Thinking Outside the 'Big Box'

A Small Business with a Big Heart

Sweetest Whimsy is, by design, a small, one-woman
business. I am Sweetest Whimsy! For 8 years, I created custom cakes and catered intimate get-togethers, working by myself with very, very occasional help from some trusted colleagues and friends when the occasion called for it. When I decided to offer personalized invitations and gifts in 2006, it was something else I could do all on my own from my home-based office, while at the same time keeping my family my #1 priority.

I sometimes cringe whenever I walk through huge discount warehouse stores and see the rows of cheap and enormous cakes and desserts churned out on a daily basis. I laugh when a potential customer asks if I can make a similar cake to feed 50 people for $15. No, I can't actually, because I don't have 40 such cakes in the freezer, baked several months ago, just waiting to be decorated with an industrial-size tub of frosting! I can, however, create a one-of-a- kind, made-from-scratch-within-24-hours
celebration cake in your favorite flavor, with your favorite frosting and decorated exactly the way you want it. That's what I do!

Likewise, I really can't compete with the "big box" office supply and craft stores selling paper and encouraging shoppers to 'do-it-yourself' when it comes to invitations with their many kits and accessories. Big box stores buy in huge volumes and can typically offer lower prices. The spread of big-box stores has been a challenge for all small businesses, but as with my cakes, I can offer my paper customers that human connection that is so often missing
when you buy from the big box. I want to know all about you and your event--your theme and every little detail you care to share, if you're working within a budget, how you've envisioned the finished product, and so forth. So, whether you're ordering a special party cake or invitations for the wedding of your dreams, I promise to:

• Become as familiar with your needs and preferences as I am with what I offer.
• Offer unique, eye-catching items that big box stores, by definition, can't or won't sell.
• Create a fun experience, from the brainstorming stage all the way through to the fulfillment of your order.

I don't have a storefront (yet!), tons of merchandise, or huge shopping carts, but I do offer you my creativity, flexibility and the desire to make your next event a huge success. Since 1998, many of my customers have become cherished friends, and a bit of my heart always goes into whatever I create for them!