Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Shannon Fasick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Shannon thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
I’ve loved being in the kitchen since I can remember. It’s my happy place and cooking for people is my love language. I’ve always had a dream to own my own restaurant and this is another step toward achieving that. As my children grew up one of our Christmas Eve traditions was sugar cookie decorating, homemade hot cocoa and The Polar Express. In December 2017 I took that idea and blew it up into an all out cookie party. It was one of the greatest parties I’ve ever hosted. Dozens and dozens of cookies, any colored icing you can imagine, sprinkles in every shape, size and shimmer, our friends and their children coming and going all day. Oh, let’s not forget the almost 4 gallons of hot cocoa and never ending Christmas movies. It was a last minute idea that stuck and soon became an annual event. Then Covid and canceled everyone’s plans in 2020. When December rolled around, it didn’t feel right to not be baking so I made a post in my neighborhood group “Christmas Cookies & Cakes for sale. Anyone interested? In less than a week I sold 10 dozen cookies, 4 cakes and a couple Gingerbread House Kits. From there I received orders for more cookies, more kits, more cakes and even a bunch of Pretzels. I jokingly said to my husband “I should quit and just pursue this baking thing full time.” To which he replied “Well, maybe you should.” And that was when my dream became our dream. We spent the next week coming up with recipe ideas, mottos, core values, finding a market, getting the proper paperwork and finding a name. Everything came together, except the name. The motto is Homemade the Good Way. Core values are creating wholesome baked goods with the freshest ingredients possible, never frozen. And the name CAMPFiRe Homemade. An anagram of our names Chief, Aurora, Makenzie, Phoenix, Fasick, Ingredients, Rylee, Entrepreneurs
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Although our Cookies are our best sellers, cakes and cupcakes are my true passion. When we started this, we asked our friends and family to submit their favorite cookies. After they were tested and approved, the creations went on our Signature menu! We’re still taking requests and adding to our selections. I love being creative when I’m baking. Whether it be creating a s’mores cookie or having full creative control over a mermaid princess cake, The smiles on the customers faces are truly priceless.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Being a cottage baker is not for the faint of heart. Things you would never think of are all factors in success. Market demographics, the day & time of the market, the weather on baking day, the weather on the market day, conditions of the farms that provide the ingredients. After the big freeze in 2021, there was a change in produce, butter and eggs. If there’s too much humidity in the air I’ll need to add a little more of this or take a little of this away. When we first started this venture, we were in a Georgetown, TX market and cupcakes were our crowd favorites. Orange Dreamsicle, Strawberries & Cream and the ever loved Peach Bellini! At our current Plano, TX market, it’s our Chocolate Chip and Chad cookies. Scenarios change at every market but we just BAKE the the most of it!
Have you ever had to pivot?
2021 was quite the year for David and me. We started a business, he took a job in a new city, we renovated our Leander house, sold it and moved to Little Elm! During the renovation and move I took time off from the markets. I still took custom orders and actually created a couple of my favorite cakes during that time. When I felt ready to start back up, all of the area markets were full and I was waitlisted. Weeks went by and I hadn’t heard from anyone. During the holidays I did a few custom orders and cookie kits but I longed to be back at the markets. Greeting our customers, getting to know the regulars, hearing people ask “Who’s Chad?” “Who’s Trudi?” and getting to tell the story of how we name our signature cookies after our friends, and getting back to creating recipes.
One day, a few months after reaching out -and a couple months into the new year, I got the acceptance email. And I can start the next Saturday. It’s Friday! I just took a job that starts Tuesday. Can I get everything together in a week? Can I do both of these? Do I need to choose? So many questions. So much anxiety. had to take a moment to reflect on my Why -My reason for starting this business in the first place. My why is my family. I want my children to see that hard work really does pay off. I want my daughter to see that it’s never too late to go after you’re dreams. For my son to see that determination and resilience are keys to success.
I didn’t choose. I still work my M-F and do my markets on the weekend. It’s stressful and frustrating but encouraging and heart warming at the same time. Yes, it’s just a simple Chocolate Chip cookie but love is my secret ingredient and sometimes all you need is a little love!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.campfirehomemade.com
- Instagram: campfire_homemade
- Facebook: @campfirehomemade
Image Credits
CAMPFiRe Homemade Staff