BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – As the aroma of coffee and desserts fills the air inside Pure Bliss, owner Andi Vann looks back at a lifetime of sweet treats and shared moments with her community.

From an early age, Vann knew that her calling was to bake. She shares how a candy store near her childhood home started her obsession with sweets, soon evolving to baking herself as a middle schooler in her parent’s kitchen.

“I just really value the creativity and the freedom that the kitchen brings,” Vann said. “It’s like a safe place to make mistakes and then improve upon.”

Before Pure Bliss was operating out of its current brick and mortar location on Cornwall Avenue, Vann started the venture in 2008 working out of a rented commercial kitchen space. Baking custom orders, she was able to grow a customer base while working on her baking skills.

Soon after, the opportunity arose for her to open a storefront. The first iteration of Pure Bliss opened its doors in October 2010, with Vann figuring out how to run the business one day at a time.

“It was the steepest learning curve to anything I’ve ever done before,” Vann said. “I [knew] desserts and I [knew] people. But I didn’t know what the best formula was to make those things merge together.”

Vann, who graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in psychology, brought her education with her as she started the business. Figuring out how to delegate tasks to operate the business was something she says she had to learn through trial and error.

As the business began to grow, Vann brought on employees who could focus specifically on baking, decorating, hospitality or one of the other niche jobs that are offered at Pure Bliss. Currently, the bakery has a staff of 40 people who work in the bakery or behind the scenes.

Vann spoke on the importance of using local and fresh ingredients in her desserts to not only benefit the customer, but to also benefit the local economy.

“I believe that it’s really important for me to live out my personal value set to a degree in a workplace too, when it comes to the practical sense of ingredient usage,” Vann said. “If that’s how I live at home and want for my family, for my friends, I want this community to be able to benefit the same.”

Vann mentioned how supporting local farms with seasonal produce helps her and the baking staff create unique dessert items on a seasonal basis.

“When I can go to Barbie’s Berries and get these flats of strawberries, raspberries… I’m going to taste that perfection and know that somebody in our county, who are our neighbors, put the same amount of effort and love and passion into things that they’re doing,” Vann said. “We can eat a strawberry right now, or we can wait until June. There’s no comparison.”

Pure Bliss uses products from a handful of local companies like Edaleen Dairy, Moka Joe Coffee, K’ul Chocolate and fellow downtown Bellingham business Mallard Ice Cream.

Of course, every baker has their favorite thing they make. For Vann, her go-to item is the classic brownie. Using chocolate from K’ul Chocolate, it is an item that Vann caries a sense of pride over.

“I have intentionally eaten every brownie that I can possibly eat in any place in this country I have been to,” Vann said. “If I go anywhere, I’m getting your brownie.”

With Valentine’s Day approaching, Pure Bliss put together a seasonal menu to highlight ingredients that taste best this time of year as well as some classic items that make the holiday special. A four-inch raspberry white chocolate cheesecake, chocolate ganache torte and what Vann calls the “quintessential heart shortbread cookie with pink frosting” are a few of the items available for Valentine’s Day.

As Pure Bliss continues to evolve, Vann is looking to open a new event space next door to the storefront.

She’s calling it “Flourish by Pure Bliss” and the space will allow community members to reserve a space for parties and gatherings with desserts catered by Pure Bliss. The current storefront does not take reservations for tables or space, allowing Vann and her team the ability to keep a consistent and open floorplan.

“People contact us all the time asking, ‘Can we rent your space on Saturday nights?’ and we say no,” Vann said. “This event space is going to allow us to have a space where people can rent for a few hours and celebrate. It’s a continuation of our mission of sparking joy in the community through delicious desserts and now through a space that they can enjoy.”

For more information about Pure Bliss, head to their website at pureblissdesserts.com.

We are Whatcom is a weekly column featuring Whatcom County residents making a positive impact on the community. To submit a Whatcom County resident to be featured, click here.