Introducing CHENESSA
A health optimization advisory inspired by legacy and built with love — in honor of my late mother.
On the anniversary of my mother’s passing, I’m sharing something deeply personal. This post is both a heartfelt remembrance of her and an exciting new beginning for me.
“I hope this grief stays with me because it's all the unexpressed love that I didn't get to tell her.”
— Andrew Garfield on the death of his mother, Lynn
This beautiful quote — shared in an interview between the actor and Stephen Colbert1 — has stayed with me for years.
I’ve always believed that grief does not disappear, but instead our relationship to it evolves. For me it has endured as love and transformed into something purposeful.
My mother moved through the world with elegance and compassion. To those that knew her, she was creative and kind — a force of nature with boundless energy, curiosity, and a deep love of the arts.
Some of my fondest memories are from our mother-daughter trips to Paris, where I’d tag along as she attended trade shows and visited ateliers. Chenessa was the name of her accessories brand and her showroom, an insider’s clubhouse where designers, editors and stylists would come to borrow jewelry and end up staying for hours.
When she was diagnosed with lung cancer at 64, we were all shocked. She didn’t drink or smoke. She saw her doctor every year. She had done everything she was “supposed to” to stay healthy, yet her condition was terminal.
It’s a sobering experience watching someone you love fighting for more time. Losing my mother changed me forever, yet it wouldn’t be until another heartbreak that I truly understood how.
Years later, I lost another cherished woman in my life to cancer. Andrea was a mentor and the closest thing I had to an older sister. Another arbiter of beauty and culture, she was an editor, brand builder and fierce champion of creative talent.
She was my first call before I accepted or exited a job. She never let me treat for lunch and loved a good party. Like my mother, her presence made life richer — not through grand gestures, but through the way she made everyday moments feel more special.
They embodied everything that makes life worth living and left an indelible imprint on everyone who knew them.
I had lost two of the brightest lights in my life — decades too early. Why?
People don’t change until they are ready.
When that moment hit for me, I dove in head first in a desperate quest to feel better. But the help and answers I needed did not come from a doctor’s office.
I turned to a somatic therapist to help repair my nervous system
I used a continuous glucose monitor to reverse my prediabetes
I edited my nutrition, movement, and sleep to boost my energy
I let go of toxic relationships — including the one I had with myself
Remarkably, in a matter of months, I transformed my health. It was both illuminating and infuriating to realize how much of chronic disease was preventable and, even reversible, if caught early enough.
But the most profound shift wasn’t just in my metrics. It was in my capacity for joy.
If you’re standing at a crossroads, wondering if it’s possible to find relief from what’s been holding you back — I want you to know it is.
Chenessa, originally the name of my mother’s brand, has been reimagined and redesigned in her honor. A work in progress and labor of love, my new health optimization advisory offers private coaching, group classes, and consultancy for best-in-class wellness brands.
Some might call my shift from fashion to health a pivot, but to me, it’s always been connected. Because when you’ve spent years as a bon vivant attuned to the beauty in fleeting moments, you start to realize that wellness isn’t just about longevity — it’s about preserving our ability to savor life while we’re living it.
Whether you are a reader, a student, or a client, I hope you’ll join me on this journey. You can learn more about working together at Chenessa.
xCelia
Share this post with someone you love who is on a journey of expansion and growth. Let’s build this community of rebels who are changing the narrative on what it means to thrive.
So gorgeous Celia. 💕
Your sophistication and elegance clearly comes from Nellie. Your fabulous sense of humour and invaluable advice - I think you were just born with it, girl ! Thank you so much for sharing it here.