Growing up in Lancaster County Pennsylvania, Kailey never had to bake anything from scratch, Amish stands were so abundant and cheap any baked goods desired was there. That was until one December evening, she wanted to decorate cutout sugar cookies. Her mother, being the awful baker she was, gave her a recipe and said “have at it”. And so began her baking journey.

As time went on Kailey found a mixture of peace and excitement in baking but never saw it as a career. That was until spring of 2020, Kailey had just started her second semester at UMKC studying vocal performance, when the world shut down. While in lockdown Kailey came to some realizations: one, she didn’t want to keep studying for a career that wasn’t guaranteed a job, and secondly, she wanted to find a career that made her happy to go to work. Throughout her career search she came to the conclusion that baking was her calling.

Kailey worked at many fine bakeries accrossed the Kansas City area and finally found her dream job at a small local bakery in Independence. She started working there as head of their bread division but eventually made her way to head baker and manager of the bakery. She finally had her dream job, but as dreams do, it came to an end. After two and a half year the bakery she loved closed. But having the support from the owner of the bakery, colleagues, friends, and family, she decided to start her own business. Sweet Gestures was born November of 2023, founded by Kailey Swenson and is operated in a commercial kitchen in Independence, Missouri.