My Journey Into Creativity, Community, and Small Business

After graduating during the post-COVID period, I wasn’t entirely sure what direction I wanted to pursue, so I joined Makers Richmond as a sales associate. Being surrounded by local artisans every day inspired me to explore my own creativity, which eventually led to the start of Pieco Bakeshop—my small mini-cheesecake pop-up. With encouragement from friends who loved my baking, I began selling at Makers Metrotown pop-ups on my days off. What started as a simple passion project quickly grew into a meaningful experience where I connected with customers, learned the realities of small business branding and marketing, and built a tiny but supportive community through local markets. This journey shaped my love for storytelling, design, and maker culture, and ultimately strengthened my interest in pursuing marketing as a career.

Pieco Bakeshop started as a simple passion project—something I did on the side because I loved baking and wanted a creative outlet outside of work. Once I decided to turn it into a real pop-up brand, I challenged myself to build everything from the ground up. I designed the logo, created the full visual identity, planned and shot all the product photography, and produced the Instagram reels and content myself. It became a space where I could experiment with branding, storytelling, and social media strategy in a hands-on way. What began as a small idea grew into a project that helped me discover how much I enjoy creating visual narratives and shaping how a brand looks, feels, and connects with people.

For Pieco Bakeshop, I handled all product photography and post-production myself, using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create clean, cohesive visuals. I styled each shoot, edited images to match the brand’s aesthetic, and designed accompanying graphics and promotional materials. This process helped me develop a strong eye for composition, lighting, and visual storytelling while building a consistent, professional look across all platforms.

I created a variety of marketing materials for Pieco Bakeshop, including engaging graphics for social media, pop-up announcements, and menu designs. Using Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, and Canva, I designed visually appealing content that aligned with the brand identity, informed followers of upcoming events, and highlighted products. From countdown graphics to menus and pop-up time reminders, each piece was crafted to generate excitement, improve customer engagement, and showcase the brand cohesively across all touchpoints.

I designed Pieco Bakeshop’s menus and accompanying illustrations to tell the story of each product and create a cohesive, engaging brand experience. Using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, I crafted visuals that highlighted flavors, ingredients, and seasonal specials while maintaining a consistent brand aesthetic. Each menu and illustration was an opportunity to combine storytelling with design, guiding customers through the product offerings in a way that felt both visually appealing and personally engaging.