Today we’d like to introduce you to Melissa Bagley.
Hi Melissa, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
In high school, I discovered my love of photography and instantly knew it was what I wanted to do. By the age of 18, I’d already gotten my business license. For a while, I assisted other photographers but my business grew quickly and it was soon my full-time job.
For the next 15 years, the main focus of my business was weddings. I covered beautiful weddings all over the San Francisco Bay Area. From intimate to million-dollar events, I photographed them all.
Ready for a change, I then shifted my focus back to my first love, photographing women. Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of photographing businesswomen, dancers, cosplayers, fellow creatives and so many other amazing women.
At the beginning of 2020, I moved from the Bay Area to the Central Coast. About a month after moving, we were all locked down due to Covid. Because of the lockdown, I couldn’t photograph people. To occupy my time I began photographing flowers (another love of mine). My project quickly grew into a whole new line of products…beautiful notebooks, calendars and more, all featuring my fine art floral photography.
During this same time, I discovered how hard it was to find good-tasting gluten-free baked goods for locally. So, after about a year and a half of being frustrated, I decided to do something about it. Mid-2022 I received my Cottage Food Permit and launched a second business, La Dolce Vita, a home bakery exclusively making goodies without gluten.
In June 2022 my new business was launched at the Old Orcutt Farmers Market and within 90 minutes of opening, I was almost sold out. Since then I’ve continued to add new items to my menu and sell out.
Looking forward, I plan on expanding my fine art photography line by adding vintage frames and beautiful new products. And with my bakery business…I’ll be adding more ordering options and of course, new goodies, all made without gluten.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’ve been in business for myself for 28 years now and along the way there have been many struggles. As the economy ebbs and flows, you have to adjust. And when things change overnight, like they did with Covid, you have to be prepared to quickly change your direction.
One recent example – I had to make the difficult decision to stop selling individual greeting cards. During the pandemic, people were mailing greeting cards as a way to keep in touch. Now that things have opened back up, people aren’t. I love my greeting card line and the beautiful card stock they’re printed on but if something isn’t selling you have to move on.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a portrait photographer, I specialize in photographing women. Over the last 28 years, I’ve had the honor of photographing so many talented, kind, strong and generous women of all ages. I’ve gotten to know so many of these women and photographed them multiple times. It’s such a privilege to be entrusted with creating images that will last a lifetime.
As a fine art floral photographer, I’m always trying to share the beauty I see all around me. My floral photography line is called “la vita è bella”, Italian for “life is beautiful”. If for just a brief moment I can add a little beauty and calm to your day with my images, I’ve succeeded.
As a baker, it’s my goal to give back to gluten-free eaters the baked goods they’ve had to give up. I think one of my favorite experiences along this journey of running a Cottage Bakery is watching someone who is gluten-free light up when they realize it’s not just one item on the menu they can have…they can have it all.
With both my photography and baking, my goal is add beauty to your life. So whether it’s a floral image for your wall or a biscotti that reminds you of your Italian nonna, my hope is to add some good to your day. And, when I hear from my customers that their new framed print finished off their room perfectly or biting into that cookie took them back to childhood, it’s the best feeling!
What makes you happy?
There’s a certain look people get on their faces when you truly connect with them.
It doesn’t matter if they are looking at one of my photographs or they’ve just bitten into one of my cookies….when you see that look appear, it’s the best feeling.
Simply knowing I’ve connected with them and it brought them joy makes me happy.
Contact Info:
- Website: melissabagley.com & dolcevita.market
- Instagram: melissabagley & la.dolcevita.market
Image Credits:
Photo credit on all images – Melissa Bagley
