Today we’d like to introduce you to Kierra Mays.
Hi Kierra, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started off cooking at a really young age. I’ve always liked being in the kitchen ever since I can remember. I used to go to the library when I was in elementary school and sit in there and read recipe books from all the different types of countries. I would check some of them out and take them home and try to cook them for my family. Surprisingly I was good at it so my family encouraged it partially because they like eating.
Eventually, I got into art and I discovered I was just as good at drawing as I was at cooking. And at a young age and I fell in love with them both. For some reason, our schools used to always make us take these career tests. So me being me, I started thinking hard about what I wanted to do with my life at the age of 8. I know it sounds crazy but I understood the idea of not being a kid forever when I was a child. Not sure why but I just did so. I would think long and hard about it and I decided I wanted to combine my art and my cooking. But I had no idea what career that would be. Until I was watching the food network and I saw someone make a cake that looked like a 3 D version of sully and mike from monsters inc. and that’s when I knew I wanted to be a cake designer. It was the perfect way to combine my art and my cooking. So from then on, I took classes and practiced on my own till I started selling cakes here and there around the age of 13 or 14. In high school, I entered a food competition with a team as the pastry cook. I then went to Kennesaw State University and got my degree in culinary arts, hospitality, and sustainability. Before officially launching my business, I traveled to Peru and studied baking and pastry there for about six months at the University of San Ignacio de Loyola. It was an amazing experience and was the perfect push I needed to put myself out there to create Keys Cakery.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Yes and no. Yes because I was able to get some pretty steady orders for my first six months of being open. It wasn’t a lot but it was better than I expected. No, because it’s a lot of hard work. I find myself working almost seven days a week, calculating prices while I’m out with friends, trying to keep up social media, Etsy shop, and a website on top of making all my orders. All of this can be really tiring at times. If I was working a 9-5, it would just be that 9-5 and nothing more. Owning your own business is 24/7 whether you realize it or not. It kinda consumes your life but I’m learning to find balance when it comes to my personal and business times. I know that the hard work will be worth it.
As you know, we’re big fans of Keys Cakery. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
Keys Cakery is an online bakery that specializes in custom cakes, cupcakes, and other desserts. My bakery stands out to me because every cake is uniquely designed. Each time I design a new cake, I try to outdo the design I did on the previous cake. I’m most proud of my customer service when it comes to my brand. I always strive to make sure I fully capture what my customers want when it comes to their custom cakes and designs. I only let my best work leave my kitchen.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I think the one thing I like best about Atlanta is all of the black professionals and businesses to be honest. As a black woman, I feel more comfortable getting my hair done by a black person. When it comes to health and medicine seeing a black dermatologist is very important for someone of color. Even when it comes to therapy, I never really realized how important it is to see a therapist from the same/similar background as yours. Atlanta has so many options for all of these services it feels like a blessing to live here because I know in other cities black businesses and professionals are very hard to come by.
I think the one thing I like least about our city is the traffic. It wasn’t that long ago where you could wait till 6 or 7 pm to leave work and not hit any traffic. Now there’s almost never a time during the week when there isn’t traffic. It makes everything so much harder to get to now.
Pricing:
- Dessert Gift boxes start at $30
- Custom Cakes start at $100
- Custom cupcakes start at $25 (by the dozen)
- Standard cakes start at $25
Contact Info:
- Email: Keyscakery@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.keyscakery.com/
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/keyscakery?utm_medium=copy_link
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pg/KeysCakery/posts/
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/KeysCakery?ref=seller-platform-mcnav
