We’re looking forward to introducing you to Grace Dukes. Check out our conversation below.
Grace, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Honestly, there’s currently no such thing as a normal day! I try to keep a morning routine of preparing myself for the day, but between homeschooling my kids, baking for various different size weddings, and a vast array of other tasks and interests, I never really know where I might be from day to day. Some days I don’t leave the house, oven on and the countertops covered in powdered sugar. Other days, we’ll be down in San Diego having business talks with my sister and scoping out the best spot to get brunch. I love the freedom I have to plan my week as I go.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, I’m Grace, the CEO of Gracie’s Cakes and More (aka Chief Everything Officer). I am the designer, the baker, and the businesswoman behind my home based bakery that specializes in custom, buttercream cakes; decorated sugar cookies; macarons; and many other kinds of desserts.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Growing up, I would watch Cake Boss like my life depended on it, sitting in front of our family computer watching Buddy teach how to make buttercream roses. I always wanted to make cakes, to own a bakery or other place that people could come to eat delicious food together. “Aw, how cute. You want to be a baker,” I remember a high school teacher of mine say, informing me and my parents that it was basically a useless skill and I should aspire to be something more academic. I let the voices of other people tell me that there were other things I should be, that running a business would be too hard, or even that I was stupid for thinking this little “hobby” could ever amount to anything. I wanted to be perfect and have everything fit into this perfect box of what I “should” be. Then I heard God tell me it was time. Time to start, to really start and to stop worrying about what everyone else thought. I’m still trusting that process every day, but I get so much joy and so much peace being the silly, crazy, sweet baker I have always wanted to be.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
“Listen to your gut, kid!” I’ve made a lot of choices in my life based on what I viewed as the majority vote of what everyone else thought I should do. Turns out most of them were the wrong one. I felt it but ignored that still small voice in my gut telling me that I should be doing something totally different. I don’t ask people what I should do anymore, I ask God and he tells me in those little tummy butterflies. It’s much nicer this way!
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
Not yet. I’ve spent so long making decisions based on what version of my life that everyone else would like best, I kinda lost myself. The last few years have been a lot of healing, a lot of figuring out who I actually am, so no I haven’t quite figured out how to present my true nature to the world. There’s a lot going on under the surface. One day it will all come out in bright crazy shining glory. I will say, though, that the joy that I show is and has always been true.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
I don’t look at my business as a cake business, but the first steps of a business that will do so much more. I hope that it will build a community that will help women of all ages and stages of life- not just for their wedding cake, but in every aspect from growing up and finding those boundaries as they discover who they are becoming, to raising families, to finding themselves again when they are ready to build their own businesses. Right now it’s just cakes, but it’s never just been about cakes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee.com/GraciesCakes
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_graciescakes/reels/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@graciescakes
Image Credits
Grace Dukes, Shelley Sykes
