Aloha: A Story of Maile Cake Design's Beginnings

Aloha & e komo mai!!

Almost a year ago (Jan 30th, 2020 to be precise), I decided I would take cake design more seriously and learn as much as I can to decorate cakes. With almost a year under my belt, I think it’s FINALLY time to introduce myself. Better late than never, right? To be honest, I procrastinated as long as I could because I just didn’t know what to say, or I felt like I wasn’t interesting enough to even write a blog post. However, I feel I’ve put it off for too long now, and with my audience growing considerably, I think I need to finally ‘hi’ and put a face onto my little brand.

*I think I need to finally ‘hi’ and put a face onto my brand. So, HELLO! Aloha! 你好! Salut! Mabuhay! My name is Jehonna.*

*Photo by Heather Waegner*

Early Beginnings

So, HELLO! Aloha! 你好! Salut! Mabuhay! My name is Jehonna. It’s pronounced as it is written, so JE-HON-NA. I go by “Jeh” with friends and family. My ethnic background is from the Philippines. I speak Tagalog, some Cantonese and French, and understand Spanish. I grew up and spent my early childhood in Manila City. I have 3 younger sisters. In 1996/7, our family moved to Hong Kong, China. Back then, Hong Kong was still part of the Common Wealth nations, so yes, I learned the metric system and British English, and sometimes my brain switches back and forth from using American vs. British vocabularies. I even remember watching the television broadcast of Hong Kong’s return to China.

So when someone asks me where I’m from, I grow blank because I don’t know where to begin. It’s complicated. I’m a third-culture kid. My ancestral roots are from the Philippines. My upbringing is in Hong Kong, but now I live in the Americas. I also spent a summer in Halifax, Canada to learn French in a student-exchange immersion program, along with 4 of my classmates. For more than a month, we couldn’t speak nothing but French, or else we risk being sent home. Yes it was that strict, and I was definitely thrown into the deep end of the pool, but we came back and we spoke French. I have to say immersion works!

One of our school’s field trips. Yes, we wore uniforms and I have a love/hate relationship with it! My best friend is on the far right!

Having grown up in Hong Kong, I studied all throughout my Primary (elementary) and Secondary (high school) school years there. I made so many wonderful friends, from so many diverse backgrounds—from Nepal, South East Asian Countries, Japan, China, India, Pakistan. I definitely wasn’t a stranger to culture. And of course—food. Everyone’s food was so good. So different. I love it all.

Here’s a picture of a family reunion in my father’s side when he was just a toddler, in the Philippines, around 1960’s. My dad is the little guy being held by my grandfather in the middle row, the 5th from the left.

Hawaii & college years

After my A-levels examinations (kind of like SATS in the USA), I got accepted to my dream college, Brigham Young University—Hawaii. I love culture. I love meeting people. I love adventure. Hawaii had that, and more. And it was time for a change of scenery too, I was ready to fly out of the nest. I wanted to grow. To be challenged. To be stretched. To see what I can do.

I’ll tell you now, that my admissions to BYU-Hawaii got pushed back twice, due to so many applications for the “full-ride” scholarship called i-Work. On the third try was when I finally did get in, and funny enough, I met my now husband, Davis (born and raised in Hawaii), on the very first night of New Student Orientation! We dated throughout college, and got married with 1 more year of school to go. In 3 short years, I finished my BA’s in Elementary Education. I also completed my student teaching at La’ie Elementary School. I even worked as a first-grade teacher in a French Immersion school, and my other assignment was an Art Teacher (so tough, but my personal favorite!).

*Some of my first few friends at Brigham Young University—Hawaii, circa 2012.*

I think my time at BYU-Hawaii clearly set the path right for me; in fact, I’m still reeling in the effects of attending school there. I had made wonderful friendships in BYU-Hawaii, and continue to nurture them here as we have moved out of the island. I definitely was no stranger to culture when I came there, but that area of my life deepened with meeting so many people from basically over 70 countries. We were all living, and working together in a small tiny community, and it was (for the most part haha) harmonious!

To help pay for my education, I worked as a tour guide at a popular tourist attraction called Polynesian Cultural Center. The Polynesian Cultural Center (Or PCC) is like a living museum, with exhibitions, music, cultural dancing, costumes and traditional foods you can sample. My job was to show visitors the cultures of Polynesia, including Samoa, Aotearoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Hawai’i, and Fiji, and share with them the knowledge of how they lived, and still live. To this day, I still remember the map of the Center, and some of the more popular jokes I share with my guests. I still remember when the canoe pageant and the night show starts, and the different types of tours you can take. I met so many guests from all over US, and some as far as Europe, to come to experience a little bit of Polynesia.

Me (in the pink mu’umu’u (pronounced mu-oo-mu-oo) tour guide uniform, with a few of my guests in my tour group. Days were long and tough; sometimes guests were grumpy for the smallest things. But we’re in the business of hospitality, so we tried to … — Me (in the pink mu’umu’u (pronounced mu-oo-mu-oo) tour guide uniform, with a few of my guests in my tour group. Days were long and tough; sometimes guests were grumpy for the smallest things. But we’re in the business of hospitality, so we tried to forget how tired we are, how much our feet ached from standing and walking, how tired we are of speaking and talking to guests, braved with a happy face and pressed on.

*The Hawai’i canoe at the Polynesian Cultural Center’s canoe pageant. Dancers are dancing on top of canoes.*

When we graduated from BYU-Hawaii, my husband got accepted to his PhD program, and we moved to Utah for graduate school. Within those years, we welcomed 2 boys, both were Neonatal ICU (NICU) graduates, and now as active as 10 puppies each. In our final year, we returned to Hawaii to do his internship. It was a defining moment for us because it helped us realize our family’s future. After his internship, we were offered a position back at my husband’s private practice where he used to work, and moved back to Utah. We might be here for the long haul, at least, until further notice. We love it here in Utah. It is like a second home to us, with Hawaii being the first.

Clearly, my time in Hawaii has made an impact, and continue to this day with how I set up my little hustle, which I’ll get to it later. So many of my signature flavors are inspired by my time—and my husband’s upbringing—in Hawaii. I’ll definitely get to the symbolisms of Maile, and the color yellow and the island flavors later in another blog post!

*My little family, left to right: Jehonna, Davis. Bottom left to right: Ephraim and Elias.*

My Art Training

All throughout my schooling, I had a very intensive art education. My art teachers have been A+ with their instruction. We learned everything we could from color theory, composition, textures, sculpture, intaglio printing, impasto painting, using light to guide our color mixing—everything we could. In Secondary school as we were nearing our A-levels examinations, the art students in my cohort were producing artworks at least once a week. And each artwork took 3-4 hours. It was our way to prepare and train ourselves to sit the art examination. We were judged on colors, content, composition, creativity. On top of that, we also worked on our art portfolios. We were busy art students.

Despite how much work we did on a weekly basis as art students, I looked forward to doing artworks more than anything—as far as assignments go, of course. Like all schoolwork, I would freak out when I’m nearing deadlines. There were days when I stayed up very early in the morning/late at night to complete an artwork. They took so much time. But I enjoyed doing and looked forward to each assignment every time. I didn’t mind them because I felt like I was pretty good in it.

Every week whenever I brought a new art piece to school to hand my assignment in, I would have a few classmates hovering over my desk and checking it out. I was known in my class as the “artist”. Someone needs a quick sketch? They ask me. Someone needs to design a poster for an upcoming school event? Yup, I got you. Someone needs advice on how to design something? I have a thing or two to say. I’m that person.

We also did a little bit of graphic art, mixed in with some Japanese paper art. I received a great score for this one on my portfolio, and I was told I would have a good future in graphic design.

I didn’t write those things to boast that about myself—it was just how it was. I love sharing my talents, my art skills. They were useful. I didn’t try to overstep someone’s ideas or boundaries—we were all in good terms. I didn’t just do art though, I did other things, like choir, dance, cheer—but those are stories for another time. This one is mainly about art. My earliest sketches in my childhood include cute dresses, fairies, characters from my favorite novels and books that I would try to bring them to life on paper. My first love was watercolor, and I had a sketchbook full of watercolor paintings that I gave to my grandmother. Though, I’m certainly not the best artist out there—nor do I proclaim to be—but art has been a part of my upbringing for the longest time, and in more ways than some, has defined who I am and is a major part of my identity.

I’m certainly not the best artist out there—nor do I proclaim to be—but art has been a part of my upbringing for the longest time, and in more ways than some, has defined who I am and is a major part of my identity.

But there came a point where, I was doing so much art, that I started to resent it. Despite friends, teachers and advisors telling me that I should pursue an art education in college, I didn’t do it. I wanted to do something else. So naturally, I picked a degree that would be useful for when I would start a family—and it did become useful. I ended up becoming a first-grade teacher at a French Immersion program, and also an art teacher; it was when I had my own children, and then the whole COVID pandemic started, that I took my kid’s education into my own hands—at least until things would get back to normal.

A collaborative mural I did with 2 of my other art classmates, in our school’s music room. This artwork took us 3 days of 8-hour work with a lunch break in between. I honestly was just ready to be done with it, and get back to my Christmas holidays.

Losing Touch with Art and My Eventual Return

I lost touch with art all throughout college, and even becoming a mother to my own kids—I just couldn’t find the time to do art anymore. I used to be inspired by the littlest things, music, nature, sights, sounds, touch, taste, and even a random story. But I was going through the motions of keeping my little kids alive, and being the best mother I could be.

It wasn’t until I learned I need to make time for my own growth that I need to find something that made me feel like “me” again. Yes, I’m a mother and that’s one of my primary roles. But it’s not my only role. And I hope other women/mothers out there also do well to remember that. To leave some of you to yourself. It’s difficult to fill someone else’s cup without filling your own first.

I started small. I started doing yoga, finding my passion, my “spark”, music, taking long walks, finding things that make me feel important, needed. Then I returned to art. I found meaning in art again.

Baking as Part of Personal Growth

To be honest, I didn’t intend on doing baking as a hustle. It happened quite accidentally. As part of a youth group, we did something called “Personal Progress”. In it, you were encouraged to do projects or activities that help you grow as a well-rounded person, to help others and give back to your family or community. I wanted to complete a project, and had to come up with something useful that could benefit myself in the future, so I started taking up baking and learning new recipes to cook. I figured, everyone needs to eat, right? Why not teach myself to cook.

It just so happened that around that time, my family bought a toaster oven. Apartments in Hong Kong, are teeeeeny tiny. A toaster oven is what could fit in our small kitchen. I was happy, though. It meant I could finally bake something, and it was something I’ve been wanting to do. Back then, google was still cataloging most of their recipes, and recipe websites were coming out, including AllRecipes. That’s where I found most of my recipes, and I learned a lot through trial and error. I shared them with my classmates, and they were SO nice to try, and not say anything about it. Haha!

edible art: a marriage of food and the fine arts

I mentioned I never thought of doing cake design as a business. But I did know I wanted to do something with art again. It wasn’t until our time in Hawaii, during my husband’s internship that my sister was also getting married there. I was tasked to do the cake. I’ve never stacked a cake before, so I took it to the internet and learned all I can, and bought the cheapest cake decorating tools.

*My sister’s wedding cake, dark chocolate cake, with brown butter buttercream, and Swiss Meringue buttercream*

I’ll tell you now, that for my first wedding cake, I felt so proud of it, but it wasn’t the best handiwork! It was stacked on straws, and despite it being pretty tall, I didn’t even put a dowel rod in it for extra support. Not even before the wedding reception started, the cake was actually leaning to one side. My younger sister was brave enough to push it the other side, and it held up throughout, and until it was cut, whew!

But I loved the whole process. I loved baking. And I loved the art side of it too. I started looking up cake design ideas and cake design inspiration, and people are SO creative! It was like edible art. I wanted to do that too. I found a spark.

My first attempt at a decorated cake

I loved baking. And I loved the art side of it too. I started looking up cake design ideas and cake design inspiration, and people are SO creative! It was like edible art. I wanted to do that too. I found a spark.

That spark only grew as I kept doing more and more cakes. It started off as a hobby. I never meant to make money from it. But people started to notice my cakes, and I initially just wanted to be reimbursed for the materials spent. But by then, I was getting more and more requests. I finally decided to make it a real hustle. On May of 2020, I launched my website, called it Maile Cake Design, and started taking orders. The rest is history, and I’m excited of your being here along with me.