An Inspired Chat with Alysia Castle of Avondale

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Alysia Castle. Check out our conversation below.

Good morning Alysia, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What is something outside of work that is bringing you joy lately?
With the summer months in full swing, we have stopped working the farmers markets until fall. That means having a little extra time in the week to spend with my daughter, which has been awesome! She’s at such a fun age and her birthday is coming up, so it’s been a joy to plan her party with her and just overall getting to slow down and just hang out with her!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m Alysia Castle, the owner of a micro cottage bakery in Avondale called Alysia Bakes! We specialize in gourmet cookies, tiramisu, and custom cakes and treats. Everything we bake is made in small batches. Love and care is baked into each and every treat. We always use high quality ingredients, and are always working towards being as environmentally conscious as possible. I even have an at home compost for composting whatever I can! Right now we are working on building our brand, and getting our name out there. Alongside farmers markets and online orders, we also supply a few different businesses around the west valley with treats for their customers.

Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child I was very quiet, shy, and introverted. It impacted my life in a big way. It was a huge part of who I was and how I interacted with the world — and it didn’t affect only me. My family would have to order for me at restaurants, peers would mistake my quietness for rudeness, and teachers were begging me to interact more in class. I was constantly being labelled as and reminded of my shyness. It really held me back from being my best self and I wholeheartedly believed that it would be that way my entire life. I believed I couldn’t possibly be successful because of it.

Fast forward to now, I no longer believe those things! Although I’ve come a long long way from how I used to be, I can still be a bit shy and quiet sometimes. But I now know that those things don’t define me and don’t have to affect my success! Being surrounded by amazing people who believe in me, push me (but not too much), and love and understand me for who I am made such a huge impact in my journey with being comfortable with myself and coming out of my shell.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
It might sound cliche but the fear of failure is definitely what has held me back most in my life. Not wanting to fail and the possibility of embarrassing myself has been enough to stop me from even starting something. Even if it was something I was really interested in, or something I thought I could be successful at. Getting over that fear has been hard work and I am still working on it now. I’ve learned that failing doesn’t have to be embarrassing, and embarrassment isn’t as awful as I thought it was. The more I fail and become embarrassed, the less it affects me. And I get to learn something new each time!

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? Is the public version of you the real you?
Yes absolutely! In person, and even online I can still be a little shy and reserved but that’s a part of me. Aside from that I definitely don’t try to hide my personality, quirks, or morals from anyone! While I’m not super active about showing every part of me and my life on socials, I am an open book. Ask me just about anything and I will share with you!

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you think people will most misunderstand about your legacy?
I think people will look at my legacy and see that I didn’t have fame or glory, and they’ll see that I definitely wasn’t rolling in money, so they won’t realize that I was actually rich beyond belief. I have a huge, amazingly supportive and loving family. I have a very close group of friends that have shown me the light within myself. I have so many amazing peers and acquaintances that are all cheering me on. I get to work a job that I love and that job allows me to be with my family and see my friends often. I am so lucky and grateful for everyone around me! So I think people will misunderstand the wealth that I really did have, despite not having all the “wealthy” material things.

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