About Blake

The story behind the blakery

My name is Blake Thomas and I have always had a love of being in the kitchen.  My path to owning a bakery has been an interesting one and it has been an exciting new chapter in my life!  By education and experience I am a licensed clinical social worker and I have spent the past nearly twenty years working in the field of social work in various capacities.  Most notably, I worked at the Truman VA for over a decade, where I started and built a permanent housing program for homeless veterans.  It was an incredibly challenging job and by far the highlight of my career.  I remain passionate about clinical social work and continue to provide therapy work via my private practice Thomas Clinical Solutions.  One of the core concepts of clinical work that I emphasize with my colleagues and clients alike was balance; the need to create a life that maintains a healthy balance physically, emotionally and spiritually.  After more than ten years of federal service I found myself in a toxic position where I was challenged to take my own advice in the interest of reestablishing a healthy balance in my life.  

After considering numerous ways to heal while satiating my need to help and nurture others, I kept coming back to the cakes and treats I have made for friends and family over the years.  I decided to do some research into what it would take to open a bakery.  Long story short… a lot.  But I’ve never been short on confidence or determinism, so in the fall of 2019 I took the leap.  I fled the VA and set out to build a bakery with my amazing husband, Kyle.  We considered what felt like a million options (brick and mortar, food truck…) and ultimately I wanted to be able to work from home; a place where I felt safe and could be with my children and husband.  As luck would have it, we had the perfect set of conditions required to have a home-based business.  We worked with City Planning and Zoning, Water and Light Engineers, the Health Department and an amazing crew of City Water and Light Utility Workers that pulled an additional 200Amp service to my home to power my ovens!  Numerous permits, applications, exams and tons of blood sweat and tears later, we did it.  We built a fully compliant commercial kitchen where we can make some of the most delicious ways for Columbia to treat itself.  

Soooo…. We opened a bakery during a global pandemic amidst major social upheaval for racial equality. Nothing worth having comes easy, right?! I have been blown away by the positive response from the community and love getting to play a role in so many special celebrations… even through a questionably dark time in American history.

Something that has never changed is my desire to help people recover from mental health struggles that impact us all. The clinical world is my calling and if I’ve learned anything over the course of my career, it’s that sometimes we need to take a step back and a deep breath to help realign our priorities. After almost two years of time, therapy, reflection and healing I finally reclaimed my power and clinical prowess to launch my private clinical practice, Thomas Clinical Solutions (you can check out all of the details of my practice at thomasclinicalsolutions.com). I get to have my cake and eat it too! I’ve had several folks suggest I combine my loves in the form of chocolate therapy… we may be onto something here, folks!

Friends, it saddens me I must unequivocally state that black lives matter. We are in a pivotal time of change.  Now, more than ever, it is time to be kind and treat others with compassion and empathy.   As a social worker for many years I have had the privilege of working with numerous people of color and consequently I have heard countless stories of racial discrimination, police brutality and a terribly flawed culture that perpetuates bigotry and hatred towards black and brown bodies. It is telling and excruciatingly painful that culturally competent clinicians know to sit with patients of color with the understanding they have faced systemic racism their entire lives.  I have served as the “white legitimizer” for far too many people of color to have their voices heard and taken seriously.  We have to change, folks.  We have to do better.  We have to strive towards equality, which can only be achieved by walking a path of introspection and reflection.   What are your biases?  Do you play a role in maintaining white privilege?  What steps can you take to be more compassionate and supportive to our neighbors of color?  How can you model treating others with respect for our children while educating them of our history and the impact it has had on generations of people of color?  There are so many facets of this very complex issue.  

There is much to learn and even more progress to make. For this powder keg to explode during a global pandemic is insult to injury. Be safe. Be kind. Take care of one another. Personally, I am committed to being anti-racist and to use my voice and inherent white privilege for good. I hold great faith that within our diversity lies much strength. So long as we keep our hearts open to listening, reflection and change we will emerge stronger for it.