A Sweeter Perspective

Pictured: Co-founder and Pastry Chef Greyson Nakano

Always working to perfect his “vision” and making delicious pastries in the process.

April 2022 — The launch and realization of Konpeito Confections has been a dream of mine for a long time.  I still recall at a young age telling my parents that I wanted to bake bread or design clothing for a living.  My parents dashed these dreams and rerouted me to enter the medical field.  Throughout school I never felt like it was a good fit.  The courses didn’t answer innate questions that I had yet I perservered through school and onward to optometry school.  Unusual as it was I was one of the few in my optometry class that did not need to wear glasses or contacts which only made me feel more alienated in an environment that I could not completely assimilate.  My motivation stemmed from my desire to simply complete my program in the hopes that I would be able to somehow earn a better life.  I knew that a better life for me meant pursuing art and creative outlets.  Shortly after starting work as an optometrist in Las Vegas in 2014 I started to use my free time to bake macarons.  From there the joy of creating took on a life of its own and I knew that creating pastry and cakes was how I want to spend my time.  By fate, I would return to Columbus Ohio where I went to graduate school.  I passed by a help wanted sign in one of my favorite bakeries in that city.  I applied and was offered the job as a cake baker.  I quit my optometry job and spent the next year working there full time.  Since then I created a home based bakery called Patisserie Poemme filling orders for macarons, cakes, and other pastries.  Understanding that I am gambling my lifestyle, optometric profession, and financial investments in order to realize Konpeito Confections has bolstered my determination to succeed.  I find it ironic that although I believed to have “perfect vision” all my life it would take becoming an optometrist to clearly envision my life’s purpose.