We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kemi Sanni a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kemi, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Tessa’s is derived from my mother’s name – Theresa.

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

I’m Kemi, Owner of Tessa’s Cakes located in the Baltimore area of Maryland, USA. I create custom or luxury cakes for all events – specializing in the use of fondant. I also love texture and particularly enjoy adding some form of texture to the cake design.

I started baking with my mom as a teenager and my mom very early tried to encourage me to pursue “caking” more seriously from a hobby into a business. She got me a bunch of orders from her friends and the pressure of having people pay me to create and design cakes was so scray, I gave it up! So I focused on a legal career specializing in court mediation.

When my mom died most unexpectedly at the age of 59, caking was a therapeutic outlet for dealing with the loss and it continues to make me feel closer to her. This is why I named my business after my mom. Every cake I create is made with love and at a quality that meets my mom’s standards and taste. And she was a woman of very high standards and impeccable taste!

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I resisted getting on social media for a long time! I joined Instagram later than most and only ever showed pictures of my cakes. I was (and still am) shy to show my face. So I took this on as a challenge to do the very thing that frightened me the most which was be vulnerable! Show the face behind the brand and also show mistakes, victories and behind the scenes experiences that other cakers, working moms, and entrepreneurs experience. I believe this was the turning point in building a community on social media to a place that it truly feels like a family anytime I engage with other people’s content or whenever anyone engages with mine. It’s really about putting the “social” back in social media in an authentic way.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I started out thinking I was to be a certain kind of caker or cake designer – one whose aesthetic fit a box or what most considered to be a beautiful cake. In the cake industry here, designing buttercream cakes is more embraced and while I can design buttercream cakes, I realized that I derive the most creative joy and freedom in making the less popular type – fondant. I had to unlearn the notion that what worked for everyone or most had to work for me and I had to listen and learn what I want my artist voice to be.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tessascakes.net
• Instagram: tessas.cakes