Amirah Kassem: Flour Shop Founder, Baker, and Author

Pastry chef, entrepreneur, and author Amirah Kassem is the genius behind the Instagram-famous Explosion Cakes and her vibrant pastry brand Flour Shop. Since the brand’s founding in 2012, her one-of-a-kind creations have gained the attention of millions globally, including celebrities such as Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Kassem has also written multiple books—The Power of Sprinkles: A Cake Book and two children’s books—and has product collections with everyone from Williams-Sonoma to Pottery Barn and an apparel collaboration with Vans. Most recently, she joined the Disney+ food-art series Foodtastic as a judge. But before she began paving her own pastry path, she worked in quite a different creative industry: fashion. She held a plethora of positions in the NY fashion scene, including at Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine and Johan Lindeberg’s beloved denim and leather label Blk Dnm. On this episode of Second Life, hear how Kassem turned her passion for pastries into a celebrated multi-vertical brand.