops to be more entertaining for inhabitants, or eagerly talking about mushrooms. Taylor’s preferred artistic medium is making gourd lanterns.
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Christina Bailey
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Christina is also one of the Lavender House’s resident licensed massage therapists. In addition to being one of the best bodyworkers in town, one of her superpowers is her ability to bring people together to support a common cause. In past years she has done this in various ways to support a strong local food system. More recently she has begun work to build an intentional community in the area, and maybe the Lavender House is a bit of a rough draft. She lives above the workshop space with her partner and two cats, Teri and Tinkerton, and cares regularly for the grounds. Preferred artistic medium: fantastical painting.
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Henna Wallace
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Henna is our resident herbalist, and inspiring mother to Oso, the littlest member of the team. She has helped develop some of the more interesting and powerful products on our shelves. Her knowledge of plants and their uses makes for wonderful conversations while wandering through the garden. Henna also teaches Qi Gong, and recently began work as a postpartum doula. Oso helps out at the Lavender House by creating spontaneous artwork, carrying small shovels, reminding us to regularly smell the plants, and providing excellent conversation as we move through our days.
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Michelle Tuday
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Michelle also lives above the workshop space and cares for the grounds. She is one of those handy, hardworking, and helpful people everyone wants to be friends with. Michelle is also an incredibly knowledgeable outdoor educator, climbing instructor, and her beautiful stained glass designs can be seen in the shop or on her instagram page @tudayandtomorrow. She particularly enjoys active socializing with friends at a safe distance, and listening to the “My Favorite Murder” podcast while working on stained glass projects.
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Madelyn George
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Madelyn is the owner of the Lavender House, currently writing this paragraph in the third person. In addition to making sure the business doesn’t run out of money, and that all of its spaces are compulsively organized, she also loves simply spending time with the house and grounds that attracted her in the first place. Outside of the Lavender House she teaches entrepreneurship at App State, and helps with financial management at Hatchet Coffee. In her spare time she would like to be writing stories and dancing, but often watches addictive TV shows instead.
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