Name: Anna Derivi-Castellanos (left) and Lenore Estrada (right)
Bakery/Position: Owners of Three Babes Bakeshop

What do you love about your job?
Anna: "I love the chance to be creative and to engage with my community through the food we make. I am so proud to be from California, and I love being able to share the bounty of the land we grew up on."
Lenore: "I love working with my best friend doing something we did for fun growing up! I also love connecting with people. Being entrepreneurs gives us so much freedom to engage with others, to be a part of several inspirational communities — in the Central Valley, in the food space, and here in the Mission."

What inspired you to get in the baking industry?
Anna: "Baking is in my blood. My great-grandfather was JP Morgan's personal pastry chef! After trying his peach melba, Mr. Morgan persuaded my grandfather to come to the U.S. aboard his yacht — it's how my family moved here! My family owned an old-fashioned soda fountain in Stockton and my grandparents taught my mother to make pies. She, in turn, taught me. I've always been passionate about food. I attended culinary school and worked in organic grocery before trying my hand as a small business owner."
Lenore: "I've been baking as long as I can remember. My father and his family were migrant sheep shearers when he was a kid, and my grandmother was famous for making cakes and pies with whatever fruit was on hand. My dad used to force me to make pies before I'd be allowed to start my homework! Anna and I used to bake pies together and give them away in high school and we always talked about opening up a food business, but never lived on the same coast after moving away from Stockton. After working in a wide variety of different industries — I've worked at Google, as a luxury wedding planner, at Chevron's alternative energy group in S.F., wrote part of a book, was diagnosed with, and then fought off cancer, worked at a hedge fund at The Blackstone Group, and as a substitute Spanish teacher in Boston — I finally decided to go for it and create something! I moved back to S.F. and launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise some seed money, and we were off! It's been a crazy ride, a lot of work, and a lot of fun."

Photographed by Aeschleah DeMartino