It all Started when….
This day last summer, during a weekend trip to Traverse City, I walked into one of the cutest shops I had ever been in. The lights looked like giant cupcake wrappers with bright pink flowers, pastel ovens fronts wrapped around flat screen televisions, the exposed brick walls had oversized flatware as decoration and the cupcakes and cakepops were displayed on lit shelves like a boutique.
I became enamored with the idea of starting my own cupcake shoppe (with two “p”s because somehow that made it more of a boutique in my mind.) I spent the four hour drive home talking about flavors and names with my mother. The idea of an actual storefront was quickly dismantled by the sheer amount of money and time it would take and as a freshly laid-off graduate student with a new baby; time and money were two things I could not sacrifice.
Then a Change
Instead of giving up, I had to shift to a cottage food industry home bakery. All the fun of packaging and baking for other but the rules are much stricter on how I can market my products and how I can sell them but it allows me the opportunity to try out this dream without the sacrifice. I spent last fall staying up late to come up with new recipes and packaging concepts. With the help of my mother, Diane, and my sister, Samm, I was able to participate in Winter craft shows but with mediocre results. Despite the compliments I received over and over again the orders were not exactly pouring in. Instead of seeing it as a need to market myself better I took it as a sign to spend more time with my baby and on school. It would have stayed that way with my dream silently deflating on the back burner but then spring rolled around an orders came in for a birthday cake here then a graduation cake there all for family members. Then a friend of a family member. And another friend and I have been forced to learn to market myself better.
And Now…..
This Fall, I will be going to school full time for my teaching certificate, substituting part time and baking as much as possible for anyone that will let me. Instead of trying to do too much, I have trimmed down my menu to only my favorite items to bake.
My cupcake menu has been chosen to have traditional and unique flavors that have an interchangeable quality and the possibility of something different each bite. The artisan cupcakes will continue to grow and change with the seasons and the search for local ingredients and international flavors.
I have included small cakes to my menu. Smash Cakes, Cutting Cakes for a wedding, and little birthday cakes. I will be the first to admit my skill set is weakest here but this is also the area I am improving in the quickest.
My cookie menu is small but packs a flavor punch. Decorated Sugar Cookies take center stage- not just as a holiday favorite to gift but as a personalized touch to any celebration.
Lastly I decided to include cake pops, that I have a love/hate relationship with baking. The time consuming frustrating little pops are also a child favorite and watching a child reach out for one of these sweet creations made it an easy choice to include.
