Meet the Creative Power Couple Behind this Magical Pastry Shop

Matt Borchert March 31, 2021 · 6 min read

Justyna Kawiak is a chef and photographer. Pasquale Gallo is a web designer. Together with business partner Basia they opened Nanan in 2017.

Justyna Kawiak and Pasquale Gallo Creative dreams come in all shapes and sizes, and for Creative Market shop owners Justyna Kawiak and Pasquale Gallo, the ingredients of their unique talents turned into a rather magical journey of opening a one-of-a-kind pastry shop. Creating magic isn’t easy as there are no recipes or set rules to achieve it, but the end result of this adventure is a place that would seem just at home in a Wes Anderson film as it does in its home of Wrocław, Poland.

The interior of Nanan

The Journey Begins

Many journeys start in unexpected places, and for Pasquale and Justyna, their journey started with meeting by chance. Pasquale started working in economics and then moved into filmmaking and theater. While continuing to search for his own path, he eventually fell into having a classic full-time job. During this time Pasquale met Justyna, a food engineering graduate, who was working for the same company. After a few years working together the couple began to dream about alternatives. “Justyna has always been passionate about pastry,” says Pasquale. “She decided to study in one of the most prestigious schools in the world: Le Cordon Blue, in London.” For his own personal journey he continues, “For several years, I was dabbling in making websites on WordPress. I began using it from its beginnings. I’ve always been fascinated by the world of web design. When my wife decided to move to London, I took the opportunity and moved with her, and that’s when I embarked on my career as a web designer.”

The sweet side of business

Mixing the Ingredients Together

Trying to make big things happen is often full of potential road blocks. A lot of times these road blocks can be enough to prevent people from following their dreams and turning them into reality. “Me and my wife always dreamt about opening up a shop, since we were living in Italy,” said Pasquale, “but we never managed to do it.” Luckily for Justyna and Pasquale their adventure was just getting started. “Then, we moved to Poland and she found a partner that saw the true value of her art.”

The entrance of a magical place When asked about the difficulties of opening up their shop Justyna said you need “A lot of patience and determination. My dream had to take form as soon as possible. I couldn’t think of anything else. While the builders were working, I was dealing with my recipes and the products to buy. I didn’t even have the time for a cup of coffee in peace.” She also noted the importance of “Finding the right location and making sure that the workers respected the time limits. There was a new obstacle every day.” She reflected, “I thought I couldn’t make it, but I managed to do it also thanks to my partner Basia, who really helped me a lot throughout the process.” Clearly having a strong support system and working with people that you can trust makes a huge impact in giving you the confidence and ability to overcome difficult times. Pasquale added, “We are simply crazy and reckless. I believe that this is the secret ingredient.” I like his style.

Sprinkling in Sweet Style

Interior of Nanan The interior of Nanan is nothing short of magical. With its mixture of luxurious elements and whimsy, it manages to set itself apart from any pastry shop that I’ve ever seen. I asked Justyna how the incredible visual direction came to be. She said, “We reached out to an architect couple (Buck.Studio) that helped us to find the right balance between the design of my creations and the customers.”

Justyna’s perfect pastries When asked about how she creates such visually stunning pastries Justyna said, “I love taking photos of beautiful things, and that’s why my pastry has to be gorgeous, as well as delicious.” In order to tie the beautiful food and the impressive interior design of the store together Justyna continues, “Nanan is different than the other places and has a unique design. I believe that this helps to make ourselves be known better.” She continues, “An outstanding interior design contributes to create the perfect experience. Our objective is to promote and push forward our style.”

Nanan’s sweets are a work of art

Recipes for Success

When asked about how running a shop on Creative Market has helped her new pastry shop, Justyna said, “The most important lesson comes from customer management. You’ll find that pleasing everyone is not easy. What really matters is being able to cope with every complaint and (piece of) advice.”

A magical interior When asked about the difficulties of running an online shop in combination with her new retail store she continued, “As a matter of fact, I have no time. I’m always running. I feel like I’m going insane, but as soon as I receive a positive feedback from a customer, everything fades away.” Sometimes it’s difficult to look past all of the stressful situations that may be facing you in whatever your journey may be, but Justyna’s ability to gain strength through positive feedback is an incredible credit to her spirit. Justyna’s final thoughts are “I didn’t think that there would be that much work behind this. As I was saying before, there has to be a lot of determination and courage. The rest works out by itself. Never give up when you’re faced with the difficulties, that, by the way, are always more than you would think.” Pasquale added, “In my case, I’ve always been willing to lend a hand. It’s been rough, but today we can say that it was worth it.” So while we’re at the end of this story, this is just the beginning of the story that is Pasquale and Justyna’s pastry shop Nanan. With their incredible determination, creative spirit, and hard work they’ve managed to create something magical where there was nothing before. We think we can expect to see a fairy tale ending when it comes to the success of Nanan, and wish the two of them all the best in their future together. Products Seen In This Post: