Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelly Suarez-Lawrence.
Kelly, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m a small licensed and insured home bakery located in Woodruff. It was born out of a bad bout of PPD after my fourth child. I didn’t want to only depend on medication but I wanted something tangible – I needed an outlet. I wanted to become creative and try my hand at something that I could control. I started watching cake and cookie decorating videos.
I joined several Facebook baking groups. I started to bake drop cookies and learn the science of baking cakes. The more I baked, the more encouragement I got from my family. I would get small “orders” from them – I knew that they believed in me. And it was the push for me to start promoting myself on social media. Today, I book weddings and showers, and birthdays months in advance. People want me to make their cakes and cookies! I still can’t believe it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Absolutely not! The biggest struggle was myself. I was not confident at all. I would stare at others’ creations and would think that I would never be that good – I couldn’t! I had to overcome my fear of failing. I was scared to fail and put so much effort into something that no one would really want.
But I realized that I had to be an example for my children. I did not want them to see me upset or disappointed for not even trying. A true failure would have been to not attempt anything and keep wishful thinking.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in decorated sugar cookies and tiered cakes. My “basic” royal icing cookies are not at all basic. Many sugar cookie makers give you options of 1-3 designs per dozen. What sets me apart is that I typically give my customers up to 12 different designs. And what sets me apart is that I freehand everything. I do not use stencils – just eye and hand coordination! My sugar cookie recipe is also different than others’ typical vanilla sugar cookie taste. I give it an extra punch of flavor.
I also specialize in marbled buttercream and fondant textured designs in the cake. My work can be categorized as classic flavors that meet modern femininity. I have sharp edges on my cakes and at times, it is hard to post them since FB and IG want to put an AI detection. No….It’s just my sharp edges!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
I was born and raised in Northern NJ, 15 mins from Manhattan. I loved the different cultures, cuisines and history so I was always very curious and willing to learn new hobbies. I loved doing crafty and artsy things. I was very involved with choir and music as well as theater. I sang the National Anthem at my graduation in front of my graduating class of about 400.
Pricing:
- Cookies start at $72 per dozen.
- Cakes are all individually priced.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://kellybakesweets.wixsite.com/kellybakesweets
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/kellybakesweets
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/kellybakesweets
