Have you ever found yourself daydreaming, imagining what would happen if you moved across the world to truly follow your dreams, and completely switch career paths? Jackie Kai Ellis has done exactly this. Making the drastic switch from running a booming design business, to closing her firm and hopping on a plane to Paris! In Paris, Jackie pursued her life-long love of baking, and studied at Paris Ecole Gastronomique Bellouet Conseil.
Jackie returned to her hometown of Vancouver in 2012, to open Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe. The bakery was inspired by the North American baking Jackie grew up with, her Asian heritage and the delicate art of French pastry making. Unsurprisingly, Beaucoup Bakery & Cafe became an immediate success. Most recently, Jackie has penned a memoir with Appetite Random House called The Measure of My Powers. The Measure of My Powers is a raw, honest, relatable and truly beautiful book — from the cover to the contents.
What does babes supporting babes mean to you?
To me, it just means that we all need all the help we can get when we are challenging ourselves to go places that make us feel vulnerable. We’ve all been there, so why not lend a helping hand or ask for one?
If you could choose your nickname, what would it be?
My name is Jaclyn and I like my nickname, Jackie, very much!
What’s your spirit animal?
All kinds of birds.
What’s your proudest babe moment or achievement?
That I was courageous enough to love myself, truly.
What’s the most unexpected thing you have in your purse or wallet?
Not sure if it’s unexpected but I always have euros on me.
Tell us about a time where you were faced with a situation that you could have been unkind, but chose to be a babe instead?
When writing my memoir, it’s the easy way out to blame others for your past, for painful feelings. But doing this wouldn’t have helped me to learn about myself, or to see what lessons life was trying to teach me. It was in being kind to myself, forgiving others and myself for situations in the past that truly allowed me to write a story with grace and perspective, in a way that might be helpful to another.
What product would you seriously stockpile if you found out they weren’t selling anymore?
Haha, I don’t know…plane tickets?
What was the best piece of advice you received when you were first starting your career?
When I was first starting a career in branding, I remember my director telling me to be clear as to what I wanted to get out of every meeting before I went in. Somehow that advice has gotten me through many tough meetings, including personal ones.
Red, white, or rose?
Depends on what I’m eating.
Tell us about a Babe who has supported you?
All of my closest friends are my biggest cheerleaders. I can tell who my true friends are by how extremely happy they are to see me succeed.
What’s your favourite destination to visit?
I love the desert in Central Oregon, Arizona and New Mexico. There’s something very healing about those places.
What’s your favourite meal to eat?
Fries. I know it’s not a meal but I love them.
What’s the most fulfilling part of your career?
That I’m fortunate and privileged enough to be able to choose what gives me joy.
Where’s your favourite place to draw inspiration from?
Nature.
What’s your guilty pleasure?
Potato chips…but I try not to feel guilty because it ruins everything.
What quality are you working on yourself right now?
Not needing to go outside my own boundaries to prove my strength, just knowing it and standing in it.
What’s the biggest hurdle you’ve had to overcome in business?
Learning how to motivate a team over many years.
Coffee meeting or drinks meeting?
Both, one after the other 🙂
If you’re going out for a cocktail you’d order…
I’m not a creature of habit. My mood changes and I like to try new things.
If you had unlimited budget for 2 hours of shopping where would you go?
Right now? Alexander McQueen.
What’s your favorite movie?
Out of Africa.
Click here to visit The Babe Shop!
Keep up with Jackie on Instagram @jackiekaiellis.
Introduction written by Lindsay Pearce.
Photography by Ryan Pugsley.