Ashima stands as the driving force behind Northeast Calgary's inaugural upscale bakeshop and café. Deriving talent through world-class pastry chefs from France and New York City, she spent her 2022 new year in the big apple at Atelier Sucré; immersing herself in the vibrant culinary scene of NYC. Bringing back extensive knowledge and skill from both Chef Simon Hefrey and Chef Roger Sitrin, her goals lie amongst spending the rest of her 20's to a relentless pursuit of honing her craft and advancing her expertise through her passion of travelling.

Throughout high school and beyond, her passion as a barista blossomed until school became a priority again. After graduating from college and juggling a work-life balance, she realized that closing one chapter was an essential step towards embracing an abundant realm of fresh opportunities. Her journey took a pivotal turn in 2020 when she made her very first Instagram post and the rest became history.

Within a mere six months of launching Made By AKB, Ashima reached an impressive milestone: 500 orders, a small win for a small town brown girl in Calgary's South-Asian community. Shortly after, she took a bold step by departing from university and capturing the attention of Calgary's prominent social media platforms. Many featured her journey while she had her first pop-up at Inglewood Night Market that very same year.

The following 6-months were overpowered with growth with the unwavering support from her parents. Armed with their encouragement, Ashima embarked on the next phase: conceptualizing and designing her own brick-and-mortar bakeshop and café.

As autumn unfolded in 2022, Ashima opened the doors of her first location on September 1st with the support of her family, friends and a powerhouse of a community she spent years on end building.

The lineage of entrepreneurship that courses through her parents' veins has shaped her journey. The daughter of two entrepreneurs carved a path for South-Asian youth to be inspired to do what she lives by; pursue your happyness.

"In my 23 years of life, there's a few words that have kept me going through both my most joyful and darkest times; pursue your happyness. You've got one life, one chance to do what the universe has paved for you because life is short. Life is too short to not take that chance or move that mountain. Make the most of your time here, you owe that to yourself."