ABOUT US

Mary McGinn and Alexis Griffin met in the summer of 2018 at the Sierra Madre Library. Having both just moved to Sierra Madre and both trying to acclimate to life as a mother of two in a new town, they quickly became friends and bonded over their shared love of baking and food.

When the pandemic hit and stay-at-home orders were implemented, Mary and Alexis wanted to do something for their community and help support Sierra Madre Community Nursery School, where all four of their children attend. They decided to launch their "Made with Love" baked goods fundraiser after a weekend of brainstorming, and quickly pulled together a pop-up bakery with hopes to sell the baked goods they loved to make, raise money for the school, and spread a little joy across the community.  The fundraiser was very popular, with items selling out every week and more demand than they could have anticipated! They were even nominated for Lays' "joygivers" campaign, and as a result Lays donated money to Feeding America in their honor. 

Mary and Alexis realized they had created a new endeavor that they were hugely passionate about, and thus decided to make it official and create Madre Made Bake Co. to expand and further serve the community!

Mary grew up in the desert of New Mexico. Her first career was in science, but working in a lab soon gave way to an entrepreneurial dream of opening a coffee shop and bakery in her little home town of Mesilla with her mother, Debbie. She quickly discovered her favorite task was baking bread and pastries in the quiet wee hours of the morning, and learning all she could from her mother in the kitchen. Life took her to Los Angeles and other endeavors; however, maintaining a sourdough starter and experimenting with artisan bread-making was always a part of life. Furthering this passion she took a baking program from New School of Cooking Culinary school in Pasadena. Raising her two kids, Heidi and Milo (ages 5) with her husband Reuben in Sierra Madre, California, the kitchen is always lively and full of cooking, baking and various fermenting doughs. Mary enjoys the balance of science and heart in baking, as well as a fulfilling way to nourish her family.

Alexis started her career as a book nerd, working for 8 years in NYC for HarperCollins Publishers, where she also met her now (fellow book nerd) husband. After moving away from New York, she pivoted into higher education, working for UCLA as a Program Manager, and most recently for Wharton School of Business as an Admissions Reader. Through it all she kept her love of baking alive, and has spent the years perfecting her sourdough loaves, homemade ice creams, and every kind of muffin imaginable. As a self-taught baker that started when she was a little girl, she's known for her passion for creating beautiful food, hosting parties, and obsessing over the little details. She loves Sierra Madre immensely, especially the community, incredible wildlife, and the "mother" mountains. She happily lives here with her husband Sean, her two children Malcolm and Audrey (ages 5 and 3), and new puppy Luna.