The Blooming Cakes Shop

The story of Blooming Cakes.....and why I've set up a Crowdfunding campaign...

 Hello, I'm Jo, owner of a little cupcake business 'Blooming Cakes', specialising in floral buttercream Cupcakes Bouquets (like the one in my profile picture).

To me, it's unbelievable that I have my own business!  I've built it up over two years, working from my home in Derby.  I say unbelievable because it wasn't something I ever thought I’d do, or be able to do.  It just wasn't in my life’s career plan!    (I'm actually a trained primary school teacher and spent close to 23 years in the classroom, only leaving because of ridiculous workload and the government thinking they knew best when they clearly never did).

 Anyway, it was April 2020, my daughter’s 18th birthday right in the middle of Covid lockdown.  I made her a cake and having never made a celebratory cake before I was surprised with how much I'd enjoyed doing it.   I'd bought some cheap piping nozzles from Amazon, found a buttercream recipe off the Internet, I think I even used a tub of Betty Crocker's buttercream (the shame of it).

Since then, I've learnt so many of the skills and techniques needed to create beautiful buttercream flowers.  Now when I look back at that cake I cringe.

 I've taught myself mostly, I had such a determination to learn the skills, I spent hours and hours watching YouTube videos and just as many hours practising.  Blooming Cakes was born and to my surprise was becoming pretty successful.

 I designed a website, somewhere I could promote my work and for customers to view examples and place orders through the online forms.  That made life so much easier and hopefully my customers think so too.

www.bloomingcakes.co.uk

Maybe a year into the business I was getting more and more enquiries on whether I held workshops or classes to teach the skills in buttercream piping.   At first I didn’t think I’d be able to but after a lot of planning and hard work I began to run workshops hiring a room in a local café.  I now run workshops in two local café’s plus my home in Derby.

 So, with a successful small business running from home, two fabulous locations to hold my classes and workshops, why would I need a crowdfunding campaign?

 One of the locations where I've started to run workshops is The 1924 Shopping Arcade in Belper, Derbyshire.   The first time I visited I noticed there were small shop units to let.  Ever since that day I've dreamed about moving my lovely little cake business from home to a shop there. It's just the most exciting prospect I can think of now, my head is just full of plans for it.

 I want to create a unique space, somewhere I can pipe my designs, somewhere I can continue teaching the wonderful skill and somewhere I can sell my creations. 

I want the space to be beautifully creative, not just an ordinary cake shop with an ordinary cake display cabinet.  I want to fill the space with blooms, have a cherry blossom tree up and over the ceiling, have my cakes in amongst the flowers and foliage…..it'll be like walking into a garden rather than a cake shop!

 In order to realise this dream, I need financial help.  I will need enough stock to keep me going for a few months, cupcake cases, cake boxes, materials for bouquets etc

I need to furnish the whole space which includes display cabinets, shelving, dried and artificial flowers and foliage, glass cloches, signs, refrigeration, small microwave etc.

Then maybe a month or two of rent to take the pressure off running a business in a new location.

I cannot tell you how truly grateful I will be for any amount of donation.

 I won't stop thinking about my dream until I'm sitting in my blooming space, creating my blooming cakes in my very own Blooming Cakes shop.

 Thank you :)