Sweet Charity's Cupcakery has now been moved to
http://blog.sweetcharitys.com
Please update your bookmarks and visit us there!
-Charity's new webmaster.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
My awesome Bro
So my brother had to write a paper on a business. So he picked mine. I told him to feel free to embellish. I have to saw he wrote an AWESOME paper. He's description of my baking cracked me up... I thought I would share it with you all. I'm very proud of him and how he has put my passion for baking into words. Thanks JC... love you.
Sweet Charity's Cupcakery
by JC Coquillard
Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery is a local business based in Ogden, Utah. The owner Charity Coquillard has been making custom cupcakes for the past three years. She started out by baking for friend’s birthday parties and special occasions. She would experiment and bring them into her work an after a while people started telling her that she could really make money selling them. Soon after, her friends started giving her name out to others friends and family members for their upcoming important events. Not long after she began making her gourmet cupcakes, Charity started being known as “The Cupcake Lady.”
Finding the right name for her business was an all-out effort from Charity’s family and friends. She has a large following that she draws from when it comes to getting ideas and input from. She is always open to suggestions and is willing to try anything and goes to extreme lengths to makes someone’s order extra special.
As of right now, Charity is the only employee for Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery, other than the occasional driver. The business is privately owned and is a sole proprietorship. It has only been a registered business with the City of Ogden and the State of Utah for a few months now, even though Charity has been slaving in front of her stove for a couple of years.
Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery is currently based out of Charity’s two bedroom condo. Armed with a home baking license she is the main supplier of cupcakes to local birthday parties, weddings and craft fairs in the Ogden area. She bakes anywhere from a couple dozen a week for a birthday party to 400 on a weekend for the local craft fair.
Using her friends and family as guinea pigs she tries to come up with new flavors and combinations every week, like last week’s Lime Ricky cupcakes which consisted of a lime cupcake with grape frosting ended up tasting like grape cough syrup. She accepts praise as well as criticism since she knows her business is a work in progress.
Every recipe in her arsenal of cupcakes has been created in her kitchen using fresh ingredients. It took two years to create the perfect combination of ingredients for the simple vanilla cupcake. She says “because the cupcake is so small you can taste the favor of everything you put in it unlike a normal cake”.
Her business is based on the simple technique of advertising by word of mouth. She gets an average of two to three baking gigs for every craft fair she does (Oh, how woman love their sweets). She is also part of a cupcake internet community. The group posts ideas as well as the struggles that they are having with their cupcake business. Charity also has a blog at www.sweetcharitys.blogspot.com which she posts regularly with her new designs and flavors.
With Ogden, Utah being a hipster town it thrives off of local businesses. The college community seems to really support anything local. For right now, the closest thing to a cupcakery that Utah has is in Provo which is about 70 miles away. There currently is talk about a cupcake shop being built in Ogden City, which would put a big dent in Charity’s business but she is still determined to maintain the title of “The Cupcake Lady.”
She is currently focusing on getting her cupcakes into some of the local coffee shops and bakeries. Right now, the cupcakery’s orders are not steady, so this would be a good way for her to have a steady income and to grow her business. She has already contacted a few businesses and has had offers made. She is currently working out the best way to package her orders so that they remain unique and fresh. There is a lot of food regulation when it comes to retailing food items.
The feedback that she has gotten from many people is that her unique flavor combinations make Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery unforgettable. The last craft fair she attended there were people coming in just to buy her cupcakes. And why wouldn’t you when you have a slogan like “Peace, Love and Cupcakes”. The downside is that she has no storefront so people have to either order by the dozen or wait for a craft fair to taste the beautifully and unforgettable made cupcakes.
The interview was conducted with the owner of Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery, Charity Coquillard. When asked how much she gets paid, she just laughs. The company is still in the beginning stages and everything she makes just goes right back into the company. She stated that it is hard to start a company without a business loan. If it wasn’t for the love of baking, she would have gotten out of it a long time ago. Her goal is to be able to make her house payment off cupcake sales by the end of the summer.
Sweet Charity's Cupcakery
by JC Coquillard
Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery is a local business based in Ogden, Utah. The owner Charity Coquillard has been making custom cupcakes for the past three years. She started out by baking for friend’s birthday parties and special occasions. She would experiment and bring them into her work an after a while people started telling her that she could really make money selling them. Soon after, her friends started giving her name out to others friends and family members for their upcoming important events. Not long after she began making her gourmet cupcakes, Charity started being known as “The Cupcake Lady.”
Finding the right name for her business was an all-out effort from Charity’s family and friends. She has a large following that she draws from when it comes to getting ideas and input from. She is always open to suggestions and is willing to try anything and goes to extreme lengths to makes someone’s order extra special.
As of right now, Charity is the only employee for Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery, other than the occasional driver. The business is privately owned and is a sole proprietorship. It has only been a registered business with the City of Ogden and the State of Utah for a few months now, even though Charity has been slaving in front of her stove for a couple of years.
Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery is currently based out of Charity’s two bedroom condo. Armed with a home baking license she is the main supplier of cupcakes to local birthday parties, weddings and craft fairs in the Ogden area. She bakes anywhere from a couple dozen a week for a birthday party to 400 on a weekend for the local craft fair.
Using her friends and family as guinea pigs she tries to come up with new flavors and combinations every week, like last week’s Lime Ricky cupcakes which consisted of a lime cupcake with grape frosting ended up tasting like grape cough syrup. She accepts praise as well as criticism since she knows her business is a work in progress.
Every recipe in her arsenal of cupcakes has been created in her kitchen using fresh ingredients. It took two years to create the perfect combination of ingredients for the simple vanilla cupcake. She says “because the cupcake is so small you can taste the favor of everything you put in it unlike a normal cake”.
Her business is based on the simple technique of advertising by word of mouth. She gets an average of two to three baking gigs for every craft fair she does (Oh, how woman love their sweets). She is also part of a cupcake internet community. The group posts ideas as well as the struggles that they are having with their cupcake business. Charity also has a blog at www.sweetcharitys.blogspot.com which she posts regularly with her new designs and flavors.
With Ogden, Utah being a hipster town it thrives off of local businesses. The college community seems to really support anything local. For right now, the closest thing to a cupcakery that Utah has is in Provo which is about 70 miles away. There currently is talk about a cupcake shop being built in Ogden City, which would put a big dent in Charity’s business but she is still determined to maintain the title of “The Cupcake Lady.”
She is currently focusing on getting her cupcakes into some of the local coffee shops and bakeries. Right now, the cupcakery’s orders are not steady, so this would be a good way for her to have a steady income and to grow her business. She has already contacted a few businesses and has had offers made. She is currently working out the best way to package her orders so that they remain unique and fresh. There is a lot of food regulation when it comes to retailing food items.
The feedback that she has gotten from many people is that her unique flavor combinations make Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery unforgettable. The last craft fair she attended there were people coming in just to buy her cupcakes. And why wouldn’t you when you have a slogan like “Peace, Love and Cupcakes”. The downside is that she has no storefront so people have to either order by the dozen or wait for a craft fair to taste the beautifully and unforgettable made cupcakes.
The interview was conducted with the owner of Sweet Charity’s Cupcakery, Charity Coquillard. When asked how much she gets paid, she just laughs. The company is still in the beginning stages and everything she makes just goes right back into the company. She stated that it is hard to start a company without a business loan. If it wasn’t for the love of baking, she would have gotten out of it a long time ago. Her goal is to be able to make her house payment off cupcake sales by the end of the summer.
Monday, April 13, 2009
One step foward
This last weekend was a crazy baking weekend. I made 2 dozen rocker cupcakes for a birthday... I was excited about how they turned out. (Pics to follow). I also had a dozen for a lady who's daughter works with my brother. She's a hair dresser and wanted to give them to her clients. She is also part of a marketing network that meets once a month and invited me to join. It should be a great way to make some more connections. I also have a dozen for my brother's work and they plan on ordering more for their manager meetings.
Tomorrow I have a meeting with a bride to do some sampling... OK so it's really a good friend of mine. It'll be good though to sit with her and make some decisions. Then Thursday I have cupcakes for Chet's niece's daughter... Chocolate Reese cupcakes.
I did finally submit the third round of recipes and labels to the state for approval so I can get my cottage license. Hopefully this time is a charm.
I'll keep you updated and post some cupcake pics.
UPDATE: Here are the pics of my Rock n' Roll cupcakes
Tomorrow I have a meeting with a bride to do some sampling... OK so it's really a good friend of mine. It'll be good though to sit with her and make some decisions. Then Thursday I have cupcakes for Chet's niece's daughter... Chocolate Reese cupcakes.
I did finally submit the third round of recipes and labels to the state for approval so I can get my cottage license. Hopefully this time is a charm.
I'll keep you updated and post some cupcake pics.
UPDATE: Here are the pics of my Rock n' Roll cupcakes
Monday, March 30, 2009
Craft Fair Updates
The craft fair at Washington Heights went pretty good considering it was good weather and not many shoppers. I sold 118 cupcakes and a few sugar cookies. There were a handful of my good friends and others that came just to buy cupcakes. I had samples of my vanilla and orangcicle out. It's always fun to watch people's reaction once they take a bite. There always that first hesitation to try anything and then once it reaches they're tastebuds they eyes get wide with exciment and a smile creeps up. Once they hear they're homemade and my own recipes they're impressed. There was also a number of people that had them at Christmas and right away bought more. I also met a lady that blogs for Ogden City and many people asked me where my shop was. Hopefully at Christmas I'll be able to tell them what coffee shops I'm in and send them that way. We'll see.
Monday I got my newest tat... it's a cupcake (surprise, surprise). My best friend Chet drew this for me almost a year ago. I'm not big into peace signs so I got a different cupcake on my back. After Chet passed away I realized how the drawing respresented out friendship. He was the peace sign with the flowering growing because he was working on being a better person (though God allowed me to see Chet they way God saw him) and I was the cupcake and he always saw me as a shining star. I truly miss Chet but know that he's much better now and is causing chaos up there in heaven.
I got it on my foot and it took an hour... yes it was painful and you can tell in the pic my foot is red a puffy.... but here you go
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Upcoming Events
This Friday and Saturday I'll be at the Washington Height Baptist Church Spring Craft Fair. I'll have a booth in the 300 wing. Here are the flavors I'm offering
Strawberry Lemon w/Lemon Buttercream
Vanilla w/Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Lime w/Lemon Buttercream
Chocolate w/Chocolate Buttercream
Oreo w/Vanilla Buttercream
Coconut w/Coconut Buttercream
Orange w/Orange Buttercream
The event is Friday 9am- 8pm and Saturday 9am- 5pm
Hope to see you there.
Strawberry Lemon w/Lemon Buttercream
Vanilla w/Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Lime w/Lemon Buttercream
Chocolate w/Chocolate Buttercream
Oreo w/Vanilla Buttercream
Coconut w/Coconut Buttercream
Orange w/Orange Buttercream
The event is Friday 9am- 8pm and Saturday 9am- 5pm
Hope to see you there.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Old Pic...
Here's some cupcakes I did for my friends at Dragon's Roost for Halloween. I made their logo out of chocolate.
Monday, March 9, 2009
New Photos
Ok I really should be working on my labels... I'll do that tomorrow night :)
Here's some photos from recent events... enjoy!!!
These were chocolate cupcakes for the Jesusfield auction. The toppers is a logo they use (yes it's the element logo)
These were for a birthday... the material in the background was the inspiration. They're orange cream, though next time I think I'll do just orange.
And the final one's are Oreo with Vanilla Buttercream for an 80's party
Here's some photos from recent events... enjoy!!!
These were chocolate cupcakes for the Jesusfield auction. The toppers is a logo they use (yes it's the element logo)
These were for a birthday... the material in the background was the inspiration. They're orange cream, though next time I think I'll do just orange.
And the final one's are Oreo with Vanilla Buttercream for an 80's party
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Get Up and Go
I just found out this morning after submitting all my recipes that hopefully I should be up and running as an officail business within the next month. I first need to get my cottage license and then a business license from Ogden City. A website is in the works. But I'll still continue to post my mouth watering pics on here... I have a few to post from and 80's birthday party, an upcoming auction with custom logos along with a flower power birthday.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Names and Flavors
Here it is the names and flavors coming to Sweet Charity's Cupcakery. I have two potential coffee shops that I can sell my cupcakes in... now to get the paperwork sent out and get the ball rolling.
FYI- If you click on the pic it will bring it up larger.
The only one I need a name for is my chocolate peanut butter cupcake w/peanut butter buttercream.
FYI- If you click on the pic it will bring it up larger.
The only one I need a name for is my chocolate peanut butter cupcake w/peanut butter buttercream.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Oh so close....
I finally got all my recipes typed up... I'm very excited. I have some very fun names and flavors that I'll be offering... which I'll have to post later because the list is at home. Now all I need to do is get all the paperwork in and send it off to start the process of getting my cottage license. This means that I have to have someone review and approve all my recipes. Also I have to label everything as homemade and put the ingredients on the label along with all my info. I then have to have the health inspector come in and approve my home for baking. I already got a mini fridge to put everything in and I keep all my baking supplies seperate. After all of this is done I can then go to the city and get my business license- hopefully. Most cities have not heard of a cottage license. Then once I have my license I plan on going to local coffee shops and seeing if I can get them to sell my product and maybe even do some farmer's markets this summer. I'm very excited. Layton is getting a home base cupcakery so this has really gotten my but into gear. I'll keep you posted.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Frustration
The last 4 batches of new recipes I've tried have all turned out horrible. I think it's the amount of baking soda I'm using... but I'm determined to get it right... even it I have to bake every day. The sad part is the cupcakes don't even turn out enough to each they just sink in the middle. But in the meantime here's some recent and not so recent photos.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Oh so excited...
I found my perfect frosting for my red velvet cupcakes... now I just need to perfect making them. It's a roux frosting with requires you to cook flour and milk together until thick. I learned last week this doesn't mean sort of thick but very thick. But man is it good. Apprarently it's the original frosting put on red velvet cake before cream cheese. I'm excited. The plan is to make some for Valentines next week so hopefully I can perfect my technique by then.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Cupcakes.... coming soon
Hey everyone-
Finally got the baking bug again. I started my paperwork to get my Food Cottage license and hopefully within the week will be mailing in my application. Keep your fingers crossed.
I also found my new favorite store... Kitchen Kneads. Unfortunately it's right down the street from me. You would think this is a good thing... well the bad thing is now I can run over there and spend more of my money. But they had a lot of the extract flavorings I've been looking for. Hopefully they give discounts to business owners... I'll be asking soon.
New flavors coming soon:
Pina Coloda
Lime Rickey
S'more
Finally got the baking bug again. I started my paperwork to get my Food Cottage license and hopefully within the week will be mailing in my application. Keep your fingers crossed.
I also found my new favorite store... Kitchen Kneads. Unfortunately it's right down the street from me. You would think this is a good thing... well the bad thing is now I can run over there and spend more of my money. But they had a lot of the extract flavorings I've been looking for. Hopefully they give discounts to business owners... I'll be asking soon.
New flavors coming soon:
Pina Coloda
Lime Rickey
S'more
Thursday, January 22, 2009
2009- What a start
Well 2009 hasn't been to great to me this year. I started off with an amazing birthday celebration. 30 of my closest friends joined me at Rooster's Brewery. The one that I especially wanted to be there didn't make it. But I did at least get to talk to him. Less then a week later he passed away, along with my grandmother. It's been rough. The desire to bake is not really there.
I'm hoping that if I start baking again it will help things get better. Healing will take time. The passing of my friend is definitely God's will. He is now a whole person who can celebrate life. I'm a little jealous that he gets to be up there partying with God and Christ. But in the mean time I'll stay here and party it up with cupcakes.
I have an amazing cupcake drawing he drew me. H drew it as a tattoo but it wasn't quite what I wanted. Now when I look at it I realize it's exactly what I want. So hopefully here in the near future I'll be adding to my tattoo collection. Don't worry I'll post pics.
This weekend I'll be baking some chocolate peanut butter cupcakes w/ Reese's in the middle. These are fun to make. I'm also going to tackle some dark chocolate cupcakes. Per a co-worker's request. Not a huge dark chocolate fan so I'll have to come up with a creative frosting. Maybe marshmellow?
Here's to 2009 getting better and hopefully it'll in with a bang.
I'm hoping that if I start baking again it will help things get better. Healing will take time. The passing of my friend is definitely God's will. He is now a whole person who can celebrate life. I'm a little jealous that he gets to be up there partying with God and Christ. But in the mean time I'll stay here and party it up with cupcakes.
I have an amazing cupcake drawing he drew me. H drew it as a tattoo but it wasn't quite what I wanted. Now when I look at it I realize it's exactly what I want. So hopefully here in the near future I'll be adding to my tattoo collection. Don't worry I'll post pics.
This weekend I'll be baking some chocolate peanut butter cupcakes w/ Reese's in the middle. These are fun to make. I'm also going to tackle some dark chocolate cupcakes. Per a co-worker's request. Not a huge dark chocolate fan so I'll have to come up with a creative frosting. Maybe marshmellow?
Here's to 2009 getting better and hopefully it'll in with a bang.
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