Interview conducted by local REALTOR® Keith Kurlander
I have always been inspired by vintage style desserts. I love sprinkles, and simple finishing on desserts! Primarily, we are a custom cake shop. We make cakes for special events, birthdays, weddings…basically any party that needs a cake! We also sell cupcakes, cookies, and other treats to give the public an idea of what we’re all about.
I didn’t realize I had a passion for cake until I started experimenting with it during college (on track for a Psych degree), trying to impress my live in boyfriend at the time with tasty and good looking treats! I nailed the tasty part.. I decided to start selling my cakes online before going off to culinary school and I had quite a few orders which was great for challenging myself. I learn more and more with each and every cake I take on! After graduating UCSB I went off to Paris, France to study the culinary arts. I returned to California and took on jobs in restaurants but finished off at SusieCakes where I was a Head Baker for approx. 5 years. SusieCakes taught me almost everything I know about cakes. I’ve always been a highly driven and motivated person, but never in my life did I envision myself owning my own business. With each year I was getting better and better and my at home side business kept growing. Ultimately, I had to make a choice: Do I continue at SusieCakes or do I take a risk and try this on my own? I thought, what the hell, let’s do this! At this point I already had 30+ yelp reviews and my husband was so supportive of me, I felt like I can only go forward from here.
Oh jeez, my first cakes were sold via Craigslist!! I was baking out of my boyfriend’s mother’s house!! It was a tiny apartment kitchen and luckily she didn’t care about me using up as much space as I needed! I was too much of a perfectionist because I was just starting out and I wanted to make sure my clients were 100% satisfied!
Honestly, aside from how delicious our product is, we provide damn good customer service and smiles all day long! It is so important for us to make our guests feel welcomed and acknowledged.
My most memorable but, unfortunately, horrifying at the same time, is when I had to deliver a chocolate baby shower cake that was decorated with flowers and ruffles. It was so beautiful!! It was a hot California summer day, and during delivery the buttercream was slowly melting. When I arrived to the location and unveiled the cake, the top tier had slid off and smashed into the box. I was HORRIFIED!! The guests were so understanding and they let me take over their kitchen for emergency repair work. In the end, I was able to patch up the cake to make it look presentable, and the guest even wanted to take cake decorating classes from me!
I don’t like to give away any surprises…but let’s just say with expansion hopefully coming end of this year to early next year, there will be a lot more to offer!
How tiny our kitchen is!! Seriously, but we make it work!
I draw inspiration from all different types of chefs, professionals, bloggers, etc. I don’t have one idol or role model. I feel it’s important to learn a little from all business and creative models.
As hard as it can be, I really enjoy being able to experiment with creativity and flavors, and offering my guests something new all the time. I also enjoy the personal connection with my guests. Knowing that I made someone’s day with my homemade treats!
You have to be willing to work long and hard hours. Even though I might clock out at the end of my shift, my work never stops. I go home and I check emails, I look at pictures for inspiration, I’m constantly thinking about what I’m going to bake the next day or who I would like to connect with in the future, etc. But even through all of that, try to get some sleep when you can!
This community is so friendly! Everyone was so welcoming when we first opened!
I love H House Coffee, they really make a great almond cappuccino. My husband and I also enjoy a weekly treat at Jeni’s Ice Cream, so yummy!
Hiking Griffith Park! It’s so close and beautiful. Any time I need to go burn some steam, or go on a simple walk with my dog. We also love to walk around on the weekends and window shop at all of the local boutiques, Los Feliz is filled with uniquely wonderful designs.
Us small business owners work hard to open our businesses, we don’t have a lot of money to start with, and we tend to be truly passionate about our work and our customer’s satisfaction. We put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into what we do. And being liked and feeling like a part of our community is so important to us!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/buttercakeshoppe
Twitter: https://twitter.com/buttercakeshop
Website/Blog: http://www.buttercakeshoppe.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buttercakeshoppe/