Today we’d like to introduce you to Faith Arco.
Hi Faith, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My interest in the kitchen started ages ago, when I was just a little kid. My mom has always been such a great home cook and I remember always being so mesmerized watching her chop vegetables so speedily– I was probably no older than four or five years old. I’ve always had a natural curiosity when it came to cooking. That curiosity led me to seek out cooking content– and I grew up in the early 2000s, where we still watched our shows on the TV versus streaming services. I spent a lot of my childhood watching the Food Network channel. My favorite Food Network stars were Giada DeLaurentiis, Rachael Ray, Alton Brown, and Sara Lee! I remember always looking forward to DeLaurentiis’s shows Everyday Italian and Giada at Home. Alton Brown’s show Good Eats where he highlighted the science and history behind dishes, was another one of my favorites.
Somewhere along the way, my interest in the kitchen became more specific to the world of baking and pastry making. I remember in 2007 when I was just eight years old, my mom, Charina, and I baked my first ever batch of desserts– a batch of orange zest brown sugar cookies. From there, the rest was history! I would go on to bake alongside my stepdad Paul, who loves to bake during holidays. For context, Paul is an all-things-Disney fanatic. We would bake recipes from Disney Parks restaurants like Milkyway Cake from Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club Resort at Walt Disney World, or Ooey Gooey Toffee cake from Liberty Tree Tavern, or one of my favorite things we’ve baked together ever– Ohana Bread Pudding from the Polynesian Resort! Paul really guided me early into my baking journey and we made so many sweet memories from baking together, all while providing sweet treats to our family.
I would also be the family designated baker for our holiday parties, and also the designated “kitchen helper” for both of my parents when we would host big parties. I remember being just exhausted from baking all the party sized pastries like blondies and cupcakes that I wouldn’t even want to be social when the actual party started! Well, I’m also an introvert, so there was that too. I must disclaim that no one was pressuring me to bake big quantities or more involved desserts for these family parties, I put it on myself because I just loved baking and creating something totally different from the individual ingredients. But it was hard for me to know when to get to a good stopping point, and say “hey I should probably go upstairs now and give myself enough time to rest and get ready for the party”. Those parties gave me plenty of opportunities to bake for fun, and also really sharpen my skills.
Eventually, after having experience baking brownies, blondies, cookies, etc., I got into cake decorating. I learned most of my cake decorating skills from youtube. In June of 2018, my older sister Alisha had sent me a video of a person making a number cake that she found scrolling through facebook. Alisha asked me if I could make it for her birthday, and as her little sister, of course I obliged. I made her this really cute number cake– which consisted of layers of almond shortbread, vanilla chantilly cream, and fresh fruit. And when I brought the cake out to her birthday dinner, everyone ‘ooo’d’ and ‘aah’d’ and was so impressed by this creation. They encouraged me to start selling my cakes. My older siblings right then and there literally started me an instagram account, came up with an online bakery name and that’s how the sort of “prototype” of The Clovery was born. We named this online bakery “Faithful Sweets”. I, as a shy 19 year old girl at the time, was actually quite scared at the idea of pleasing paying customers, but I honestly just went with it. From 2018-2020, I ran Faithful Sweets and took orders from family friends and neighbors. I initially specialized in those number cakes, but ironically enough it’s now one of my least favorite cakes to make so I have since stopped making those.
When the pandemic hit, I put a pause on taking orders for obvious reasons. I got my first job at 21 years old in June 2020 at a doughnut shop in Del Mar. There, I came out of my shell more and met some amazing people while making fresh doughnuts. In fall of 2021, I moved on from doughnuts and started working at a little bakery inside of a grocery store. There, I worked under the manager, and now my friend, Alexa. She taught me so much and helped me to become a better baker and cake decorator, and provided a safe environment for me to learn.
Fast forward to now, in 2025, I no longer work in a commercial bakery; plus, I have renamed my online microbakery from Faithful Sweets to The Clovery (named after my sweet pet cat, Clove). I have also branched out from just baking for customers, to also doing recipe development and writing and publishing my own recipes on my blog, The Clovery. The Clovery is both an online recipe blog, and a microbakery.
In the past few months, I have started doing my first series of pop-up events. At these pop-ups, I bring a variety of pastries for the public to purchase. It’s been a whirlwind and I’ve already learned so much. I’ve learned that baking for custom cake/pastry orders is incredibly different than baking for a pop-up event. Another thing I’ve learned is that doing pop-ups is nearly impossible without help, so thank you to my friends and family for helping me set up and take down my booth, and take care of our customers. It takes a village!
I am just getting started here, and my journey is ever changing into different directions, but ultimately my goal is to become a full time recipe developer. Some day I would love to publish a baking cookbook of my own too!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As with every life journey, there have definitely been some ups and downs in mine. During the pandemic, in 2020, I took a hiatus from accepting cake orders in order to minimize my contact with others to do my part in reducing the spread of the virus. I remember feeling so much uncertainty during this time.
Also, two years ago, I experienced an intensely painful arthritic flare up, and have since been diagnosed with arthritis. Fortunately, thanks to my doctors and medication, my joint pain is mostly kept at bay. When I initially got my diagnosis, it really made me rethink my long term career goals as a baker. Being a baker or any kitchen-related job is really taxing on the body. Nowadays, I’m not baking everyday, more like 3-4 days a week. Since I’m my own boss, I can choose when I want to bake and how big of a work load I want to take on. I still experience the occasional arthritis flare up from time to time unfortunately, and when that happens, it serves as a harsh reminder to pause and rest. To this day, I’m still trying to figure out how to balance my passion for baking and this need to prioritize my overall health and wellness.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a food content creator that operates a micro bakery and recipe blog! I have been baking for my local community since 2018. I specialize in custom cakes that fall into a whimsical, playful, floral aesthetic. I’m also known for my mango float cookies. In spring of this year, I did a series of pastry boxes that I sold out of my home. These pastry boxes came with 4-6 thoughtfully-made pastries. For Easter, I put out an Easter-themed pastry box. In this pastry box, I included a “mango float cookie” — a cookie I developed inspired by the filipino icebox dessert called Mango Float. I am so proud of this cookie! It was my first dessert featured in Michi Michi bakery in Banker’s Hill. And that cookie sold out all three days it resided at Michi Michi! It was an amazing, gratifying feeling because that was the first time that complete strangers/the general public bought something I created — I created that cookie all the way from the early recipe development stages to the final baking and decorating stages. For it to be received so well by my fellow San Diegans… it truly was a special turning point in my baking career. I only create and develop recipes that I would be proud to serve and would be excited to eat! Same goes with the cakes and pastries I sell. I see baking and pastries as an art form, so I only want to put out work that I feel proud to call mine.
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is my family. I grew up one of thirteen siblings– we are a blended family. My bond with my parents and siblings means everything to me. As an immigrant family, we went through a lot of hardships and changes together that shaped us to who we are today. They are my immediate support network, and I am so grateful to be a part of my crazy and big family. We support, and look after one another. They have been my number one supporters in in my baking endeavors, and more importantly– in all aspects of my life. I don’t think I would feel brave enough to give my ambitions a fair shot if I didn’t have a strong support system in place.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://theclovery.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeclovery/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@faitharoon?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
