About

From a little girl baking out of emotion to a Manchester creator shaping desserts, drinks, and digital recipes for modern makers.

Every brand begins somewhere, sometimes in a kitchen, sometimes in a moment of courage, and sometimes in childhood emotions we don’t fully understand. Maslivla’s story contains all of these. It is a journey of creativity born from longing, strengthened by hardship, and transformed into purpose.

THE BEGINNING

My story begins in Romania, long before I ever imagined moving to Manchester or building a brand people would follow. As a child, I watched my brother bond effortlessly with my mother, and unconsciously, I felt I needed something that was mine. Not out of resentment, but because children feel deeply and often don’t know where to place their emotions.

So I found a place for them in baking.

I learned recipes from aunties, neighbours, and anyone who would let me watch. The internet was a luxury, but whenever I had access, I didn’t watch cartoons, I watched cake tutorials. That’s where my world started to take shape.

WHEN LIFE SHIFTED

Everything changed when my mother was diagnosed with cancer. She spent years in and out of hospitals, and suddenly the kitchen became my responsibility. I was less than ten, but something in me knew I had to help hold the family together. I cooked, baked, and made sure every birthday still had a cake.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was mine and it mattered. Every cake was making me want to perfect it even more. There were flavours and techniques I could only dream of trying. 

By the time I was fifteen, I was selling cakes. When I decided to move across the country, clients I barely knew ordered “one last cake” before I left, telling me they were some of the best they’d ever had. Their words became a quiet push forward, even when I didn’t realise it.

STARTING OVER IN MANCHESTER

In 2020, I moved to Manchester for a fresh start. The transition was harder and slower than I imagined, and for a couple years I stopped my baking business altogether. I studied business, met people who challenged me, and tried building a new life. But eventually that familiar pull returned when I found myself alone in a city, looking at the walls — the same one that guided me as a child — and I found myself baking late at night again, rediscovering a part of myself I thought I’d lost.

Most of the people around me in Manchester were Asian, and their flavours completely changed the way I created. Matcha, yuzu, sesame, hojicha, they opened a new world of ideas. I blended those influences with the comfort of my Romanian roots and the clean, elegant structure of European/French pastry.

THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE BRAND

I have a history of health issues, so nutrition became part of my craft. I didn’t want overly sweet, overwhelming desserts, but I didn’t want restrictive, joyless ones either.

My philosophy became simple:

Desserts should be indulgent and balanced.
Special, not excessive.
Made with intention, not shortcuts.

Today, that philosophy shapes everything: pastries, drinks, digital recipes, and the way Studio Masko and Maslivla collaborates with private chefs trained in Michelin restaurants, like Makoto Zushi or coffee shops like Salemoon in Manchester.

BECOMING MASLIVLA

What started as a child trying to feel included became my life’s work, a creative identity expressed through flavour, technique, and storytelling. Maslivla is a brand name, but more than that it's a journey of becoming.

It is proof that what once felt small, emotional, or insignificant can grow into something beautiful when you nurture it long enough.

And now, through digital products, pop-ups, collaborations, and private events, that journey expands beyond me, into recipes, experiences, and inspiration for others to create their own success.

CLOSING

Maslivla exists because creativity found a home in adversity.
Because food became a language of care.
Because I learned early that even in the difficult moments, beauty can be made.

Thank you for being part of this chapter — whether through a dessert, a drink, or a digital recipe that inspires your own creative path.