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

Alright, Jeremya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

If I’m being completely honest, I learned about baking and cake decorating from watching the Food Network and YouTube videos. As a teenager, I wasn’t really into popular TV shows. I always turned to the Food Network and watched shows like Cake Boss and Cake Wars. I took mental notes on pronunciation and techniques, but for some reason, I never felt comfortable trying them myself. I wish I had started earlier to gain more experience. In middle school, I was part of the ISTEAM3D program, which challenged us to think outside the box. I believe this program helped shape my creative mindset that I now pour into my cake art. I faced two major obstacles that forced me to take a break from practicing my craft, which affected my business. When my mother got sick with cancer, I dedicated myself to helping her get better, even if it meant putting cakes aside. My focus was on school, and her health. I started baking again while she was sick because it made her happy to see me in the kitchen. Sadly, cancer took her away, and I stopped baking completely. It took time to start again, but then the Covid-19 pandemic hit, making it risky to continue selling edible items. I had to pause until it was safe. It’s been tough for my business, but I’m slowly getting back into it. I won’t let discouragement stop me. I have faith that I’ll perfect my craft and see my business grow.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For starters, my name is Jeremya, I’m 21, and I’m a baker/cake decorator in training. I have been baking for around 5 years and cake decorating for 2 years, completely self-taught. I don’t want to have the cliché story of being bullied and feeling defeated, then coming out triumphant through it all, but that’s the best way I can describe it. As a child, I was bullied a lot, mainly targeted for my weight/appearance. People would say some cruel things to me, but the one thing that really stuck was when I was told, ‘I have no purpose in this world, and I should hurt myself.’ This affected me more than I thought it would, and for a while, I thought they were right. But then, I decided to give baking a try. It started with watching cooking shows, then trying out what I saw, and eventually making small things like cookies or brownies for my friends/classmates. My sister encouraged me to turn it into a business. A friend of her suggested I sale plates but instead of selling plates, I started selling baked goods. I mean, who doesn’t like a good cheesecake or a good chocolate chip cookie, right? Just as I was getting customers and a regular menu, Covid-19 hit and put a damper on things. But rest assured, I’m back and better than ever. I still need more practice, but I’ve improved since I first started. For future customers out there, I just want you to know that I value or opinion and your feedback, you put your trust in me so I want to do anything I can to make sure you are satisfied with your experience.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

As a society, we need to help create a safe, stable environment for artists and creatives to practice and promote what they create. We need to start investing in the work that is being provided wether it is purchasing, promoting or doing something as simple as sharing a post on instagram. Anything Helps!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most important aspect, in my opinion is just being able to do something that I love while making people happy at the same time. I get this internal excitement whenever I complete an order and the customer is happy, it makes me happy and it gives me a sense of belonging.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/tlg_lock?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aymerej.doowhcitr.1/