Where We Began
The story of Saranoni truly began with the birth of our first child, Eliza. She was born with microtia, a congenital condition that caused her to be born without a fully developed outer and middle ear. As she grew old enough to be considered for corrective surgery, we soon learned the procedure was considered a cosmetic surgery, and wouldn’t be covered by insurance. The cost was over $100,000.00 for just the outer ear surgery and didn’t include the middle ear or other surgeries that would be needed. This was a high cost for our young family, now with two more of our children in tow.
Our wheels started churning on how we could help our daughter have the opportunity for these surgeries and we made the decision we would launch our own business endeavor to bring in extra money. We were in the thick of raising little ones and I remembered the corporate gift baskets we’d received from Nathan's company after the birth of a new baby. While always well intended, they were often full of low-quality items that were quickly disposed of and lacked any real value, and I felt we could do better. So we set out to build a highly curated baby gift basket company.
With 3 young children, an ambitious goal and little to no experience, I made my first shaky steps into the business world as Nathan had a full time job. to assemble and sell gift baskets for new babies, a world I was very familiar with, being in the thick of raising three young kids. I loved the creative aspect and soon found myself at the family computer late into the night while my babies were asleep, emailing back and forth with artisans from 3rd world countries. Featuring their beautiful work in my gift baskets brought me a sense of fulfillment and joy and quickly became my outlet! Among the items featured in the gift baskets (including jewelry and baby clothes) were luxury baby blankets. I had no idea then, that those baby blankets would be what people would fall in love with the most!
As exciting as it was to start this new venture, it wasn’t all moments of joy. Weekends were often filled with long drives to craft fairs, grueling hours of packing and shipping out of our basement, and days where it seemed like nothing was working. At one point Nathan and I fulfilled orders from our storage unit in the freezing dead of winter, with our kids bundled in the car. One night, exhausted by the burden of this endeavor on top of motherhood, I told Nathan that I was simply done. It was too much. After spending some time in prayer and in conversation together, we knew that Saranoni was here to stay. We made the decision that Nathan would join the company part-time, we would transition into a luxury blanket company and drop all of our other products and that we would start selling to baby retailers.
That night changed our lives, and the decision to work together was a gift! We jumped back into the game of business together with a renewed energy to live up to our company’s name, Saranoni, a combination of the names of mine and Nathan’s maternal great grandmothers. These two women–Sarah and Noni, exemplified values of faith, strength, hard work, service, and family. Their legacy has influenced the way that we choose to do business. We take pride in the relationships we have with our manufacturers and sewers, the quality of our products, and the culture of kindness and service in our company’s everyday actions.
THE UP'S AND DOWNS
Through all of the ups and downs of business and as our business grew, so did our family. Nathan and I’s biggest priority was our life together as parents. We spent many late nights together developing products at the kitchen table, but even more hours were spent with our 6 children–monitoring homework, cheering at sports events and enjoying the beautiful chaos of raising a family. It was always wonderful and wild at the same time! Our children know, love, and have worked alongside our wonderful Saranoni team. Our team has become family as well!
On November 5th of 2021, Nathan received a sudden and alarming diagnosis after feeling extremely tired for just a few days. He was diagnosed with a large tumor in the middle of the brain stem. Within 2 days, he lost his ability to walk on his own. Through a series of miracles we were able to get into Huntsman Cancer center immediately where we hoped to learn how we could treat the tumor and the options for chemo/radiation. Instead we were told he wasn’t leaving the hospital and would need emergency surgery to receive a stint in his brain to relieve the hydrocephalus the tumor had caused and receive a biopsy of the tumor. A week later we received the results of the biopsy and he was diagnosed with stage 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme, an aggressive form of brain cancer in the only inoperable place in the brain and was given 4 weeks to live.
With no treatment options to extend his life, Nathan went on an experimental treatment and we did everything we could to treasure the weeks we were given–a seemingly impossible task. We cherished every second–spending hours at his side snuggling, attending to his needs, enjoying our beloved BYU football as a family and receiving visits from loved ones. The amount of people that came in and out of our home–hugging our kids, bringing meals, playing music, decorating our Christmas tree, and serving us is more than we could ever recount. Nathan, ever aware of his condition, spent time assuring the kids that he would be present at events that were important to them and that he would be watching out for them. He testified of his faith in God and his conviction that despite everything, our family would be together again.
During this time we were so humbled to receive such overwhelming kindness from a community that rallied around Nathan and I, and our children at a time when we could do nothing but hang on as a family and look for the positive in every day. We witnessed volunteers from the community show up at our warehouse, ready to help our team get the holiday orders out. This allowed us precious time with Nathan and our family during the holidays, and those are days we will always remember.
Nathan passed away peacefully on January 5th, 2022 holding my hand–just as he requested. His death has been tremendously difficult for our children and I. There isn’t a day that we don’t miss him dearly, but we have tried to keep our chins up - tears and all - and continue the legacy of Saranoni so dear to Nathan. Our business’s mission has never meant more to us than it does now.
MOMENTS BECOME MEMORIES
While our family and our Saranoni team miss Nathan and his presence desperately, his passion for service and connection are alive and well at Saranoni. Our mission remains to bring comfort, warmth, and connection to individuals and families. Nathan used to say that moments become memories and we are honored to help families create and enjoy the moments that will become precious memories. We hope that our blankets create a soft place to land and connect, and comfort to your lives! Whether you’re purchasing your first Saranoni blanket for your home, sending comfort to a friend, or simply trying to slow down and enjoy the little things, you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to the Saranoni family!