Our Story

Message from the Founder
Hey. I think it’s better to tell you ‘About Us’ with a personal story.
My name is Maddie King. I’m a 20-year-old Sydney local who recently finished treatment for Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

This brand is an homage to all the wonderful cancer girls who inspired & supported me through my diagnosis as without them, none of this could have come to fruition. One girl's story, Andy, touched me so much that I named and dedicated the brand to her after she passed away from leukaemia in January 2020. Her story is achingly beautiful yet heartbreaking, and I’ve linked my full blog post about ‘The Girl Behind the Name’ here

Like most who are diagnosed with cancer, I felt terrified, lost and extremely isolated. This lead me to seek solace by connecting with other young women who had been dealt the same hand. These girls' unique stories and experiences formed the creative inspiration behind ‘For Andy’. Each scarf is named after someone who truly impacted my journey in some way; and I worked to ensure each product was as unique and beautiful as they are.

When I lost my hair, I felt that wigs were itchy and uncomfortable so I didn't like wearing them. However, it was IMPOSSIBLE to find headscarves that were fashionable, affordable, sustainable, easy to tie, comfortable and light on my head. Cancer is usually an 'old persons' disease, and most products on the market reflected that demographic. Why did they all look so daggy? Where were the cute scarves I could switch up to match my outfit? Why were they so damn expensive!? It seemed ridiculous that it was so hard to find accessories that made women feel beautiful during a time where our confidence gets broken into tiny pieces and we needed it most. So I decided to create them myself, for all the current and future women going through cancer to make them feel just that little bit more beautiful and allow them to face the day with confidence (and get the attention of any cute doctors).

Mission

Through meeting all these incredible people and experiencing first-hand how people would interact with us differently because we had cancer, I knew I wanted to change the 'pity' narrative that surrounds this disease. The image of cancer patients is severely underrepresented AND misrepresented by the media and industry. With all this talk around diversity it is shocking how often disabled and/or sick people are left out of the conversation when they comprise a huge, yet often invisible, population. We are more than being the target of inspiration porn and pity from the outside world and I want to champion the vulnerable beauty we hold and represent the diverse faces and bodies of people with this disease. Every model on this website has had cancer at least once.

I have put so much care and love into creating these scarves to be the exact products I wish I had during my chemo treatment. The scarves are sustainably made from up-cycled designer fabric that would have otherwise gone to landfill & manufactured in Australia to support our local economy. We also have completely plastic free packaging that is all recyclable and/or biodegradable. I have partnered with the incredible team at ‘Zero Childhood Cancer’ where 10% of the profits will be donated towards genetic research & clinical trials for incurable childhood cancers in the hopes that personalised medicine can be created for these kids which will ultimately save lives.

I hope that every purchase from ‘For Andy’ allows you to find solace in knowing you’re not alone despite whatever difficult circumstances have been thrown your way. I hope it encourages you to be vulnerable, feel more confident, and brings a touch of beauty and joy into your life, because who said you can't look cute when you're sick? So whether you’ve got cancer, know someone who has, or just want to support our mission, I hope you love these products all the same.

Your support of ‘For Andy’ means the whole world to me, and I hope I can do all of us cancer patients proud.

Maddie