Conversations with Maria Teresa Silva

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Teresa Silva.

Hi Maria, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Everything started in September 2019 when my daughter was turning 5 months old. I wanted to make a celebration for her and a friend talked to me about a girl who makes beautiful cakes in her free time, I got in contact with her but she told me she didn’t have the time to make the cake, so I asked her if she could kind of explain to me how to decor the cake.

I was so excited to celebrate my daughter’s 5 months that I really wanted to try making it. Kindly, she gave me all the details and while I was in the process, I felt very good, I was so happy and by the time it was finished I couldn’t believe I made something so beautiful for the first time. At that moment I realized that I could start my own business and grow professionally.

A few months before, I had won a spot in a balloon decoration course which I’d been wanting to do before but I couldn’t afford it. It was an awesome experience in which I realized that the party decoration environment is bigger than I thought. After that, I started thinking that I could mix both worlds (cakes and balloons) and build my company around it.

Then I started making balloon decorations and cakes either for free or very low cost for my family, friends, or relatives in order to get the experience I needed. A few months later a very dear friend who is an awesome graphic designer (@disenotear_momentos), encourages me to do bigger projects by mixing my work with customized designs from scratch. I thought it was a great idea.

Our very first project was my daughter’s 2-year birthday, we took around two months trying to make it look perfect, taking care of every little detail like the colors and the size it was a big learning experience, the decoration, the balloons, the cake, the craft, everything was ready. I set it up and felt so proud of myself. After that, I started receiving messages from people who wanted me to do the same for them.

I still keep growing, practicing, and learning every day, I try to do the best I can in every set or cake I make. Today, I am grateful and convinced that you can make anything you wish if you work hard for it.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been a smooth road but I wouldn’t say there have been obstacles along the way.

The hardest part is to be able to balance between being a mom and taking care of everything related to Vanagui, which means, answering texts and calls from the clients, content creation, sending estimates, going to the stores, making the sets, making the cakes and at the same time, take care of my daughter, the house and be a wife without forgetting about me.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I do a little bit of everything related to party decorations. I make decorated cakes for any celebration, I make a variety of desserts like lemon pie, cookies, brownies, and cupcakes.

Decorations for kid parties are one of the jobs that I get the most, but I also enjoy it a lot when somebody wants me to decorate a gender reveal or baby shower.

The thing clients tell me the most is that they like the way I treat them and the dedication I put into their celebrations.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
My top priority is to make them feel satisfied with what they need from me, the budget could be high or low, the most important thing for me is the smile they get when they see the final result.

Contact Info:

• Email: vanaguicakesandparty@gmail.com
• Instagram: disenotear_momentos