What began as a passion project has evolved into something more. We’re proud of where we’ve been and even more excited for what’s ahead.
Welcome to our origin. Follow the first sparks—the restless ideas, the refusal to be ordinary, and the choices that turned intent into craft. These are Mourningstar Co.’s bold experiments, lessons from failure, and the moments that set our path. See how nonconformity became our signature, purpose our compass, and every design began with one question: what if we did it differently?
MEET KAILEA
the founders
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My name is Kailea — pronounced Kaylee.
I was born during a hurricane on August 13, 1988, and raised in Florida. In many ways, that feels fitting. I have always carried both softness and storm inside me.
I’m a mother to three boys — my greatest purpose, my greatest challenge, and the deepest love I have ever known. One of my sons is severely autistic, and I homeschool him and my middle son. Motherhood has shaped me in ways nothing else could. It taught me resilience, patience, sacrifice, and how to keep showing up even on the hardest days.
I have fought death too many times to count from having sepsis due to internal bleeding and was in ICU for a week, fighting cervical cancer and having a hysterectomy and also finding out I had endometriosis and adenomyosis which put me straight into menopause, having another round of sepsis due to a severe kidney infection which collapsed my lungs and gave me pericarditis and most recently AVNRT (AV Nodal Re-Entrant Tachycardia) with POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) Ive undergone a heart ablation in 2024 which ultimately failed and came back ten fold, I had a Loop Recorder implanted which monitors my heart 24/7/365 and still no answers whatsoever causing it. I am now in heart failure and I take 13 pills a day to live...all before the age of 40.
Survival, for me, has looked like surgeries, medications, exhaustion, uncertainty, and learning how fragile time really is. That reality changed the way I see the world. It taught me to create fearlessly, love deeply, and stop waiting for permission to become who I truly am.
I have survived death, failed marriages, domestic violence, heartbreak, grief, and versions of myself that did not yet understand their own worth.
And somewhere within all of that darkness, I made a decision:
If I was going to survive it, I was going to turn it into something meaningful.
That philosophy lives at the core of everything I create.
I am drawn to things that feel emotional, atmospheric, and deeply human — dark romance, haunting music, storytelling, symbolism, art, fashion, gothic aesthetics, old history, fantasy worlds, and the strange beauty that exists inside contrast.
I love concerts that shake your chest.
Books that leave scars.
Poetry that lingers.
Places that feel haunted by memory.
Things that are both beautiful and a little dangerous.Music has always been the core of my life though — through lyrics, it has carried me through some of the roughest times of my life but also has expressed the happiest times of my life. I escape through music. I actually have music notes tattooed on the back of my neck and always lived by MIMS (Music is my Savior) because without it, I have no idea where I would be today.
I also am an avid gamer and love streaming on Twitch. See, I never fit into one “place”
I believe creativity is more than aesthetics.
I believe it is survival.
A way to process pain, preserve emotion, and transform experience into something tangible.That belief became Mourningstar Co..
Mourningstar Co. was never meant to fit neatly into a single category, like myself. It exists at the intersection of storytelling, design, emotion, atmosphere, and identity. A place where all of my passions are allowed to coexist instead of being separated into smaller, easier-to-explain pieces.
Beyond creativity, I’m also deeply technical. I love law, fixing cars, well fixing anything for that matter. Obviously I code, build websites, design digital experiences, troubleshoot technology, and love understanding how things work — whether that’s art, machinery, psychology, or people. Knowledge has never intimidated me (it does intimidate others with how much I know :P). It fuels me.
I model as another form of self-expression, especially boudoir photography. After surviving abuse, learning to see my body as powerful instead of broken transformed the way I viewed myself. What once felt like vulnerability eventually became empowerment.
I’m an empath by nature — intensely intuitive, deeply emotional, and constantly observing the energy around me. Sometimes that feels like a gift. Sometimes it feels like standing barefoot in a storm.
I share my life with three cats, Grimm, Mazikeen and the ruler — Dusty (aka Dustifer), who rule our house completely and probably know secrets the rest of us don’t.
At my core, I am layered.
Soft and sharp.
Grounded and imaginative.
Sentimental and intense.
A woman who has spent her life turning darkness into direction instead of defeat.And I am still becoming. This is where I shape beauty from pain and I can let go.
Thank you for allowing me to share my story and I am glad you are here!
MEET DREW
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I was born on February 18, 1990, in Sarasota, Florida—a place that will always feel like home (mostly because you never forget where you learned how humidity actually works).
Music found me early. I started playing piano in elementary school, which mostly meant trying to look like I knew what I was doing while pressing the right keys often enough to pass. Somewhere along the way, I picked up guitar in high school—and that’s when things got serious. Or at least louder.
From there, I dove headfirst into the metal scene. I played in a Christian metal band called Winters Last Fall, and later in another band, Destroy the Fortress—which, yes, sounds exactly like what it was: loud, intense, and probably alarming to anyone within a half-mile radius. We played shows all around the Tampa area, and those years were full of energy, sweat, and the kind of memories you only get from hauling gear at midnight and living off pure adrenaline.
These days, I’ve been a truck driver for 13 years. It’s a different kind of rhythm—less distortion pedals, more diesel—but it’s given me a strong sense of independence and a lot of time to think. And yes, I do occasionally pretend I’m in a music video while driving. No, I will not elaborate.
Somewhere along all those miles, I also started dabbling in video editing. What began as something to pass the time while traveling for work turned into a creative outlet I genuinely enjoy—and eventually, it became how I started making videos for our business. It’s another way I get to tell stories, just with clips and timelines instead of chords and riffs.
I’m also a father to two awesome boys, which means my life includes everything from meaningful conversations to complete chaos—sometimes within the same five minutes. It’s easily the most important role I have, and one I wouldn’t trade for anything.
Love, for me, has been a journey. I was married once, and after my divorce, I came to believe that marriage was just a title—something optional, maybe even unnecessary. I had made peace with the idea that I’d never go down that road again.
And then I met Kailea.
Within the first week of knowing her, something shifted in me in a way I didn’t think was possible. It was immediate and undeniable—I realized I could see myself marrying her. That feeling changed everything. For the first time, I truly understood what marriage is meant to be, and what deep, genuine love feels like. It’s not just a word or a title—it’s connection, commitment, and something that grows stronger every day. With her, I’ve discovered a kind of love that continues to deepen, and I find myself falling more in love with her as time goes on.
Music is still a huge part of who I am. I may not be playing shows every weekend anymore, but the passion hasn’t gone anywhere. I’m still holding out hope for the day I get more free time to pick up my guitar and play as much as I want—preferably at a volume that doesn’t concern the neighbors.
WHY THIS IS MADE
“I create because I’ve always been drawn to what lives beneath the surface. The quiet weight of feeling. The things people carry without language. Making has been the way I translate that internal landscape into form.
I didn’t arrive here by accident. Over time, creation shifted from something I did quickly to something I approached with care. I learned to slow down, to listen, and to let emotion guide the work rather than urgency or expectation. That change reshaped not only what I make, but how I make it.
Mourningstar Co. exists as an extension of that practice. It is a space for intentional creation, collaboration, and trust in the process. Ideas are given time. Meaning is not forced. Every piece begins with intention and is carried through with respect for both the work itself and the person it is made for.
Creation, here, is not about perfection. It is about presence.”
ABOUT OUR OFFERINGS
Mourningstar Co. creates both custom and curated work, guided by intention rather than volume.
What is made here may take physical form, digital form, or exist somewhere in between.
Some pieces are built collaboratively from the ground up. Others are offered as finished works, created slowly and released when they are ready. Each follows the same philosophy of care, restraint, and meaning.
Nothing is produced for noise alone. The work is designed to be held, used, returned to, or interpreted over time.
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Custom and collaborative projects shaped around specific ideas, needs, or intentions.
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Curated works released in limited form, including pieces produced thoughtfully upon order.