Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexandra Hahn.

Hi Alexandra, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

I always wanted to work creatively.
Theater caught me early—during a high school internship in 8th grade. Once it captures your heart, it never truly leaves you. Years later, on a film set, a seasoned cameraman told me, just ten minutes into our conversation: You’re a theater girl. What are you doing here? I can see your heart glow and your eyes shine when you talk about it.
You know, the magic of standing in the wings during a show, watching the energy unfold between actors and audience. When they catch the first joke early, when you hear them laugh out there—400 people at a time sigh and hold their breath, and every one of us knows: This is going to be a good one.
The first actors coming back for a change, smiling, and while you help them rip off their clothes, you’re on your knees nestling shoes onto nervous feet in the dark… “What on earth? Didn’t we order elastic on those pumps last night? This button takes forever, I can’t see anything down here… ” They slip into the next costume, and they’re like: “It’s a good crowd today! It’s a good crowd! Can you feel it?”—with that mix of relief and satisfaction. Actors are beautiful when they’re happy. And they are radiant during the show. I love seeing them jump in and out of character.
I loved being a part of it—creating a magical moment for people to escape their everyday hustle and bustle for two hours, diving into a parallel world we created for them.
Lovely. Literally. Full of love.

It was a beautiful time in my life. After completing my degree in architecture, I worked in so many ways in the industry—as an assistant in production design, a dresser, in prop-making, as a scenic designer, a costume designer—for stage, film, photo, exhibitions, and museums. I did graphic design for an incredibly talented German make-up FX studio and learned everything there is to know about silicone wound prosthetics.
For many years, I shared a workshop with good friends—one of those beautiful, undone Berlin spots where the 150-year-old wooden floor planks alone held enough life to inspire your next design, your next choice of texture. Creativity feeds on imperfection.
We supported each other’s dreams and grew together—from unpaid, idealistic short films to finally making a living doing what we loved. There was a lot of friendship involved. When you work long hours under pressure, you need to be surrounded by people you trust—people who make you feel good. Where communication flows without words. Where you raise your hand and someone instinctively hands you gaffer tape.
I’ve never worked with people I didn’t like. You spend such a big part of your life with them. You need to choose carefully whom to give your energy to.
For 18 years I’ve been building my network, having the time of my life, throwing around ideas all day, and creating… things. Actually, it doesn’t really matter what. Just the process of creating is mind-blowing.
Bringing an idea to life and watching it unfold its magic is insanely beautiful and satisfying.

I could never choose just one side or the other, but my versatility gave me endless possibilities. If one door closed, another opened. I just shifted a little toward one of the other things I loved doing.

At 37, I was almost burnt out. And I didn’t even realize it. I had been in a relationship where I was responsible for providing work and enough jobs for both of us. He had severe mental health issues, and I compensated by hiding in 15-hour workdays, six days a week. But the work I was doing still gave me energy and enthusiasm.

Then I met the love who made me put my whole life on hold—just in time to prevent a breakdown. For the first time in my life, I was not interested in any new projects. A feeling I had never experienced before. I had never been able to say no to any inquiry or potential project because I was always excited about the vision behind it. But I knew this was a unique moment—my chance for healing.

So I canceled all my projects and started doing nothing. For almost a year. Just breathing. Resting. Taking the time to meet my family and really have the mental capacity to listen to their thoughts and worries. You know, when you leave their house and, even two hours later, you still remember what they’ve been telling you? That kind of listening. Just hanging out with my girls. Eating ice cream. Spending time in nature. Harvesting wild rosehips and drying them for tea…

Even though our marriage eventually didn’t work out, this is something I will forever be grateful for. He literally helped save my life—my mental health. I’ve seen it in friends and family members—once you go over the edge into a mental breakdown, something gets lost. People never fully recover in terms of resilience to stress and energy levels. Just be careful.

This love brought me to the U.S., and I left behind my life and my “baby” of 18 years. Looking back, I’d say this was a challenge even a healthy relationship would struggle with. Especially since I don’t have kids, and my work was my baby. I didn’t fully realize that at the time.

I was excited about the new start and a change of scenery. But on a deeper level, I felt lost, and every argument had the potential to turn into an existential fight about not losing myself in the relationship. I had left behind my purpose in life. I couldn’t find an anchor anymore.

It was also the beginning of a journey toward a more holistic, natural approach to life and well-being—understanding more about stress and the importance of emotions for physical health. I took herbal medicine classes, learned about energy healing, and started integrating Ho’oponopono into my daily practice. The darker times of our marriage led me to explore my own childhood wounds and limiting beliefs. Counseling. Inner child work.
Learning to breathe in moments when I wanted to react. Growing my patience. Learning to let go of control—which is incredibly difficult for a woman who has spent her life teaching herself that her independence is the highest goal. Including the idea of receiving in balance to giving. Finding more of my feminine energy.
Realizing how much diet influences overall health. I started eating gluten-free and dairy-free, buying organic produce, and finally turned toward another love of mine: creating food and sharing it with people I care for.
Today, I own a small home-based bakery business. I operate out of a beautiful home, just a row back from the beach. My landlady has been very supportive since I first moved here, and the ocean has become a constant in my life. Every morning, I step outside, breathe in the salty air, and take a walk along the shore. It’s a simple routine, but one that fills me with gratitude.

I’m a vendor at the local farmers’ markets here in Virginia Beach, and I love it.
I specialize in gluten-free baked goods that serve all kinds of dietary preferences—keto-friendly, dairy-free, sugar-free, vegan. My goal is to support you in your healthy lifestyle choices and provide delicious pastries, bread, and crackers that are clean, made from scratch, and taste like family recipes.

Connecting with my customers and listening to their good days and bad is an integral part of my business that I would never want to miss.
From time to time, I love to dive back into my old life of creating and decorating. You can tell by a look at my market setup. I still use the same printed fabric for my tent’s backdrop that I would use for a 40-ft stage. It makes me happy. I feel the fabric, and I feel a sense of home. And then I hear the manager open the market: “Everyone ready? Let’s get this started!” The crowd rushes in, and I turn around to find my customer Erin smiling in excitement. “You’re early today, my dear! Wait, I got your pre-order ready for you. Four slices of Keto Zucchini Brownie and your usual sugar-free Apple Streusel? What else can I get you, love?”
Circles in life always close in their own ways. I truly believe that what belongs to you eventually finds its way back.
After six years away, focusing on my bakery business, art has slowly been coming back to me. Gently, through the back door of a small coffee shop.
“I could imagine some artwork in here, maybe feature some locals,” the owner said as he showed me around the day we started our winter collaboration.
That little spark and his support was all I needed to start reconnecting with my roots. I reached out to local artists, and before I knew it, I was back in my element—curating, discovering, and getting more and more excited about it.
I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something about the company of fellow artists that I had been missing deeply.
I had a beautiful time discovering artwork to feature and connecting with new people. Over time, a small but inspiring community started to form around our place.

Of course, there have been setbacks. But that’s what life is made of. Ups and downs. To me, it’s like day and night, like light and shadow. You can only truly appreciate the light when you’ve spent time in the dark. They exist because of each other. They need each other.
Embrace your downs. They make you grow. They make you cherish the good times even more

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about lexi.berlin?

At lexi.berlin, I specialize in handcrafted, gluten-free baked goods made with clean, high-quality, organic ingredients. Whether you’re keto, dairy-free, sugar-free, vegan, or simply looking for healthier options, I create breads, pastries, crackers and snacks that support your lifestyle—and taste like family recipes. I find inspiration in my mom’s and grandma’s cookbooks and transform those family traditions into delicious, healthy, modern treats.
Since I live on a healthy keto diet myself, I put a special focus on keto friendly items.

I believe that the body has an incredible ability to heal itself when we nourish it with the right foods. That’s why every product is made from scratch, using simple, wholesome ingredients that fuel your well-being.

You can find me at local farmers’ markets in Virginia Beach or conveniently shop online at www.lexi.berlin. Because eating well should be both delicious and effortless.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lexi.berlin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lexi.berlin/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lexi.berlin.foryou/

Image Credits

Mallory Anderson
Alexandra Hahn