Ever since making a chocolate strawberry shortcake at the age of 15, Samele has been hooked on baking. She learned the ART of baking under the instruction of her grandmother. Although she trusted her grandmother completely, Samele would always wonder WHY things worked the way grandma said they worked.

 

     Fast forward 18 years to 2004…While working at a customer service job with a local telecommunications company, Samele began to create invitations and favors for her friends and family. She continued to bake for her family but thought that designing invites and favors for various events were her passion. In 2006, while preparing for her grandmother’s 80th birthday party, Samele decided that the best gift she could ever give would be to make her grandmother’s birthday cake.  She took the cake decorating classes at the local craft store in preparation. It was while practicing, Samele learned that she could use her creativity and baking skills together. The finished cake made both Samele and her grandmother very proud and Samele began to bake AND decorate more often. 

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     In 2007, just before her passing, Samele’s grandmother told her not to be satisfied with doing “just anything” but to pursue what made her happy. “highly favor-ed” (the invitation company), began to make cakes! The “why things worked” kept nagging so in 2008, Samele enrolled in the Baking and Pastry Program at Diablo Valley College, in Concord, Ca.  While in school, highly favor-ed shifted from primarily creating invitations and favors to pastry. In 2010, upon graduation,  in an effort to give honor to the woman who started it all, Thelma Huddleston, who was fondly called "Sugar Bee" by Samele’s sister, Davin, Samele changed the name of the business to Sugah B Confections...