Today we’d like to introduce you to Grace Pearsall
Hi Grace, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In 2013, I was a few years into working a retail job that I was starting to burn out at. I thought about how much fun it might be to work in a bakery, so I decided to take a chance. I did a Google search for local bakeries in my area (Phoenix, AZ, at the time) & sent out cold emails. I explained that I had no formal training or pastry school background but was eager to get my foot in the door. I emphasized my experience in customer service & offered to help however they needed—working the register, answering phones, cleaning, anything they needed.
One bakery owner responded & invited me to chat. We hit it off immediately & I started working there. My role included everything I’d offered to do, but it also gave me my first hands-on experience with decorating cupcakes! Her husband handled the baking, another team member—fresh out of pastry school—worked on torting the cakes, while the owner did all of the decorating. I watched her every move like a hawk, amazed at how gracefully & effortlessly she worked.
Eventually, she let me start experimenting with fondant & creating accents for cakes, but I really wanted to learn how to make a beautiful cake from start to finish. I turned to YouTube and Pinterest (this was before Instagram reels and TikTok) for tutorials & practiced constantly in my own kitchen. I began making birthday cakes for friends & their kids, using every opportunity to improve.
A couple of years later, I moved on to another bakery that gave me more hands-on experience. There, I worked directly with the cakes after the baking stage, handling every other step of the process myself (with support from other team members when needed). That’s where I really began to flourish.
Working in a bakery is incredibly rewarding but also physically demanding. It’s long hours on hard surfaces, hunched over a prep table six days a week. After a few years, the strain caught up with me & I started experiencing symptoms of carpal tunnel. About seven years ago, I decided to step away from full time bakery work & focus on doing cakes independently.
Since then, I’ve loved the freedom of working on my own schedule. Sometimes it’s all-consuming & other times I can step back to focus on other parts of my life. But I always come back to it because I truly love it.
What I find most fulfilling is that it became such an unexpected creative outlet for me. I’ve never considered myself artistic—I can’t draw, paint, or sculpt—but somehow, I discovered this niche where I excel.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Overall, I’d say the road has been relatively smooth & I’m grateful for that! However, one of the biggest challenges was moving back to St. Louis after spending 10 years in Phoenix. I had to re-market myself & rebuild my client base from scratch, which was no small feat.
As someone who’s naturally shy, relying on word-of-mouth & my own social media marketing could only take me so far. About a year ago, though, I connected with a wonderful woman on Instagram who runs the account Stand Small STL. She was organizing pop-up events at Bluewood Brewery & was looking for local vendors to participate.
I’ve done a handful of markets with her now, as well as a few others & it has been such a rewarding experience. It gives me the opportunity to showcase my creations, connect with the community, as well as network with other small business owners in the area. It has been a fun & effective way to grow my business & feel more connected to my city.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in custom cakes & artisanal tea bombs! Tea bombs are a bit more unique & not as well known as your average cake, so let me explain. The shell of my tea bombs are made from isomalt, a sugar substitute that’s about half as sweet as regular sugar. I melt the isomalt & pour it into molds to create whatever shape I have in mind. For most of the rest of the year I have a geometric heart mold that I like to use & during the holidays I switch over to a 3D tree shape which is what I first started with in 2023 & really got peoples attention. I’ve even done custom star-shaped tea bombs as wedding favors.
Once the shell is formed, I fill it with loose leaf tea, edible flowers & dried fruit. When placed in hot water, the shell melts, creating a beautifully interactive & sensory cup of tea! I didn’t invent tea bombs—I’m not even sure how long they’ve been around—but most of the ones I saw were just simple spheres. While those are neat, I wanted to put my own creative spin on them, which is how I came up with the idea for my “tea trees” & have since transitioned to other shapes.
On the cake side of things, I’m versatile & love trying new techniques. In the beginning, I focused heavily on fondant work, but now I primarily work with buttercream. This is a lifelong passion where I’m always learning & evolving.
For example, when vintage cakes started trending, I initially dreaded receiving my first request because I wasn’t sure how to execute the intricate designs. I started practicing at home, that way I would feel comfortable once somebody finally asked for one & now vintage cakes are my #1 requested design! I’ve even scaled them down into 4-inch bento cakes, which I sell at my pop-up markets & they’ve been a huge hit.
What sets me apart is my commitment to creativity & fueling this passion. Whether it’s reimagining tea bombs or perfecting cake trends, I love putting my own spin on things & providing something memorable for my clients.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
If you’re curious about something, take the leap & explore it. Feed that curiosity & see if it’s something you truly want to pursue. You never know what hidden passions you might discover along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.withloveandgracecakes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/withlove_andgrace
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withloveandgrace.desserts
