Nothing says “Happy Women’s History Month” like telling a woman her business is “too girly.” This happened to Maddy O’Donnell at a farmer’s market last year, so when she opened her brick-and-mortar bakeshop on Valentine’s Day, the first thing she did was hang a disco ball and paint everything pink. We sat down with Maddy to talk about her whimsical croissants, grief, vengeance branding, and why spending locally matters.
Hi Maddy! Tell us a little about your background and how Maddy’s Bakeshop came to be.
I started baking in 2018 when I was living in New York. I moved to Seattle in 2019, and then in 2020 I had to leave baking school because of COVID, so I started teaching myself how to bake. After working professionally at Coyle’s Bake Shop for a little bit, I started doing pop-ups and working as a pastry chef at Sabine in 2021–2022. Then I started doing pop-ups around the city, started doing farmers markets, and then I opened up my brick-and-mortar Valentine’s Day 2026. The reception has been so sweet. I kept thinking no one was gonna show up to the opening, and there was a line for a couple of hours. It was kind of overwhelming, but it was so sweet.
What will people find when they come into the shop?
I specialize in laminated pastries, and I also do these whimsical floral decorated cakes. Most people know me as either or, not both, which is funny. I hear a lot — they’re like, “Oh, I know you as the croissant person” or “the cake person,” but I do both. I try to use like a hundred percent local produce, so that’s why I’m at farmers markets. I’m at Ballard every Sunday. I get my flour from a local mill. Everything’s pretty seasonal and I try to keep things very local.
I really lean in on savory. I don’t have a sweet tooth, which is dumb because I bake and I made this my career, but none of my stuff will lean too sweet because of that. I’m a cheese girl, so all my stuff will kind of have cheese in it in some way. My best seller is the ham and cheese — it has a pepperoncini on top. I like putting fun garnishes on things. I like it looking different from what you can get at a regular bakery, because why not? Life is short.
What’s the experience like for a first-time customer?
A lot of first-time customers have been coming in, especially in the neighborhood, because they’re like, “What is this?” Everything is very pink and stands out quite a bit. If they ask me what they should get, I always say the ham and cheese. But usually people get so excited at the fact that like half of my menu is something that they can’t find everywhere. Or if they can, it’s like maybe you have two options, whereas I usually have like five to six. I do have a butter croissant and a pain au chocolat and the normal things that you can get everywhere else — but because I do savory, that’s where it gets fun.
Baking started for you during a really personal and difficult time. Can you tell us about that?
This is like very funny that I do this, because my whole family — I’m from LA — my whole family is in the entertainment industry. I was working in music PR in New York, and that was kind of how I saw my life. And I learned I hated it, and I’m really bad at it also. And while I was at that job, my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer, and he was like my favorite person. I didn’t know what to do. I hated my life already, and then that just kind of — that sucked, to say the least. I was 21 when that happened.
So I googled what do you do when your life, you know, sucks. And it was like, drink a lot of wine and bake. So I did. Baking was really good for me because you have to focus so much on it that you can completely just block everything out. Lamination especially — it’s so temperature controlled, it’s so meticulous. I find it the most annoying thing to bake, but I need that. I need to lock in and focus on that to get out of my brain. It calms me down still. Even when I’m overwhelmed, I just start baking something. And I ended up figuring out that I’m better at that than anything else I was doing, and I loved it.
Your branding is very distinctly and boldly pink and feminine. Was that always the vision?
No — it was just orange and a little bit of green, but mainly orange and white. A guy told me once at a farmers market that my stuff was too girly and that I was actually leaning too heavily on marketing and that I’m alienating people because it’s so pink and girly. So then I got a pink tent. I have flowers everywhere, and that’s kind of my identity at the farmers market and also now my brand.
That’s kind of how I do a lot of my decision-making — someone’s kind of rude to me, I just kind of lean in. My mom always said to get back at people, just be more successful. So that’s kind of how I do things. Someone gives me unsolicited advice? I do the opposite and make money off it. I’m too loud, I’m too much, I’m too girly — I think it resonates with a lot of people, because we’re all told we’re too much. Especially as girls, you’re told that when you’re little. And then someone telling me as an adult that I’m too much, I’m like — I’ll show you. And yeah, I’ll make money off it, because I’m a woman and I can do that.
Baking is so serious, you know? It’s so meticulous, it’s science. So doing something this silly and so quote “girly” — it just feels funny. And I like it that way.
Intentionalist’s motto is “spend like it matters.” What does that mean to you?
I try really hard to spend my money, especially locally. That’s why I think I lean so heavily on getting local produce and grains. You have to spend a certain percentage of your product at the farmers market when you’re vending there — I think mine is like 90%, even though I think you only need to spend like 18% or something. But I just learned that you know who the money is going to, you know who it’s directly affecting. And I don’t know, I feel like that’s the smartest and easiest way to make an actual change and support people. Same with local organizations — I do a lot of bake sales, because that’s just the easiest way to be able to give back without breaking the bank. I love Seattle so much. I’ve lived a lot of places, like a lot, and this is my favorite place. And the fact that my kitchen is just overlooking the water — I don’t know of any other kitchen that does that, so I’m very lucky and grateful to be here.
Are there any other local small businesses you’d like to shout out?
Yes! Pan de la Selva — Mayra and I shared a commissary kitchen together, my first ever, and I love her. She’s like my main baking friend, and honestly the only baked goods I eat are hers because I don’t have a sweet tooth. Paul from Rachel’s Bagels has been so helpful to me in terms of just business, he’s so sweet. And Erika from Madres Kitchen. She’s helped me a lot with being a woman in business and standing up for yourself and saying no. I’m really grateful for all of them.
Any final words for people who haven’t made it in yet?
For now we’re open Saturday and Sunday, but Fridays are coming soon. We’re a block from Myrtle Edwards Park, so come on by. No one needs a pastry, I’m not saving the world. I’m not a lawyer, I’m not a doctor. I make silly cakes and silly croissants and try to make them quote girly. But the whole point is to make someone happy. Life can be great, but boy, is it a bummer sometimes. Especially right now — the world’s on fire, everyone’s terrified about something. And eating a cake with squiggles and fresh flowers, or a croissant with a pepperoncini on top, can hopefully brighten someone’s day. That’s what I’m here for.
You can find more information about Maddy’s Bakeshop here, and visit her shop at 177 Western Ave W Suite 268, Seattle, WA 98119.
