We were lucky to catch up with Luisa Gonzalez recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Luisa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I think I’ve always been creative. I always saw art in everything I did and always tried to figure out how I could make it more personal. I grew up with 4 older sisters and I got a little bit of their personality and traits in me. My mixture of music can vouch for this, but one of my sisters started baking. I was never allowed to do anything since the kitchen was always taken over by someone until my sisters started getting married the kitchen was all mine. The first item I baked were cupcakes for Christmas and they disappeared before I could get to them. When they found out who made them, they were all shocked and that shock of both astonishment and admiration and that has given me a boost every time. Then I got asked to make cake pops for a baptism and my admiration to make something look beautiful just sparked.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hi my name is Luisa, I am a mom, a cookie decorator and friend. I started decorating cookies about 6 years ago when I was thrown into creating a set for a small bakery I used to work for. See, I used to work at a craft store and in this craft store I met tons of people. One being an owner of a bakery. As I helped her out she asked if I had any experience with baking or cakes. I told her I just dabbled in it and she offered me an interview for a job at her bakery. It was the most difficult time of my life but I learned so much. I got help from the bakers but mostly off youtube watching endless tutorials on the perfect royal icing, consistencies, and how to get the colors right. That’s when I fell in love. I watched video after video amazed at how these women made these beautiful edible creations.

When my time came to an end in the bakery I felt I couldn’t go back to retail. It was difficult finding a job that accepted me with a retail background and little experience as a baker. Until I met the vending life. My sister is also super creative and included her in everything I did. One of our creations was a Cookie Pinata Card. Essentially a birthday card or a card of your choice and I made a cookie that you could break into like a pinata. It sold well but the time was consuming for my sister and we weren’t making much profit. Through the community of vending and promoting I was able to build my Instagram and slowly orders rolled in: Wedding, baby showers, birthdays, baptisms, naughty, and holidays the list is endless. But what I loved was that astonishment of when I turned them in.

When I built my clientele, I always wanted to go above and beyond in my work for them. I take classes, watch videos, tons of trial and error just to make sure I get techniques right. They get so excited planning a small detail in their party but it’s so rewarding to see our vision come true. I’ve now become friends with my clients and have been part of most of their big life events that I feel compelled to always make an extra effort for them. They are happy for me, proud of me, there for me if I’m in doubt and I think there has been no other job that has made me feel so accomplished.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

All throughout school I didn’t know baking was a career. I know it might sound silly but in school I was always drilled to be in a profession that required seldom being in touch with your artistic side. Even in my retail jobs I’d try to add some personal touches through art. My whole life I wanted to connect and make people feel special but I feel wasn’t encouraged to explore that. My parents didn’t know I could make a living out of what I do and I was constantly questioned but when bills were paid there were no questions. So, encouraging parents to harness their children’s artistic ways without the negative stigma would be a great way to start.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I don’t have a huge following but the numbers I have I’ve gained have been by word of mouth, shares, and vending events where I put my name out there. Also, the vending community is amazing! I’ve made so many life-long friends who understand the struggle of not selling one item one day and the elation of selling out the next. They become your cheerleaders and ultimately another family who takes care of you. They watch your booth when you have to go to the restroom, grab some lunch, or you just need a break. This all translates to social media. They share your work to their followers and vice versa. They have a different clientele from you but we all need or know someone who needs handmade jewelry, a hand painted pot, delicious smelling candles, that one of a kind purse. All in all our work and commitment speaks for itself when we promote one another.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: sweetcreations10
• Facebook: sweetcreations10ddd

Image Credits
Luisa-sweetcreations10