We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tunde Dugantsi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Tunde, thanks for joining us today. Let’s jump back to the first dollar you earned as a creative? What can you share with us about how it happened?

I was a stay at home mom with 3 kids. I am from Hungary and we live in Kentucky. We have no family around and I’ve never hired a baby sitter. So I spent the last 8 years taking care of my kids, with not a single day of break. I started decorating cookies and really enjoyed it. I created more and more and posted pictures of my cookies on the internet.

One day, about a year in my decorating adventure, a lady contacted me. She said, all she wanted for her birthday was to take a cookie decorating class with me. She offered to fly me to New Jersey, I could stay with them and they would pay for the class…

This was a fantastic opportunity: getting a mini-vacation, doing what I love and even making some money. This trip got me thinking that maybe, one day I can turn my hobby into a job. I’ve been working on it ever since.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am from Hungary, where honey gingerbread is a very old, living tradition. One year, for Christmas, I made some honey gingerbread cookies with my kids. It was a lot of fun and I wanted to learn more about it. I started to research the traditional decorating methods and recipes and learn more about the craft.

In the first year, I tried dozens of recipes, decorated thousands of cookies. There were not many resources available back then. Not many books or online resources about this topic. So I am mainly self taught. At some point, I started to share my cookies. I started a blog and also published some books about cookie decorating.

Cookie decorating is a wonderful hobby. Anyone can easily start it with minimal investment (most kitchens already have all the necessary supplies to get started). If you decorate cookies, everyone will love you for your hobby, as you will probably make a lot more cookies than what you can eat, so you will share them.

I started teaching cookie decorating classes early on and it’s the most rewarding experience ever. Most classes start with a group of people who never decorated cookies before, and don’t really trust their skills. And at the end of the class they have a beautiful plate of cookies with the joy of accomplishment on their faces. This experience is simply priceless.

I would say my mission is to spread joy, one cookie at a time.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I would like to share some traditions of my native country, while helping others to find joy in cookie decorating. Helping people to start a new hobby that brings joy to their life and creates new friendships.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being an artist is freedom. There are no rules and no limits to what you can create.
Sharing my art, by teaching others is the most rewarding part of the journey.
At first, my students copy the designs I created and it shows them they are able to create beautiful things. My proudest moment is when they get to the point when they have the confidence to create their own designs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://tundescreations.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TundesCreations
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TundesCreations/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Tundescreations
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/tundes-sugar-art-studio-bowling-green
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tundescreations

Image Credits

my own pictures