Karli Scorpio of Rhode Island on Life, Lessons & Legacy

Karli Scorpio shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Karli, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: Who are you learning from right now?
My Nonna has become my greatest teacher and the heart of my inspiration since her passing this summer. I feel her hands guide me as I craft in my bakery, her spirit helping me define the heart and soul of what makes Grain Reaper so exceptionally different from traditional bakeries. I’m recalling more and more often the lessons she taught me in the kitchen when I was a young child, and I grasp even more the purpose and intent she infused every meal with. I find myself now doing the same, baking with intention and imbuing each new treat with some kind of emotional response I want my customers to experience. Whether it be joy or comfort or love or acceptance, I bake for the same reasons my Nonna spent a majority of her time in the kitchen, to provide a feeling, an experience for the consumer, and to be filled internally with the joy of knowing I’m doing just that. She’s been my greatest instructor in her death and it’s a gift to continue to learn from her after her passing.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Grain Reaper Baking Co is an alternative spooky bakery currently lurking in the darkest depths of Newport, Rhode Island. I’m a sole woman-owned gourmet gluten-free bakery that prides itself in conjuring up gluten-free treats that don’t taste gluten-free. I wanted this brand to feel open to all from every crypt and cranny in the world, and cast candlelight on the exceptionality and simplicity of a damn good cookie. I bake for the nostalgia and simple act of crafting something delicious for all to enjoy, and thus strive to summon a flavor for everyone.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
I spent a really long time shoving myself into a box that I never truly felt I fit into, and it resulted in a lot of confusion and wandering aimlessly in a world where everyone seemed to have figured it out. The effect was an overall disconnect between myself and the work I was doing, and as a generator (which I just recently discovered is my human design type), I only feel fulfilled by work that feeds my soul. I went to school for biology, thought I was supposed to become a doctor to make my family and mentors proud, and the distress the lack of alignment caused me led me to fly off the handle in a way. I began to try every available career opportunity out there until I finally found myself in a place of quiet comfort in my home in New England. Newly gluten-free, trying to find the perfect chocolate chip cookie recipe, I discovered a part of myself that I had hidden away. Exhuming her from the early grave I had buried her in resurrected a passion and burning desire to create that I had spent years ignoring and neglecting. Now I say “f it” to the societal expectations I thought were once placed on me. It’s so freeing to do what I love and to have that joy returned to me by the folks who consume my products.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I’ve always had this intense fear of failure, like I’d be letting down everyone if I didn’t do the doctor thing, or the scientist thing, or the career woman thing. Everyone expected me to go that route, and it was really the only path I had ever considered exploring. The fear of failure, of not being successful, was so crippling I never allowed myself to see an alternative pathway, and then the fear of being unfulfilled nestled in alongside it and it was suffocating, to say the least. I couldn’t see a way out, of being successful and having a job I felt fulfilled by. It always felt like one or the other, and the resulting floundering cost me in years of anxiety-driven thoughts. I’ve still yet to overcome that fear, but leaning into it, questioning the “what ifs”, and just trusting in the process has paved a new way for me to experience fulfillment and success.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
I think it’s a common misconception that in the food industry you are a slave to your craft, that if you aren’t hustling 70-90 hours a week you aren’t working hard enough. I keep hearing that gross sales are the most important measure to success, that quantity is more important than quality. It’s possible that these are simply MY misconceptions about this industry, and I cannot speak for everyone when I say this because this has simply been my own personal experience in the few months that I’ve been full time. However, I’ve been learning recently how important rest is to me. How imperative taking time to go to the gym, to spend time with friends and family, to get away from the kitchen and out into nature is to my ability to perform at maximum effort. My product tastes better, my creativity flows easier, and overall the quality of my life and my product is reflected by that. I think it’s wild to assume you can’t have a work-life balance as an entrepreneur, and to encourage young entrepreneurs to forego a stable and consistent work schedule for hustle culture and “getting their bag.” For me, it’s when I’ve let go of the need to maximize sales and instead focused on crafting product that I’m proud of and that fulfills me and makes me happy that my business has begun to thrive.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
I think this answer is two-fold, because there’s a version of me that finds peace at work, and a version of me that finds it outside of the bakery.

At the bakery, I feel the most at peace, currently at least, on dough rolling days. These are the days I can just zone out to a good podcast or my favorite playlist or even a spooky movie that provides good background noise and just roll dough for 5-6 hours. It gives the illusion of slow pace and I leave the shop feeling like I’ve done nothing all day but in reality I just prepped 150lbs of cookie dough. It’s so low energy and relaxing.

Outside of work, however, my heart and soul find rest in the late evening hours, when I’m curled up with a spooky read with my boyfriend on the couch. Our cats snuggle in close with blankets and a hot drink warming our hands, and for those few short hours my entire body just releases all the tension. James, my boyfriend, brings my soul so much peace. Anywhere with him I’m bound to feel it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://grainreaperbakingco.com
• Instagram: @grainreaperbaking

Image Credits
Stacey Da Silva Photography