We recently connected with Lorraine Richie and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lorraine, thanks for joining us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?
When I first set out to decorate sugar cookies, I had no idea what it would turn into. I’ve always preferred baking over cooking so baking has always been a part of my life in one way or the other. I can remember in middle school a friend and I would make brownies and talk about having a brownie shop in the future. Baking Christmas cookies was always an anticipated event when I was a child as well as when I had children. Eventually baking became a sense of peace and accomplishment during the years that my children were small. When life felt overwhelming, I knew that I could whip up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and I felt a sense of accomplishment and like I had a little control over thigs.
In the winter of 2012, when the children were a bit older, I decided to try my hand at decorating sugar cookies, I had long admired the Christmas magazines showing off the fancily decorated sugar cookies; and although it didn’t go as well as I had hoped and imagined, I really enjoyed the freedom and creativity it allowed me to have. I started making decorated cookies for our holiday gatherings and here and there would get asked to make some for friends. This led me to venture into “advertising” on Facebook for Valentine’s Day cookies and then Easter. Both went over very well and that’s when I started to believe that this could turn into more.
My first official standalone order came from our pastor’s wife for 5 dozen engagement cookies for their son. I still really didn’t feel like I knew enough to take such an official order, but I went for it, and everyone loved them. It took off from there and became a pretty steady endeavor. In 2014, an event planner from another state contacted me about shipping cookies and that would be the next step of faith that I would take. We had a pretty steady thing going for a while, my confidence continued to grow as did my ability to create more intricate details and handle larger orders. A few conversations, and lighthearted questions would soon change the trajectory of my and my family’s life and cookie business as I knew it.
In 2015, we found ourselves making a trip to Montgomery, Alabama to “deliver” cookies to the event planner at the Governor of Alabama’s mansion for a Christmas tour. While there, we met with a realtor in order to get to know the city and see if this was somewhere that we would consider moving to. Another trip that next summer with the kids would really solidify our desire to uproot and head south.
It would end up taking about five years from the initial connection to Montgomery before we were able to sell our home and make the move. I don’t know that I would say that logic really played into any aspect of what we found ourselves doing. It was all a risk and continued steps of pure faith. The story is too long to share in an answer, but the journey was more about our faith than it was about cookies. We have lived in Montgomery for four years now and have just signed a lease on a brick and mortar. We still say that our business is about so much more than the cookies. It’s about faith, love, celebrating our loved ones, and creating community.
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?
I’m originally from New Jersey, the southern end where instead of densely populated city streets, you’ll find a smattering of farmland, fields of cows and horses and the longest running rodeo in the US. (Cowtown Rodeo in Pilesgrove, NJ) I met my husband while out at a bar country line dancing. We found out that we worked across the street from one another about 30 miles north of where we lived. The rest is history!! We have five children and two grandchildren.
I stepped into the world of decorating sugar cookies and haven’t looked back! Currently Lorraine’s specializes in custom decorated sugar cookies created for any occasion. We focus heavily on creating and supporting our local community and believe that what we do is about much more than cookies. It’s about the people that you love and celebrate, whether it’s an office party or baptism, and we feel so honored to help others celebrate. By offering custom work we can provide a level of personalization that you can’t get at your local grocery store.
I believe that what sets us apart first and foremost is our story and how we ended up in Montgomery, Alabama. It was a journey of daring to dream, praying big prayers, taking big steps and trusting God in all of it! The second is the attention to detail and the quality of what we offer. Also, my husband and I both have a heart for hospitality and serving others.
On a personal level, I’m so proud of myself for taking such a big step and doing hard things. It’s never easy putting yourself out there in a creative way, let alone telling your family that you are moving 900 miles away. On a business level I am proud to have established a successful business and continue to grow and change as needed. I take what I do very seriously and am so honored to create something so beautiful and delicious for others to provide to their loved ones.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I went from living on almost 4 acres in the country to a quaint neighborhood just a few miles from the State Capitol. I was very isolated in NJ and rarely had interaction with those that ordered cookies but after moving to Montgomery, I found myself with the opportunity to create a community around the cookie business. I began hosting pop up shops on my front porch and inviting the neighborhood to visit and shop. This was a great way to connect with people and it gave me the chance to “set up shop”.
I had to figure out how to market myself and my product, how to create for a point of purchase environment, and to figure out how people would want to purchase/consume my product. I am someone who needs confirmation in what I’m doing, I like to see how someone else is doing it first, but I didn’t have that model to look too. To fulfill a custom order, I create a set number of similar sized cookies, but in a shop situation, people aren’t looking for multiple dozens, I now had to create cookies for personal consumption, gifts, snacks, etc.
We are now working on a real brick and mortar shop and will once again, pivot to a new model of selling. My brain tells me that I have to have all of it figured out ahead of time, but my heart and history show me that it’s okay to figure things out as I go. Life is always changing so we have to stay on our toes and be ready to pivot at any moment.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think that having a solid foundation is the beginning of a great reputation. This business was born from others having the confidence in my ability because they knew me; they were my friends and family. Their faith in me helped to create who I am today and what my business is. My ability to create a beautiful product draws new people in, the taste is what keeps them coming back.
In other words, my reputation was and is built upon and through community. Friends will tell friends, those friends take it to their workplace and then businesses join the community and share with their other employees and clients, and so on and so forth. It’s all because someone knew me and believed in me and my ability.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Lorrainesbakeshop.com
- Instagram: @Lorraines.bakeshop
- Facebook: @Lorraines.bakeshop
- Linkedin: @LorraineRichie
Image Credits
Chelsea & Russ Photography Jinny K Photography Joseph Richie Photography