"dahlink" was the pet name melissa's husband bestowed upon her during their 2003 courtship, a direct reference to the vernacular of his favorite cartoon series, ignatz & krazy kat, by george herriman.

edward, aka "mr. dearie" or "eduardo dearie", also introduced her to the songs of the magnificent american jazz singer & pianist, blossom dearie.

"dahlink" quickly evolved into "darling" and with their shared affection for blossom dearie, they assumed second identities as "the dearies."

an early family ambition, though as yet unfulfilled, was to travel and check into hotels under the dearies alias as a lark, such as rock stars do for privacy.

nonetheless, when their second child was born, they decided to make her a proper dearie, bestowing ‘dearie’ as their daughter’s legal middle name.

melissa and edward continue to this day to refer to themselves and each other by their darling & eduardo dearie nicknames, and this is why it only felt natural for melissa to create her business around this very personal persona.