The story

Meadowlawn Farm is a miraculous culmination of serendipitous events, exceptional timing, privilege, luck and the courage to blindly follow my intuition. 

I left my company of 25 years during Covid, sold my beloved home where I’d raised my son, put too much stuff in storage and lived the nomadic life for a year. At the time, it felt like stepping off a cliff, a little terrifying…and then these bridges magically appeared.

My great grandparents, Violette and Floyd Hayes, were farmers of little means in Iola, Kansas over a hundred years ago. From a very young age, they lived off the land. My childhood summers at the original Meadowlawn Farm were spent riding on the combine with my Grandpa Daddy harvesting wheat, picking the perfect strawberry, weeding and thinning carrots and most importantly, appreciating the seemingly simple workings of nature.

My Nana was pure magic, able to turn every day into a twinkly, fun, creative journey. She made up games under the old oak tree, let us play dress-up in her fancy clothes in the attic, taught us how to knit and crochet and can vegetables for winter and she'd joyfully make us any shaped pancake. She taught us by example to be generous, grateful and to appreciate every single moment.

Sadly, the farm was sold, Nana and Grandpa Daddy eventually passed on and I grew into a young adult, moving from Texas to the gloriously rainy and green Pacific Northwest.

I started a new life, married, had a son, divorced and somehow stumbled into a job at the most revered advertising agency in the world. I worked my way around Wieden+Kennedy for over 20 years, learning from the best in the industry, searching the world for exceptional talent in places like Europe, Asia and South America. I lived an exciting and incredibly privileged life; yet I was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted.

Horses have always been my guide. I’d get up before the sun so I could ride a horse before work, attempting to balance a fast-paced world of too much screen time. Deep in my soul, I knew living in the country, surrounded by horses and trees and flowers and dirt, the simplicity of drinking water from a well and breathing sweet, hay-infused air - that’s my happy place.

I started to look for land (Not believing it would actually happen!), yet I'd search every morning for my dream farm. Years passed, I continued to work myself ragged and never stopped searching for THE place. 

One day, David Kennedy, the soul-of-the-earth co-founder of W+K and talented designer, walked into my office, threw a t-shirt at me and said. “I dreamt about your brand the other night, you know, like a cattle brand. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, so I figured I’d have to make you the fucking thing so I could finally get some sleep. That’s your brand on a shirt.” David, who bore a close resemblance to Santa if Santa was a school janitor, wearing his uniform of faded blue jeans and a black t-shirt, gave me a chuckle and shuffled his worn cowboy boots out of my office, keys clanking from his belt loop.

And there it was. 

David had no idea I'd been looking for land all these years. It felt like a sign, an incredible moment the Universe was screaming at me, "KEEP LOOKING!"

From there, things happened. Weird, unexplainable things. So many coincidences. People popped out of nowhere and helped guide me without either of us knowing it. A wise and trusted mentor taught me we can have whatever we want in our lives, we just have to trust, believe and allow. When doors open, go towards them, and that’s what I did - put my energy towards my heart.

And here I find myself, a certified kitchen garden consultant, successfully growing and eating my own food on the farm of my dreams with a horse outside my window. I’m still shocked by it every morning. 

What I also know is I’m just a steward for a very short period of time on this planet, and this place is to be shared. Meadowlawn Farm is an open, inclusive and beautifully meandering space that is as magical and grounding as Nana & Grandpa Daddy’s farm in Kansas. It’s where you step off the hamster wheel and reconnect with nature, the people you love and yourself, guiding your mind, body and soul back to what matters most. 

If this speaks to you, please reach out to create an experience, workshop or event here at the farm, or we can help you design your own kitchen garden that will feed you in many ways.

I feel I landed here for a reason, and those compelled to come are additive. There's so much good and necessary work to be done, so let’s keep the magic going and maybe, together, we’ll help heal this insane world we find ourselves in.

Trust, Believe & Allow!

Mel, Jay, Jack, Finn the horse, Violet the dog, Floyd & Kennedy the cats, Steve, Steven, Steve-O the alpacas, and chickens Janis, Joan, Grace, Rosie, Bea, Rue & Betty