“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a man's determination.” - Tommy Lasorda. Carina’s determination and sincere efforts have resulted in a successful and delicious entrepreneurship. A brain cancer survivor who believes in her own abilities has added an extra ingredient towards the success of her bakery. She is not only spreading happiness via her delicious baked goods and wonderful treats but also promoting inclusiveness in the workforce. Other than balancing her creativity and business Carina also finds time to teach cooking classes.

What inspired you to start “Carina Bakery”? At what age did you start taking an interest in baking?C: I have been in the kitchen since I was about 5- in fact some of my earliest memories were of trying to sneak handfuls of chocolate hips into my mouth while supposed to be measuring and mixing them into cookie dough batter - which I did, very carefully and then took some extra for myself to defy my diet. Mom was always baking for neighbors, volunteer efforts, and family traditions; and she passed down treasured pieces of history and the personalities and stories of my ancestors as she went As a brain cancer survivor who hails from Swedish and Irish immigrants and entrepreneurs, I have a lot of determination and pioneering spirt to live up to, so having only 25% of the average person’s vision did not and could not stop me. I started out behind the curve, but soon used both academics and cooking/baking to push me forward and overcome health obstacles and social issues, with all kinds of nay-sayers and bullies who thought I could never achieve my dreams of opening a bakery. Over time, as I sold baked goods off of a tricycle for 10 years of my teens, skipped my senior year of high school to go straight to pastry school and then grad school, these forces all became stronger and so di my path in life. When I couldn’t find a job that suited my education and creative mind, I fell back on examples learned from not just my family but also of places I’ve been honored to work, like Wildlfour Vegan Bakery in Rhode Island - with is foundational vegan recipes and knowledge I needed to transform my recipes- and IKE Box, a coffee shop owned by non-profit Isaac’s room where at-risk teens and young adults work and get mentored back to stability through their barista training (and, while I was there, pastry training). I realized there was a need not for just a vegan bakery in the suburbs of Portland, but also to provide a truly valuable job to employees with physical challenges.

What are your day-to-day tasks as a baker and an owner? How do you balance your time between these roles?C: Balancing my time is my biggest challenge as an owner- as it is for any entrepreneur. Having limited vision and health issues that limit my energy and my ability to just keep pushing forward make it even harder. In fact, I am just now coming back form a much-needed vacation, as I hardly ever get a day off to just take for myself and clear my head, and it builds up until it starts being taken out on my employees. Having grown up back in Connecticut, where the pace of life tends to be faster and more stressful- and having two partners with their own small businesses- I know what it’s like to take your work home with you and share that burden, and I try to minimize this whenever possible, but it’s an ongoing process. Now that we are coming upon our one year storefront anniversary in October, I have gained much trust in my employees and somewhat of a system to help manage and compartmentalize the daily tasks and stress of the bakery. I don’t have to be back making things everyday, as I have a great assistant manager who loves to get up early and doesn’t mind doing the same thing every day. Instead, I work on developing new recipes, coaching employees, managing inventory and placing orders, and working on developing new revenue streams and clients as well as marketing. No day is ever the same, and the business is on a much slower growth curve than i expected which makes the day to day stress all that much harder, but I have a big vision for the future and have to way to get there without pushing forward.

What are your views on inclusiveness in the workforce? How is your bakery pursuing this idea?C: Our mission is founded around inclusion: Carina’s Bakery makes vegan baked goods inspired by Scandinavian traditions and Oregon ingredients that employ and empower people with physical challenges who are learning to bake to thrive, taste the passion, and put the ABILITY in disability. I have five employees who work with me in the bakery on a daily basis, plus two others who do freelance work, and al but two of them have a physical disability. It just so happens that they all are also visually impaired, as I have the most connections and immediate compassion / workability towards this subset of people and their employment is the most needed. Some of my employees are friends, while others were ones I connected with through local non-profits and government organizations, and still others applied through job postings. We are still a small company, so usually my hiring pool is small and it’s an easy deacons to make, but even in the future, if I can find a place to provide gainful employment to a determined, hardworking and knowledgeable person with a disability, I will do that because their challenges in life make them a great part of any workforce team. I’m not suggesting we need a completely disability-driven team as that can put a lot of pressure on everyone and make it easier to leave some standards unnoticed - but it will always be driving force at Carina’s.

What challenges did you face during your school years? How did you motivate yourself to face those challenges?C: As I’ve only known a life with low vision, I spent the better half of my school years with an aid that followed me everywhere, at 503 plan, and all kinds of large print materials and accommodations that stood me out from the crowd. I never had a lot of friends, and most that I did have abandoned me by fifth grade. I was either shunned for being slow or for being san A+ teacher’s pet. For the most part, I learned to burry within myself and my studies, looking to adults for friendship and company. That, combined with my medically-induced weight problems, extreme diets, cravings, and love of baking and all things food made things even harder as the teen years set in. There were some hard years though, and after taking my feelings out in writing instead of telling my parents, I need up in a very scary set of consultations with my guidance counselor and even a therapist. Between my writing, baking, mentors, and great family I managed to pull through high school, blossoming at the end with my culinary class and an awesome teacher who set me up to start college early at Johnson and Wales University, where I met both my first real enemies and my best friends. Even today, it’s still a battle, especially as I now live in Oregon, 3,000 miles away from my family and y hometown in Connecticut, but I always have that family and my college friends to count on and call up, and sometimes that’s all you need. Plus, being here in Oregon has brought me great resources and tied me to some truly remarkable people in the National Federation of the Blind and other groups to which I now belong and have provided more structure, leadership and input to than I ever would have imagined myself.

What do you like to do when you are with your family/friends?C: Unless I’m headed out for a visit to Connecticut, where all I want to do is soak up the ocean and the beach through swimming, boating, and maybe a bit of seaside shopping and get togethers- my life truly revolves around food. Whenever someone comes to visit, I always have a list of new Oregon eateries to check out, and the occasional (more and more rare now that I’ve got a brick and mortar to run) a trip to the coast of one of this state’s other great wonders to marvel over.

What are your other hobbies?C: As you can probably tell by this Q & A session, I love to write - without word counts. I don’t get much time for that these days, but I used to fill drawers full of journals and someday, I hope to write a cozy mystery novel or two. Iv’e even written a novelistic cookbook that I hope to edit and make for real. Besides that, I go swimming when the mood strikes and crochet.

What tips/advice do you have for those in our community who want to become a baker?C: Everything you’ve heard about entrepreneurship- especially in the food industry- is true. It is a LOT OF WORK (were talking 100 hour weeks easily), so you have to truly love it (maybe not every aspect of it, but you have to love what you’re selling and more aspects of the business than you hate), it will take longer than you think, and you will fail. I don’t mean that your business won’t succeed - I’m still figuring that out for myself but have people everyday who are so grateful we are here and also people who can’t stand the idea of vegan baked goods or workers who they think should be working in phone booths. What I mean is you will have to rethink things time and time again, and start from scratch. I had this business, first known as Flourish baking, for 2 ½ years before taking the leap to a brick and mortar store. I worked events, farms markets, and tried to approach retailers and an online store with little success because I wasn’t selling myself well and no one knew where to find me. Plus, I wasted a lot of money on a shared kitchen that just didn’t work for my work style and special needs. That, plus all sorts of legal issues you can’t possibly learn all of before you start meant a lot of curve balls - and this is mocking from a person who graduated from a great entrepreneurial-focused Masters in Business Administration. So what I’m saying is that is takes an open mind, and open heart, and a whole lot of guts to keep going as an entrepreneur and especially a baker. But it’s rewarding to see a customer truly enjoy your product and know that you own it, ti’s all yours and your decision alone.

Any special message for our community?C: Just to support the disabled entrepreneurs you know so that we can take a stand and succeed together. Someday, I hope not just to have a few Carina’s Bakery's, but to also have a non-profit dedicated to helping incubate and highlight disabled entrepreneurs in a space that is economical and reasonable for everyone. Meanwhile, please take a look at our website and try some of our products for yourself. You can even shop online and we’ll ship to you. www.carinasbakery.com.