We recently connected with Daniela Reyes and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Daniela thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
Before I started my business, I was working in bakeries, soaking up as much knowledge as I could. I wanted to understand the craft from the inside out , how things ran, how to work under pressure, how to decorate cakes and make pastries at a professional level. Over time, as I got more confident doing tasks on my own , like decorating wedding cakes or creating pastries for events at the club I worked at , I began to think, I can do this myself. That confidence didn’t come overnight, but it grew with each cake I made and each challenge I took on.
The real push came when I got with my fiancé. He believed in me before I fully believed in myself. As a business owner himself, he not only encouraged me but helped support me financially so I could get started. We’ve been learning and growing together, side by side, and that’s made the journey even more meaningful.
What made me feel like my idea was different was my passion for making everything from scratch using real, natural ingredients. These days, so many baked goods are filled with additives and preservatives , especially in grocery stores. I wanted to bring people back to what desserts are supposed to be: homemade, fresh, and full of love. There’s something special about that , it’s not just about taste, it’s about intention.
What gets me most excited is when customers challenge me with a new design. I’ve had so many moments where I thought, I don’t know if I can pull this off, but I try , and then I surprise myself. It pushes me creatively, and that growth keeps me inspired.
Starting out was honestly scary. When you’re new, orders don’t come easily. You’re putting your heart out there and hoping people take a chance on you. But little by little, I kept showing up, sharing my work, and building trust. Seeing people come back at markets and tell me how much they loved my pastries… that was everything. It reminded me that this dream is possible.
Between culinary school, my bakery jobs, and the support from my family and fiancé, I’ve learned so much. And when I look back at some of my first cakes ( the ones that weren’t so pretty ) and compare them to what I make now, I feel proud. I’ve come a long way.
I just hope that when people try my pastries, cookies, or cakes, they can taste the love and care that goes into them. Every order helps me grow, get better tools, and get one step closer to my dream of owning my own bakery. And more than anything, I want to make my family proud ,because I couldn’t have done any of this without them.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Daniela Reyes, and I’m the owner of Dani’s Artisan Kitchen, where I create custom cakes, pastries, and cookies , all made from scratch with intention, love, and natural ingredients.
I first fell in love with baking as a kid. I was completely fascinated by the show Cake Boss , how Buddy and his team could turn cakes into something magical, into anything but what you’d expect a cake to look like. It was edible art. That curiosity led me to take a culinary class in 7th grade . I joined without much thought at the time, but it turned out to be the beginning of everything. While a lot of my classmates just wanted to eat, I was there to learn. I wanted to understand the science behind food.
I stuck with culinary all through high school, enrolling in a gold seal program that gave me the chance to compete and travel. That’s when I realized that my passion could actually take me places. I was also baking at home, starting with box mixes, but soon wanting more. I wanted to know how to make everything from scratch, even when my first cakes were flat and far from perfect. I kept going.
Today, through Dani’s Artisan Kitchen, I offer a variety of homemade treats. At markets, I specialize in handmade flavored croissants and sugar cookies, and I also take custom orders for everything from birthday and gender reveal cakes to wedding and quinceañera cakes. My products are unique because I focus on scratch-made quality and things you rarely see at local markets , and I love weaving in Mexican flavors that represent my roots and my story.
When I first started at the market, I sold things like jumbo cookies, muffins, and breads , but I quickly realized that those were already everywhere. I had to ask myself: What do I have to offer that’s different? That’s when I leaned on the croissant-making experience I gained at one of the bakeries I worked at, and it changed everything. Now, people look forward to my handmade croissants, especially when they’re filled with something unexpected and personal.
I try to serve everyone who comes my way , including people looking for gluten-free or dye-free options, or those who need something really specific for their event. Even if I’ve never made it before, I take the time to research and practice to make it happen. I want my clients to experience not just beauty, but quality and flavor , the kind that comes from patience, time, and real ingredients.
What I’m most proud of isn’t just a single moment or product ,it’s the fact that even with my self-doubt, I keep pushing forward. I never feel like I’ve done enough, but I continue to grow. I look at the work I’ve done over the years and I see how far I’ve come, and that reminds me why I do this.
More than anything, I want people to know that I’m here to make others feel something ,joy, comfort, celebration ,and I want to be remembered for that. I want to inspire others to believe in themselves, to take a chance on their dreams, no matter how impossible they may seem.
My driving force will always be family and passion. My dad once told me, “As long as you are good at doing something, you’ll never be without a dollar in your pocket.” And my mom always told me to “Never turn an order away”. That stuck with me. I want to be able to give back to my family the way they’ve given to me, to be there for them the way they’ve been there for me. They’re the reason I started, and the reason I’ll never stop.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
A lesson I had to unlearn was thinking that I had to feel 100% ready and confident before starting something new. For a long time, I didn’t feel like I was ‘enough’ ,not skilled enough, not experienced enough, not ready. Even when people complimented my work, I’d doubt myself.
But when I finally took the leap to start Dani’s Artisan Kitchen, I realized that you learn as you go. I didn’t need to have it all figured out to begin. I had to unlearn that perfection mindset, because in reality, the growing and learning happens through experience, not before it.
I’m proud that I push myself through the fear now, even if I don’t feel ready. That’s how I’ve improved, and it’s how I keep getting better.
Alright – let’s talk about marketing or sales – do you have any fun stories about a risk you’ve taken or something else exciting on the sales and marketing side?
One of my favorite moments was when I decided to try something different at the farmers market. I had been making everything myself (muffins, cookies, breads ) but I noticed a lot of other vendors were offering similar things. I started to wonder if what I was doing was enough. That’s when I decided to try making croissants from scratch, something I had learned at a previous job. I wasn’t sure if people would be interested, but I gave it a shot. To my surprise, they sold, and a few people even came back asking for them again. That small moment gave me a little more confidence to keep going and reminded me that sometimes trying something new can really make a difference.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Danis_artisankitchen_
- Facebook: Dani’s Artisan Kitchen
- Other: Tik tok – Danisartisankitchen
