Bake It Pretty, Amanda Krueger
Amanda Krueger runs the online shop Bake It Pretty from her Asheville home. Her boutique specializes in cute, vintage-inspired items to decorate food and baked goods, all of which you didn’t know you needed until now. Who can resist a forest-themed cupcake complete with tiny deer and mushrooms? Read on for our interview with Amanda below:
Tell us more about Bake It Pretty
In 2006, like many crafty folks out there, I stumbled upon the wonderful world of blogging and flickr. Immediately feeling at home, I set up a blog and began posting pictures of my life and things I made, baking, gardening, family life – the usual. After a while, I started getting lots of emails about the kitschy miniatures I used for decorating and crafting. I purchased all of my baking supplies at a local cake and candy supply shop, and I assumed that everyone had access to such a place. It turns out, that is not the case at all. Good baking supply shops (brick and mortar, and online) are getting harder and harder to find, and the selection of decorations is rapidly evolving from the classic retro style, to a much more modern feel. It became clear that there were a lot of people out there still in love with old fashioned baking accessories, and that I might be able to help keep that love alive. I tested the waters with a small etsy shop, A. Bel Emporium. (I was already familiar with the etsy community, and had a handmade-shop called A. Bel Studio, where I sold my sewing and crafting creations.) Well, the Emporium shop took off like wildfire, and after a year of success I decided to expand the business to it’s own website and carry a much larger inventory and selection. And I gave the new shop a new name, Bake It Pretty. Now, three months into the new biz, my husband and I run the entire operation from our home. Everything we offer is hand-selected, designed, wrapped up, and shipped out by us.
Where did the inspiration come from to start your shop?
I love the retro feel to Bake It Pretty, and I strive to offer a great selection, but still stay close to the unique and old-fashioned feel that I started with. It can be tricky, keeping customers happy and trying to stay true to your vision, but I enjoy the challenge. In the future, I can’t wait to make more tutorials and how-to’s for the blog, and I truly love designing interesting cupcake and candy making kits. These are my my favorite things to do, and I have more ideas than I can even write down. My one frustration is not being able to get to everything fast enough!
What are your favorite cooking/baking resources?
My hands-down favorite cook book is Joy of Cooking, I use it almost every day and the recipes never fail. Their sugar cookie recipe is the best in whole wide world. On the web, I love to browse foodie blogs, and I used to be severely addicted to Epicurious (you gotta love pages and pages of recipe reviews!) My Grandmother, now retired, created her own small, but very successful, catering company. I like to think I got my entrepreneurial spirit from her. And she is definitely the queen of baking pretty! Everything she made was, first and foremost, delicious – but also beautifully presented. I never forgot that.
Baking can be fairly daunting for those who are less experienced in the culinary department, any simple tips you can share on getting started?
It’s time for me to confess a little secret….. I am in no way trained in the art of baking or decorating. I’ve never taken a class and I have no degree. Everything I know has been self taught, or absorbed through my family, and I’m not ashamed to admit it! I love what I do, and I love that most of the time, I’m learning right along with my customers. I think (and hope) this will give others courage to try new things, because if I can do it, you most certainly can, too! I’m not a professional. Yes, I have fun taking styled-up pictures, but all of the projects themselves are very doable for anyone. There is nothing more frustrating than wanting to make a project from a book or magazine, but knowing that there is no way yours will ever look like the studio-perfect version made by a professional. So, you don’t have to be scared to try things from my site! If a project is easy, you’ll be able to pull it off without a hitch. If it’s a little harder, I’ll be sure to let you know (I’m just as happy to share my failures as well as my success!) But don’t be afraid to try, when you try new things and step outside of your box, amazing things can happen. And don’t let your inexperience stop you – I never do.
Great interview! I’ve seen her Etsy shop but didn’t realize she was local.
Are those keys chocolate?? yummy!