“Jump and the net will appear”

For the last month I have been putting off writing a blog.  Not necessarily because I haven’t had the time, although, I really haven’t had the time, but because I didn’t really know what to write about.  Now that a month has gone by, lots of things have happened and I have lots to talk about-but first and foremost, we have a LOT of people to thank.

Without them, we’d still be sitting on our couch with a notebook full of chicken scratches and a dwindling bank account. First off, I know that our first month of business would not have run so smooth had our family and friends NOT stepped in to give us a hand.  We are surrounded by some seriously talented people and used them for all they’re worth. (don’t worry, they were compensated…in cupcakes!)

My dad drove from Boston and spent a few days with us painting and seriously sprucing up the place and tying up loose ends (read: 12 hour work days…my dad is a machine) then he made the drive AGAIN a few days later to surprise us for the opening party! The same opening party that my mom and her husband, from florida and brother and his girlfriend, from Boston, flew to Philly for and our close friends Korri and Chris made a harrowing trek to Philly via MegaBus. (Korri, an amazing photographer, provided many of these beautiful pictures)

All three of our brothers have stepped in with their expertise at just the right moments to help get our business up and running. My brother, Josh, a big personality and owner of his own PR company, Wicked Pissa Publicity, did ALOT of work to get the word out on the town that our ovens were fired up-and he succeeded (check out previous blog posts)   My brother-in-law, Alex, also used his expertise in lawyer-ism to lend some advice dealing with incorporating a business, signing a lease and other legal stuff.  He also just so happened to visit us the weekend of the Arts Festival! Little did he know we would put him to work (also 12 hour days!).  Many of you might have met him that weekend.  Nice guy, right?

Owen’s parents (my favorite in-laws) live locally and have been our biggest advocates.  From helping us spread the word (they got us our first customers!) to always encouraging us along way, it was always nice to run our plans by them over dinner at their place. 

Then there’s my other brother-in-law, Paul.  He is the most technical genius ever. Paradisoprojects.com While he’s obviously been helpful in web hosting, setting up security and speaker system (soon to come) thats not his most important position at Sweet Elizabeth’s Cake (see how I talk about him as an employee?) He lives in NYC.  A lot of cool food-related things are created in NYC and he reports them to me and helps in the brainstorming process.  He has exposed us to the best Sea Salt Brownies ever, Frozen Key Lime Pie slices, good beer in a can, a homemade Turducken and other exploratory food!

 

Our friend, Leanne from Leannemcgrath.com, and long-time co-worker of Owen’s, totally hooked us up with our cool logo. Her creativity and patience landed us with a pretty sweet brand (if I do say so myself)

THEN, our friend, Ryan, a website designer from Ubersuite.com is  the reason we are Phillies season ticket holders(!) AND the proud owners of a website that exudes Sweet Elizabeth’s personality. He brought our store to life-on the web!

Our neighbors and close friends have donated their time and energy to work in the store (pro-bono) while I run around making a mess in the kitchen trying to bring you the freshest, tastiest cakes and cupcakes (and soon cookies!)

The contemporary cupcake art on the wall and adorable cupcake t-shirts and onsies (adult sizes coming soon!) came to us at that artistic paint-stained hands of Caludia Eckel, @Prettypleasetees.com, a Manayunk artist and friend.

 

And most definitely, the support of other Manayunk business owners and employees.  @The Little Apple , @The Spiral Bookcase, @Salon L’etoile, @Nicole Miller Manayunk, @Cafe Volo, @The Eyeglass Works, @Art Plus Science Salon, and @Zayne…the list could go the length of Main Street.  The support is incredible-we are so grateful and excited to be a part of such an awesome community!

I also know that our baby (our sheltie named ‘Enzo the Baker’) was psyched to have my in-laws around to spoil him with lots of treats, play time with their dogs, Maisie and Brenna and a BIG back yard to run and dig in, during our first two weeks in business.  They were also the reason our opening was such a hit…providing LOTS of wine!

The women in our lives most definitely need a shout out (didn’t mean to make this sound like an award ceremony but it doesn’t seem legit if its not blogged, posted, or tweeted). Our mothers and grandmothers are the reason we are where we are.  Passing on the love of baking, an appreciation for details, or inspiring advice like ‘jump and the net will appear’….they are the reason we love our job.

Love and lots of sugar,   Sweet Elizabeth