"The best thing about living here in Copenhagen is that so many people cycle, and the weather is a tad better in the summer," says Ynja Mist Aradóttir, who has lived in the city for almost three years and opened a beautiful cake shop earlier this year, at the age of only 21.
"I'm a very adventurous person and wouldn't be very hesitant to jump into something else, if it weren't for the business. I sometimes get tired of city life, especially in summer, when you have to open the windows because it's so hot, but then you can't fall asleep because of the noise from people and traffic. However, there are also positive sides, and I love it when it's warm in summer and you can be out all day, cycling between places, e.g., to the beach or a park, buying a packed lunch and sitting outside. One day, I went on a kind of local cruise with a good friend, where we rented a boat and I guided her around the city. I can highly recommend that, also for tourists. However, it doesn't happen very often these days that I have a whole day for pleasures, because there is simply so much to do at the shop. So a realistic dream day for me right now would be to go to the gym and get some good food during the day."
It wasn't in the cards
Ynja Mist had no plans to open a cake shop or even to bake herself and sell the products. She is neither a trained baker, confectioner, nor business owner, but has always been driven by and inspired by the idea of entrepreneurship:
"When I moved to Copenhagen, the plan was to go to school to study product design, because I have a great interest in materials and recycling. I'm also an artist, so I held exhibitions in both Copenhagen and Iceland, and tried to survive through that. However, I have always seen myself in the role of an independent business owner in some way, and I have sold all sorts of different things since I was 11 years old."
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For two years, Ynja Mist worked as an artist. At the end of 2017, she helped with a couple of courses at the former Bake My Day, but before that, she worked with cake decorating for several years at the Icelandic company Sætar Syndir.
"After the courses, the owner of Bake My Day, Agata, and I talked, and she told me that she planned to move to Ireland with her husband. She therefore had to find someone who wanted to buy the concept and take over the business. This immediately aroused great interest, and I started asking her about the company and whether she would sell the brand. I began to investigate it further, and I talked to one of my friends who owns several businesses. He liked the idea and was willing to invest money in it. So my drive only grew bigger and bigger," says Ynja. However, an investment from the friend would not be necessary.
"After gathering enough information, I finally told my mother about the idea, hoping she would take it well. I don't know why I was worried, as she has always supported me in everything I do and believes in me no matter what. It ended up that a couple of days later I got a call from her, and she told me that she would rather start the company with me and finance it herself than to get someone in from outside. After this, things moved very quickly. I bought the Bake My Day brand in November and started a new business, and found a location I liked in December. There was fierce competition for the rental properties, but luckily I got it. The first month was spent on repairs, where we worked 16-18 hours every day to be able to open as quickly as possible. In March, I hired the first employee, and now, a little over a year later, I have five full-time employees," adds Ynja.
The shop was well received, but Ynja Mist says this has been a difficult process and she has had to sacrifice various things.
"Success is, of course, very much about what you do as an owner, but the most important thing is to have really good employees. I am very lucky to be surrounded by hard-working people who are also a pleasure to work with. We have also attracted a lot of attention on Instagram, where in just over a year we went from having about 700 followers to 7,000. But there is also a lot of work involved in posting Instagram stories, taking good pictures and keeping the activity going there, and it doesn't always come naturally, so that means you have to spend a lot of time on it, which then disappears at the other end."
Custom-designed cakes for special occasions
Bake My Day specializes in custom-designed cakes for weddings, baptisms, birthdays and other special occasions, and the shop has become known as a supplier of extremely detailed and beautiful cakes in and around Copenhagen.
"It's also possible to order Last Minute Cakes from our website, where you can order specific cakes just 24 hours in advance. We also have a selection of cupcakes, donuts and cookies that can be enjoyed in the shop with good coffee from Copenhagen Coffee Lab, served in Danish cups from Studio Aarhøj. We have gained some attention by being colorful and artistic, and I deliberately try to do that: to bring the artistic into the business world in various ways. For example, we have now made cakes for large companies such as Rejseplanen, Danske Bank, Other Stories, Netflix, Snapchat, Deloitte, Benefit, as well as a number of famous people whom we are not allowed to mention by name," says Ynja, while her hands are in the dough of something that smells quite heavenly.
Recently, Ynja Mist started offering Snudur (Icelandic cinnamon buns) in the shop, and the reception has been very good. "It is quite obvious that the Icelanders living here in Copenhagen miss the Icelandic, the homey. In the first week with snudur on the menu, there was almost a national assembly in the shop, as they had to get hold of one," she concludes with a laugh.
You can see the list of works and follow Ynja Mist on her Instagram page: bakemydaycph. If you live in Copenhagen and the surrounding area, and wish to order a cake, you can find Bake My Day by clicking here. This article was originally published in the Icelandic media Morgunbladid and has since been translated into Danish.
