Conversations with Natalia Salazar

Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalia Salazar.

Hi Natalia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Quito-Ecuador, I studied Arts and taught art classes for more than 15 years. In this journey, my sisters encouraged me to get involved in artistic pastry, so in 2010 I started making fondant cakes and teaching cake decoration and sugar paste modeling at Dulce Aroma Ecuador, my sisters’ company in my native country.

Then I decided to study to become a chef and I specialized in cake decorating. So I merged my two passions: Arts and pastry since I have been baking since I was 8 years old, encouraged by my mother who is an excellent pastry chef. At that same time (2012), I met my husband who is from North Carolina and in 2015 we got married and that is when I moved permanently to the United States.

Then seeing myself in another country, being Latina and not having the language it occurred to me to create my blog and my YouTube channel to continue with artistic pastry. Since that time, I have created a solid community of more than 2 million followers in social networks, which by today’s standards is not much, but for me, it is a lot since I never imagined reaching so many people with my work.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think I have had a very busy journey, where I have had to reinvent myself several times in these 12 years of my career since I started with artistic pastry. The trends have changed every year and this makes it a challenge because I have to be updated with the latest trends.

All the time I train myself in new pastry techniques and I have had to learn how to edit, light, record videos, take good pictures, make a blog, a web page, marketing, social media management, etc.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am mainly a teacher, I have been teaching since I was 18 years old and currently my passion is teaching artistic and creative pastry on social networks. My specialization is theme cakes, I work with various techniques in fondant, ganache, and buttercream. I distinguish myself for my sugar modeling and custom designs.

I am proud of everything I have built over the years without knowing anything about social networks, in the beginning, most of what I have learned in a self-taught way, and what I learned in fine arts.

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
As my entrepreneurship has been digital since late 2015, the Covid crisis did not affect me negatively but rather boosted my business, because people were locked in 2020 and this made me grow like never before, it was crazy, I went from having 100,000 followers to the 2 million I currently have.

Of course, nothing was easy, 2020, I organized with my sister several online events on Facebook where we shared free live classes for the entire community of followers who were locked in their homes, this was very positive both for us and for all the entrepreneurial mothers who stayed at home, many without work and with all the desire to help the economy of their homes.

It was mutual learning and this also helped us not to get depressed with everything that was happening.

Contact Info:

• Email: pasteleriacreativabyns16@gmail.com
• Website: https://natalia-salazar.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natalia.salazarbypc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nataliasalazarpc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NataliaSalazarP1977
• Other: https://www.xn--nataliasalazar-pasteleracreativacakedesign-u3d.com/

Image Credits
Natalia Salazar-Pastelería Creativa