We don't know about you, but from a bakery point-of-view we killed it in 2015! Take a look at the list below to see all we've accomplished in the past 12 months!
15 Things We Learned in 2015
1. Setting a goal and achieving it is the best feeling in the world!
Last year we decided that for 2015 we wanted to book one wedding cake. Just one. We wanted to improve our skills enough that one sweet (maybe crazy) couple would say, yeah, you know what, let's do this, let's roll the dice and make this happen!
We didn't really have a game plan other than a simple, "Put yourself out there more!" But it worked, somehow, because by December of this year we had made a wedding cake for 3 different weddings this year. Three!
It's so awesome to look back a year ago and see what a huge year it's been for us in the wedding world. To others, 3 weddings may sound like nothing, but to us, it's hopefully the start of something great!
2. Wedding cakes are fantastic. And stressful. And fantastic. And stressful.
As much as we've loved dipping a toe into the wedding world, we can't say it's been a smooth transition. Something always seems to go wrong when the stakes are higher. You know?
It certainly helps when you know what you're doing. Or at least can fake it long enough to figure it out. But our first few wedding cakes were not without their issues. One of the cakes melted after we finished it, causing us to have a panic attack 45 minutes before we had to drop it off. Another cake almost didn't survive the car ride to the reception hall.
But at the end of the day, all 3 of these cakes represent 3 different couples who got married this year in Pittsburgh. Each cake represents their own personalities: traditional, bold, romantic, quirky, unique, elegant, they're each one of a kind and pretty amazing. And it's even more amazing to stand back and think, "Yeah, we did this! We made these cakes!"
3. It's never too early to start planning out supply shopping trips
Our order volume has definitely increased this year, and it's something we've had to account for. We can no longer just run to the store willy-nilly whenever we run out of milk. Nope, like seasoned veterans we now understand that time management is crucial to a good baker.
4. There's a thing to be said for stacking coupons at the store
Like our better time management skills, 2015 was also the year of the coupons! With the price of eggs sky-high, it's important for us to remain competitively priced without losing money on the products we offer. One way we've done this is through couponing. Yeah, we've turned into one of "those" people at the registers. But hey, it works, and in the long run it should make you happy too! We didn't need to raise the prices on anything we offered this year, a savings we passed onto you!
5. Large cakes let our creativity shine
When we first started baking things for Pittsburgh, we still didn't have the training we needed to really conquer big cakes. Sometimes it's still a learning process for us, if we're honest. One of the downsides of being self-taught, the learning curve is much bigger.
But now that we've had the chance to make some awesome themed cakes this year, we must admit, it's a wonderful creative outlet for us! There's nothing better than imagining a cake in your head and then watching it come to life before your very eyes!
If we had to pick a favorite cake we've designed in the past year, this would be top 3 easily. Not because we're big boat enthusiasts, but because it was such an ambitious project for us to take on. When we were approached to make this cake for a 60th birthday party, immediately this image popped into our head. Let's make a boat shaped cake, stick it on some water, and serve it up. But could we make this idea a reality?
It took a lot of time, and careful detail work, but when this cake was done we were so proud of the results. It was exactly how we imagined it, and the customer loved it too. That's a win win!
6. Cheesecakes aren't as scary as everyone thinks (no really)
Another area we've really expanded in our bakery this year is our cheesecake creations. Cheesecakes were always those big scary baked goods that no one ever seemed to want to touch. They were too difficult, too fragile, too expensive, and just not worth the time.
But we decided to give it a whirl this year, and we're glad we did! No, they aren't the easiest thing in the world to make, but it's a good challenging item for us to make, and an even better item to offer to our customers. In November and December alone we sold 4 cheesecakes for the holidays! That's some great additional business we might have missed out on in years past.
7. We still make mistakes in the baking world. Major mistakes.
A week or so ago we were dipping pretzel rods into melted baking candies to make some Star Wars light sabers for a party we were attending. Seems fairly simple, right? Melt candies, flavor them, dip pretzels, let dry.
Except, we forgot you can't use an alcohol-based flavor on the candy melts, or it ruins the candies and you can't apply them to the pretzels. So we ruined a huge batch of candies and had to go to the store for more. It happens, and we're human. Oh well.
8. Christmas cookies are great, but they lead to sleep deprivation
As we're writing this list, we are officially done with cookie baking season for the year, and enjoying the normal sleep patterns that January-October afford us. While we love Christmas cookies as much as the next holiday elf, we don't want to see another cookie sheet for awhile.
9. When you're an adult, no one will yell at you if your dinner is the extra better in the bowl
Sometimes baking = late nights.
When you don't have time to cook yourself something healthy, cake batter it is. With lots and lots of milk, of course!
10. There will always be someone who doesn't like what you do
Earlier this year we met with a potential client about a wedding she wanted us to bake for. We brought some samples of our work, and while we talked she sat and ate a few of the things we had made. After a few bites she very bluntly told us she thought it was awful and didn't want to work with us, abruptly adjoining the meeting.
At first we were a little surprised. No one had ever ended a consultation like that before (even if they didn't end up booking us, they were still polite enough not to walk out). Then we were worried something was wrong with our offerings. Maybe they were horrible and we shouldn't be doing this?
But after some time, we realized what we offered wasn't what this woman was looking for. And that's ok. There isn't a one-size-fits-all in any world, especially a baking world. It didn't work out with this one person, but for the dozens of other people we baked for this year it did. Sometimes that's ok.
11. You can conquer the baking world with a powerful stand mixer and 5 lbs of sugar
True story. If you like to bake and haven't invested in a good mixer, get to it! And before you buy, research research research!
12. Know your limitations and stick to them!
Sometimes when we get calls about new orders it's exciting to us. We want to say yes to everything, because it's still such a thrill that people actually want to hire us!
But we also need to sleep. And function. And shower. We're a small bakery, one, maybe two people work on your items when you place an order with us. There's only so much we can take on. Sometimes growing a business means learning how to say no to orders you can't possibly take on. That happened quite a few times this year, and we've learned it's ok!
13. Don't be afraid to try something risky. Even if it doesn't turn out
This year PSR had it's first international order (read all about our adventure HERE) that was a step outside of our comfort zone. Our customer wanted us to design a dragon out of cake, that required us to use baking skills we had never tried before.
At first we weren't sure if the cake would turn out the way we wanted it to. And looking back, if we were to do this cake again we'd probably change a few minor things. But even though the risk was high, the reward was even higher when we managed to pull it off and impress our customer. And isn't that what it's all about??
14. Do something nice once in awhile, just because you can
Our little brother (not so little as he towers over us in height) has had a fun year helping out our bakery. He's taste-tested more odd flavor combinations than any one person should have to. He's stepped in to bake in a pinch when we're low on time and have 750 cupcakes to get out by the end of the day. He's driven us (verrrrrrrry slowly) to wedding venues and helped us set up wedding cakes, navigating traffic, grumpy pedestrians, and tricky staircases.
We wanted to repay him for his birthday this year, because he's been helpful even when he didn't have to be. Our brother is an avid comic book and Disney fan, so this year's Big Hero 6 was a film that was practically made just for him. We knew right away that we wanted to turn it into a cake for him.
It was a labor of love, and one that we offered up for free. But the end result was pretty great. The San Francisco Bridge wrapping around the cake, some awesome figurines that he could keep and enjoy, it is another Top 3 cake of the year. And one we truly fell in love with!
15. Dishes still suck
Maybe 2016 will be better? We're not betting on it, though.
See you next year, fools!! :) We can't wait to see what 2016 brings our way!
