For Emily DelFavero, happiness sounds like a strumming a soothing rhythm on her guitar, sitting upon a throne of love.

“It was vibrating when I got it," said DelFavero. "There was so much energy on it. I carried it through my door right to this spot and I played."

What You Need To Know

  • Most tattoos tell stories, and a Central New York's woman tattoo is a tale of survival and love
  • Emily DelFavero saw a picture of a chair that she has tattooed on her leg, but the secondhand chair was in Baltimore
  • Women banded together to get Emily the chair
  • The fundraiser caught on, and they donated hundreds of dollars to Community Action Programs Cayuga/Seneca

To some, the Mackenzie Childs fish chair is silly. That’s why a woman posted it in the Facebook group “Weird Secondhand Finds That Just Need To Be Shared.” Within minutes the picture caught DelFavero's eye.

“It was almost magic too," said DelFavero. "It was Labor Day and I was supposed to be working.”

So DelFavero took the bait and commented: “I literally have this chair tattoo’d." She posted a picture of her own colorful calf.

“My mom was a person who taught me unconditional love," said DelFavero. "She means everything to me. She’s still with us but this is my homage to not only her, but my warm past and childhood.”

Her childhood was colored with Mackenzie Childs items. DelFavero vividly remembers a lemonade pitcher and fish plates, but at 17 years old, the days and dinner table turned dark.

“We left those behind when my mom left her abusive boyfriend," said DelFavero. "She woke me up one morning, early morning, and she was like ‘Emily, it’s not safe here.’”

From Baltimore to Syracuse, Facebook united the fellowship of the fish chair. Dozens donated to help buy and get DelFavero the chair that’s a part of her.

Through online fundraising, Emily raised more than enough money to buy and transport the chair. She donated more than $750 to Community Action Programs Cayuga/Seneca. That’s the nonprofit that helped get her back on her feet after leaving the abusive home with her mom.

In the past few weeks, her home has been filling up with Mackenzie Childs finds.

“A woman sent me this from Montana,” DelFavero said while holding 14 pounds of doorknobs and pulls.

DelFavero has gotten hand drawn pictures, a platter from a woman in Liverpool, and stories from around the world.

And 13 years after leaving an abusive home, DelFavero reflects upon the journey that at created a community full of love.