This month, we're spotlighting women whose professional and personal contributions help shape our collective future — women who are making points we should all listen to. The people you will read about are remarkable, but this is not a contest or a ranking. Rather, we present women whose contributions, just like those of so many other people of all genders, warrant our attention. Listen up.
PHOTOGRAPH BY ASHLEIGH PEAK
Kat Gordon opens the door to her Muddy’s Bake Shop on Broad Avenue. Tarps cover the shelves where pies are normally displayed. A colorful, patterned kerchief wraps Gordon’s hair, with wisps poking out; splatters of paint dot her pants. She’s been working all day on renovating the shop, scrubbing and cleaning along with her staff. They’ve just installed new windows, she says over the upbeat music that fills the space.
The windows are not the first change Muddy’s has undergone this year. In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, Gordon went from operating three locations to consolidating to the one on Broad, where she recently purchased the space next door to expand the bakery’s footprint there.
“The three years prior to the past 16 months, I had a bigger business and a bigger team, and I wanted to give my all, which is a good thing,” Gordon says. “But having 50 employees for me, I think, was so overwhelming because if I’m going to have 50 people working on my team, I want to do right by those 50 people. Same thing with customers. I want to do an amazing job for everyone and be present for everyone.”
“We’ve had so many challenges that it’s a good reminder that whatever the thing is at the moment, you can be creative. There are always challenges — they’re not always a recession or a pandemic — but something that seems like a really big deal or just a huge obstacle probably isn’t as big as it feels in the moment.” — Kat Gordon
At this time, perfectionism was her sole motivator. “It’s a strength most of the time, but, like with any strength that we have, when taken to an extreme or misapplied, suddenly that same strength is a weakness,” Gordon says. “Perfectionism is the enemy of creativity. The creative self needs to be able to fail and to experiment. The perfectionist self certainly has a role, but that self is way better as an editor.”
Though she hid it well, she says, her perfectionist self consumed her, leaving no time for her creative side. “To me,” she says, “it felt like I was always failing.”
But the challenges of the pandemic demanded that Gordon set aside her perfectionist tendencies and embrace experimentation. She remembered that she opened at the height of the recession in 2008, and that even then, her business thrived. “We’ve had so many challenges that it’s a good reminder that whatever the thing is at the moment, you can be creative,” she says. “There are always challenges — they’re not always a recession or a pandemic. … But something that seems like a really big deal or just a huge obstacle probably isn’t as big as it feels in the moment.” In fact, as her friend Preston frequently reminds her, these challenging moments are “tuition. You’ve already paid it.” Gordon recounts the advice, “So what did you learn? … Well, I’ve learned a ton.”
As such, consolidating was hardly a failure for Gordon. “Sometimes, we don’t even know what success is until we fail a little bit,” she says. “And I think people define success differently. I think most people would see having a multiple-location business as a success. … One of the things that is a success for me is working with a team. That’s been one of the biggest benefits about being under one roof.”
No longer is she spending time and energy driving from location to location. She’s at Broad Avenue from the start of the day until the end, which is marked by a staff cooldown. “We stretch, we breathe, we do a round of appreciations.”
Being around and connecting with people energizes and inspires Gordon. So when faced with limited social interactions at the onset of the pandemic, she started teaching virtual baking classes, which, she admits, she had doubts would work smoothly. Now, months after starting the classes, Gordon takes pride in how she was able to stretch out of her comfort zone — not to mention that the classes were so well attended, Muddy’s plans to open an in-person classroom after this renovation.
In addition to a classroom, Muddy’s will be adding storage and office space, leaving the front room entirely for the shop. Of course, each space will be decorated in Muddy’s colorful and cheery style, with each piece of decor intended to inspire. “Even the inevitable chipped plates have a second life on the wall,” Gordon says. Nothing and no one go unappreciated at Muddy’s.
“You’re working with good people and you feel supported at your work,” Gordon says. “Even today, after I’ve been working [on renovations], my body is going to be physically tired, but because of who I work with and because of who our customers are, I’m not going to be drained. I’m going home with really great energy for my family, which is awesome.”
