Meet Arabella Giancola | Writer & Home Baker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Arabella Giancola and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Arabella, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I believe that from the moment we are born, we are introduced to some of life’s many risks. One of the biggest risks that we take is the risk to live. I always thought that I was not a person to take chances but that I was a creature of habit, but looking back I find that I have been a woman who has taken risks that have come with successes and mistakes. This may be due to the way I decide to face my day to day, to do things with passion and we already know, where there is passion there are always risks. In my life, taking risks has been critical in all aspects of it. Ara Artisan Sweets is a result of risk-taking. After having to close my business of more than 10 years due to the pandemic, I found myself in the need not to think about it and thus avoid depression. It is at that moment that Ara Artisan Sweets was born and this new adventure began. I would make sweets, they were to be homemade, and made with love, and out of love, my children decided to support this new venture and be there for me. I still remember our first sale on Instagram, a lady who’s pregnant sister-in-law was craving one of the sweets we had just posted on Instagram. I was so excited, not because of the sale, but because the woman could fulfill her cravings with my desserts. The risk pushes you to your limits and then makes you see that you have achieved it, that it was a risk but that the result has been worth taking. I believe that risks are necessary because it is about living.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Every beginning is made of struggle, enthusiasm, and effort when I started this new venture I had no more experience than that of a mother, that is my resume. I graduated as a journalist from the university in my country and became a merchant when I arrived in the United States. I didn’t think I knew anything else besides sales and purchases in the textile industry and then the pandemic came, with it the closures, isolation, and the end of my work of 15 years in the world of fashion. I had to start again or give up. At 54 years old, I decided to start again, a hobby became a way of life. I am proud and excited every day when my clients say “I tried your desserts and I love them,” each order is a challenge. I am self-taught, each order is an encounter with myself. I am learning and modifying and thus I seek not perfection but, on the contrary, the satisfaction of the accomplished achievement. I have learned so much in this new facet of my life, I have challenged myself and I have given a piece of myself with each order from the people who trust me, some without even knowing me. I want the world to know about me, without a second thought, I want them to know that Ara wakes up every day full of desire, and among sugar and chocolates, she is making the dreams of all those who order her desserts, come true and my passion lies in this. The passion for what I do, my dedication in each new beginning, I want that to be what distinguishes me from the rest.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Undoubtedly, the best place to visit is the one where you feel connected with your being beyond a restaurant. I would take them to everyday places, those of our day-to-day. To a small cafe, where the owner is the barista and dreams of reaching success without realizing that success is there in his day-to-day life. To brighten up the afternoon, we would eat in the streets among the people where you feel life itself and we would toast at the corner bar that is full of dreams, poets, and writers. Barefoot on the sand of the beach, we will spend the time remembering the moments that took us to where we are, laughing and why not crying.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Thank you to everyone who has purchased and tried our desserts, thank you for allowing Ara Artisan Sweets to come into your home!

Website: www.araartisansweets.com

Instagram: @AraArtisanSweets

Facebook: facebook.com/AraArtisanSweets

Image Credits
Antonella Nakfour