It was the middle of winter in 2012 and I was desperate for a creative outlet from my desk job.  I thought I would try my hand at baking to see if this would be something I would enjoy doing.  After looking through my recipes and seeing what ingredients I had on hand, I settled on carrot cupcakes.  Mainly because I had a twenty-five pound bag of carrots that I purchased from the Tanana Valley Farmers Market.  If you’re a Fairbanksan, you know the Carrot Man, Pete from Spinach Creek Farm.  The house smelled like warm spices and made me remember the joy of baking with family during the holidays.  The cupcakes emerged from the oven fluffy and full of promise.  After the cupcakes cooled I piped velvety cream cheese frosting on each one.  I could have eaten the two dozen cupcakes it produced (don’t judge), but I thought it would be more responsible to bring them to the office.  Carrying these cupcakes into the office I was nervous with anticipation on whether or not my coworkers would love them. My heart was thumping hard in my chest.  I placed them strategically by the coffee machine so coffee could have a companion.  They must have enjoyed them because by the time I went to get a refill on my coffee, the cupcakes were gone.  A few moments later one of my coworkers would ask me if they could place an order. I couldn’t believe it, I had my first unintentional sale!  This is when the entrepreneur spirit deep within me was reawakened.  I wanted to see how far I could take this momentum.  I thought offering pre-orders plus delivery to local offices would be a smart way to get bulk orders at one location, saving me time on delivery.  I decided on three options to choose from; with this new model I was able to secure 6 orders in one office building!  I soon realized that my business idea of baked goods was no longer sustainable due to my tiny oven at home.  Imagine an easy baked oven meets shooting for the moon business plan.  Ditching the easy baked oven, I pulled out family recipes that I could make that didn’t involve an oven.  

Reminiscing on my holiday childhood memories, I remembered we would make fudge, hand rolled truffles, chocolate covered pretzels, butterscotch nut clusters and adorn them with other baked goods we would give to our neighbors.  Finally, something sustainable that didn’t involve my tiny oven, but my new ideas didn’t stop there.  I knew I wanted to set myself apart from my competitors and that’s when I struck gold.  I made handcrafted marshmallows in a variety of flavors.  Had I ever made marshmallows before?  Nope.  Was I going to learn in a hurry?  Yes, yes I was.  I would debut my new (non-oven) menu at the largest holiday market in Fairbanks, Alaska; The Holiday Marketplace by KO Production.  The event hosts 175 different vendors with a public attendance of over 7,000 in a course of three days.  I sure hope they like my grandmother's recipes as much as my neighbors did.

That event would be the springboard of the next six years of attending additional holiday events, being a vendor at the Tanana Valley Farmers Market, doing pop-ups at local businesses, and building a loyal customer base.  During those six years, I always dreamed of one day opening a storefront.  I would finally get my opportunity in February 2018, when a 1920’s historical house became available.  The house possessed an abundance of charm.  Everywhere you looked told a story; original gorgeous hardwood floors, big windows and cute built-in bookshelves that flanked a fireplace.  The piece of resistance was the commercial kitchen; something very difficult to find in Alaska.  After signing the lease and receiving the keys to my new adventure, I celebrated.  I invited one of my friends over, Macy, for an inside picnic and I shared over delicious food all the ideas I had for the new storefront.  The fifteen hundred square foot  historical home would house my new chocolate and confection headquarters.  Each room would be filled with local artisan handiwork that I would carefully curate over the coming months.  My favorite room in the house was the largest and flooded with natural light in the afternoon.  It had two big windows on adjacent walls and the perfect place for a large table to seat eight to ten guests in the middle.  The room would be an ideal space for hosting events, workshops and a place to mentor other entrepreneurs.  My vision for this enchanting historical house would be where my community could gather and share in special moments.  That single carrot carried a mighty calling on my life and would change me forever, setting me on my path as an entrepreneur.