Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shayanne Brents. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Shayanne thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?
Looking at my career which has spanned now for over a decade, the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me is support me. Community is key when trying to start something from the ground up, especially when there will be an endless number of haters trying to bring you down. Having support in any form from financially to simply sharing a post does wonders for your mental and business. Some have very successfully done it alone but it is rare. Having a community or even just one person that believes in you can really make the difference. From where I started in Las Vegas, knowing no one and having zero support, I found a community that lifted me up at Sister House Collective, all the women I grew to know became my support system and offered me knowledge, as well as, a place to start. Who would have guessed how large I would have grown in that niche community in just 5 years. Now in Nashville, in the same situation as before, I found an incredible creative community and small-business group., which allowed me to start growing again and I am forever grateful. On this topic, one other person I must acknowledge is my husband. Since the beginning he has always been my number one supporter, even when times were tough financially, he never let me give up on my dreams. He has always pushed me to be the best and I can never thank him enough for his endless love and support for me and my career. I feel so lucky to have this amazing web of support and couldn’t do it without.
Shayanne, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Art has always been my escape, since I was a child, in my darkest days, it always brought me back to some light. It eased the pain and the constant voices telling me that I am not good enough or important enough to acknowledge. Art has always seen me and allowed me to be my authentic self. It started as the usual visual art (drawing, painting, photography), I love exploring new mediums so basically everything I could get my hands on to create with. I graduated with a fine arts degree and felt lost, like my passion for art as a now adult hadn’t sparked again until I found culinary school. The minute I started putting my hands on food, it was like magic. My passion grew and became my career today. I started in Los Angeles, gaining as much knowledge and skills as I could, then moved to Las Vegas to start something new. I started my first business. Bleu Moon Bakery in 2016, just two months after moving to NV. It was a 100% vegan bakery where I operated out of my home, starting with pop-ups then moving on to wholesale and then back to my home operation. At its peak in 2020, I was creating on average 30+ custom cakes and hundreds of baked goods a month from my tiny apartment. I got really burnt out running everything solo and we needed a change, so we moved again! This time to Nashville, TN where I started slow and tried to restart my passion again by going back to art, working with new mediums like plaster and paint, my joy was sparked again and I started Shy Girl Baking Co. in 2022. I offer it all now from regular treats and cakes to customs and allergy-friendly, plus I also teach classes and will be starting to sell at markets summer 2023! I am really proud of my ability to adapt and adjust to change and new things, that was something that used to be impossible for me to cope with but now is all part of the fun!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Coming off a high being a major player in the vegan community in Las Vegas and running a successful bakery for 5 years. We arrived in Nashville in 2021 and I went through a major depression. I felt that along the journey from the burn out in Vegas to having to start all over again, I though my career was over. I had lost my passion and didn’t know who I was anymore or what I wanted from life and my career. So I went back to the very beginning and started working in a restaurant as a prep cook. It was a humbling experience and a place where I learned too many hard lessons. I worked my way to pastry chef and moved on from that toxic environment. Understandably, I still felt lost and then ended up injuring myself, which took me out physically for months. During that time, I tried to find my way through that depression with art once again. I started working with new mediums and was creating again before I knew it, which got my passion and creative wheels turning once more. I started Shy Girl Baking Co. and though I am growing slowly, I have so much more joy for what I do now. I have also learned to say no, which is a huge deal for me. Doing so much less of what makes me unhappy in my career has opened up so many possibilities and I believe in the next year or so, you will start to see something great coming from me once again!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of this line of work, is what I get out of it. I have used art as an outlet my whole life and I still get that benefit, even with the art I am creating now being for my business. My favorite part of what I do is the custom aspect of things and the majority of my customers putting trust in my style and work to create something magical for their celebration. I love being able to connect with people that way and be a special and unique part of their event.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.shygirlbakingco.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/shygirlbakingco
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/shygirlbakingco
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shayannebrents/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/shayannebrents
- TikTok: @shygirlbakingco