In 2018, Zoe Schnadower, ‘25, had enough. Years after years of buying premade pastries had finally gotten to her, and she decided to do something about it–just do it herself.

“I’m not sure [what made me start baking]. I mean, my parents are not bakers, they never baked anything… I just thought it’d be fun,” Schnadower said. “I’m a very artistic person… so I decided to try it and I ended up loving it.” 

Over the years, her skills improved. Two years of casual baking passed before she thought of starting her account.

In March of 2020, disaster struck. Quarantine made sure she would be stuck at home, so Schnadower, unsurprisingly, grew bored– until an idea came to mind. 

“I [thought], ‘Oh, I’ll start baking’… and I had a lot of fun posting it and sharing [my creations].” 

Eventually, using the name @zbaked_goods, she decided to start selling these baked goods as well– mainly because she was making a bit too much for her household to handle. 

While the pandemic may have brought many difficulties to her life, she quickly found a silver lining.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Photo Courtesy of zbaked_goods

Beautifully crafted chocolate-orange cupcakes filled with homemade orange curd.

Starting hobbies can be difficult to do, with obstacles at every step, let alone materials, inspiration and general motivation. However, Schnadower stays positive no matter what happens.

“If you’re not enjoying something you should definitely take a break and step away…I just take 20 minutes. I put it in the fridge and I leave it alone, and when I come back I can see it with fresh eyes and figure out what to do from there.” 

To any readers struggling to gain motivation, Schnadower offers a simple piece of advice. “Keep trying, and even if you think that it’s not going to go well or you’re afraid to start you should always just try because you never know if you’d like it,” Schnadower said.