Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivana Donevic.
Hi Ivana, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in a small town in South Eastern part of Europe, in a small country Serbia.
Like most people in Serbia, my family had a house in a country side, up in the hills.
Growing up in a such environment was easy. People knew each other and treated each other as family. It was not a time of social networks and reality shows, so as kids, we mostly played outside, using our imagination, often coming up with very creative ideas.
Naturally, when the time came for me to go to college, I wanted to expand my creativity and took a fashion design as a major.
But, as it often goes in life, fate had other plans for me.
Soon after I graduated, I met someone, so I decided to follow my heart instead of my carrier, and ended up in USA.
Even though I was very happy being a full time mom, there was a part of me that felt something was missing.
Since my kids were still young, I couldn’t go to work, so I started expressing myself in baking which is my second design next to the fashion.
At first, it was birthday cakes for my kids. Then, my friends started ordering cakes from me since they loved those that they saw at birthday parties.
The rest is history.
After moving from San Jose, CA to Austin, TX, I got a job at a local bakery, where I perfected my decorating skills and also got a chance to work on more diverse custom design cakes, such as wedding, anniversary, graduation, etc.
The next logical step was to try something on my own.
Using the recipes I got from my grandma, I decided to introduce European style deserts to my fellow Americans.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
At the beginning it was very challenging because being a fulltime mom of two small kids, it was not easy to find the time to work on my cakes.
Quite often, after spending the whole day with kids, I had to work through the night in order to complete cakes I worked on.
Second, being a legal immigrant, I didn’t have a work permit for several years, so I wasn’t allowed to work for other bakeries. Only after I got my green card, I was able to get a job and learn more about cakes and develop skills I have today.
But today, 10 years later, it is so much easer when my own space where sweet magic happening on daily bases and I have my customers who say that they can’t imagine their holiday or party tables without my sweets.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about MIKA Sweet Heart bakery LLC?
Our bakery menu is inspired by European and Balkan style sweets with a mix of flavors from my home town and countryside.
Our SEMISWEET cakes and desserts are a heavenly blend of custard, ganache, and mouth-watering flavors that will leave you wanting more.
We are offering SEMISWEET EGGLESS, VEGAN and REGULAR cakes and cupcakes using the custard and chocolate ganache as a filing. That give our cakes their signature softness — so tender they melt in your mouth. We use only American buttercream and mock buttercream to ice the outside of our cakes. Because buttercream are perfect for piping and creating a wide range of decorations thanks to their smooth, workable texture.
One more thing that makes us stand out in this business is design of our cakes and unique relationship with our customers. We take time to understand their requests and always finding perfect solutions that make them happy and satisfied.
Our cupcakes are filled with chocolate ganache, making them creamy, fluffy, and loved by both kids and adults.
On our many we also have a variety of chocolate chip cookies and European style deserts including the cake balls and bars.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I consider myself very lucky person for having a wonderful family and childhood, that translated into my business.
All of those played a huge part of of my life and made me a person and business owner I am today.
Pricing:
- Round cakes starting with $72
- Round eggless and vegan cakes starting with $80
- Cupcakes $45 dozen
- Cupcakes eggless and vegan $48 dozen
- King size cookies (115 gr each) $22 (box of 6ct)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mikasweetheartbakery.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikasweetheartbakery/?__pwa=1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/MIKA-Sweet-Heart-bakery-Page/61563422841461/
- Other: https://share.google/jxGAz2kTvMb2mOWG0
