We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aria Bucko. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aria below.

Aria, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I started my wedding cake business in the end of 2020 after COVID-19 changed everything within the food industry. Food businesses large and small were affected and it was something that was difficult to navigate. As food business owners, we had to ask ourselves what precautions we needed to take, if our business would even work out, if we had to close, etc.

Starting a business in the middle of a pandemic was not something I had on my life experience bingo card. I grew up with parents who wanted me to go to college, I dreamed of a desk job, 9-5 days and getting a bachelor’s degree. As a kid, I loved making cupcakes from box mix, decorating them and selling them at our local park. I loved the arts. I would sketch, paint, do theater and dance. I had always heard that being an artist wouldn’t make you any money and it wasn’t worth pursuing.

When I was 18, newly married and job searching, I found a desk job. I was overjoyed because I could finally get out of the fast food industry after 3 years! I enjoyed my job and became a manager after a year. I started up baking as a hobby and started bringing cake to work. It was a hit and eventually I decided that maybe it was time to start up a side business for fun.

It turned out to be a lot more than that.

After a year, I got my first paid wedding cake order. It was my first time making a tiered cake, covering it with fondant, covering it in details and delivering. I was still figuring out my pricing and how to even make cakes well and efficiently. It went well and I found out I loved making cakes for weddings. I love love!

So I opened up more availability, took on more cakes, and would bake while working from home at my desk job. It worked out well! I was working my desk job 8 hours a day, would eat dinner and go work on cakes until bedtime. Weekends became 12 hour days of cake. I eventually took on so many cakes that I decided that I would either have to take time off work to keep up with it or I would need to quit my job. After a lot of thinking, I took the leap. I gave a month notice and quit. My first week without my desk job started me off on a much bigger venture than I had ever imagined.

Starting a business is a struggle, maintaining it is another struggle, but it can be so worth it in the end. I’ve come a long way since taking that gigantic leap of faith in myself. I now teach classes, design my cakes, have won best cake in Utah two years running and my calendar is more booked than ever. I’m proud of how far I’ve come.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

As a kid, I loved to draw, dance, sing, paint, write and act. I loved the arts and it brought so much joy. I also had my sights set on college very early on. I dreamed of becoming a teacher, civil engineer or architect. After working a few jobs, I realized that the career I had always dreamed of having, wasn’t actually what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.

Cakes started as a hobby but quickly became more for me as I was caught up in how much I loved making and decorating cakes and working with couples planning their weddings. Weddings are such wonderful events that symbolize the start of an even greater commitment and I adore that I get to have the honor of being a small part of that love.

As a creator, designing cakes has been a beautiful outlet for my artsy self. I love finding fun textures in the world around me, making cakes my own and adding new designs into a world full of cake artists. I’m proud of all the work I produce and working with couples on bringing their vision to life is something I greatly appreciate having the ability to do.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I believe that society has created a space where artists can now thrive, if the right market and niche is met. But I don’t think it’s always been this way and I think that it is also something we are still fighting for.

As artists, I think we doubt our worth quite a bit. We feel like we are charging too much for our talents because many times we get the response of “Really?! It’s that much? Why?” There are no concrete answers as to much each of us should be charging and it truly depends on our abilities, quality and location.

As a society, we can better support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem by respecting talent, skills and learned trades. We can appreciate the work, even if it isn’t our “cup of tea”. We can understand how much labor, time and skill goes into our products and that we have to make a living wage that isn’t just a survival wage. We have to make enough to live a good life and we have to price our product on that principle. We also have to understand that the economy changes, and that means our prices change too as we move forward in our businesses.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I one day hope to own a wedding venue. That’s the long term goal, anyway. My short term one is pretty simple, I want to be known for my designs and my detailing in my cakes.

My goal now is to switch from doing the same day in day out cakes and branch out! Make more palette floral cakes, add details, add my own spin on designs and really have fun creating more challenging cakes. I also am continually working on my goal to teach classes consistently and be able to share that passion with others.

I’m told my long term goal is a big venture and hope – let me tell you, I know. Even though I don’t have plans for opening one anytime soon, I love to dream a little bit.

I hope to move to the west coast in the next 10 years with a property large enough for a home and a venue. To be able to have a venue in the middle of the woods with large windows, beautiful lighting and flowers. Getting married surrounded by nature is something that I find beautiful and I loved the woods from part of my childhood in Oregon. They will always be sentimental and dear to me. My hope is to give couples the same feeling. The feeling of joy, peace and the reverence of the trees around them as they make their vows to one another. I hope to put a large commercial kitchen in this venue so I can continue making the cakes I love while also hosting classes in a beautiful space.     

Contact Info:

• Website: https://buckobakery.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buckobakery/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buckobakery