We recently connected with Darcy Lynn and have shared our conversation below.

Darcy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

During college in Iowa, around 1988, I started working in a large chain store supermarket bakery department, where I was taught many of the cake decorating basics which are still presented today in our local chain store groceries. I went through a bakery management training program in order to earn more money and that process of making everything from danish pastries and frying donuts to hotdog buns and breads, taught me that what I really want to do is decorate cakes. Store management agreed that my skills were best used to profit in the sales of decorated cakes, so I excelled in that department even further.

When I had learned as much as I could there, I relocated to Chicago and worked for a really great family-owned bakery in Evanston, IL. They taught me how to refine the skills I already had and gave me the drive to learn and do even more detailed work. I truly credit Guy Senior and Jory for paving the path for where I am today!

Eventually in 1997, I traveled south to be warm and worked for a local Atlanta family-owned bakery for seven years. During that time, I had small children and it was the perfect job, however, I wanted to do more than I was able to do at that shop. In 2004 I opened Cakes by Darcy, and ever since, I have continued to learn and practice new techniques to improve my skills, in fact, I am still today, one of the leading cake designers in the area.

Almost every day I come up with a new idea, technique, or vision, however, my biggest obstacle is the daily grind! I’m not a social media content-creator, this business is my livelihood, and the orders keep coming, time escapes quickly, and it rarely gives you the break you need to stop and investigate new mediums, execute new techniques and practice new processes!

One big wish is that I had studied product photography, because surprisingly, it’s very difficult to get great photos of your work inside your design studio/kitchen, and even more difficult to capture a great photo at the venue, because upon early delivery of the cake, tablescapes aren’t yet complete and lighting hasn’t yet been maximized. We typically reach out to our couples after the big day, requesting a professional photo of the cake, but this poses challenges of its own. Having said all of that, I have collected a couple of great portable lights which are helping me to capture better photos upon delivery! #LearnAsYouGo

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Cakes by Darcy is a female owned and operated family business located just north of Atlanta, in Roswell Georgia. We’ve been in operation since 2004, serving the entire Atlanta area, and specialize in exquisite custom edible works, including Wedding cakes, Groom’s cakes, Custom Sculpted cakes and other Desserts.

Darcy’s daughter Andrea, now 27 years old, has been working alongside her for 13+ years, to take care of all clients from initial communication requests, to final delivery of their dream cakes. Darcy’s husband, Alan, devotes his time, away from his full-time job, to help wherever he can, including with wedding cake deliveries, maintenance, and assisting clients with custom-order pick-ups on Saturdays.

While our main focus is for our clients to be truly happy with their final product, we also work hard along the way to ensure that they are comfortable throughout the ordering process of the perfect dessert for their big day! We work with clients in regards to their inspiration cake photos, in order to guide them as to what will be most delicious, aesthetically pleasing, and a product which their friends and family will be talking about for a long time coming!
We also understand that no two couples have the same wedding budget, or cake budget, for that matter, so we strive on a daily basis, to provide them with suggestions as to how to save money here and there, and still obtain a cake or desserts which will make their hearts sing!

When we receive an inquiry for wedding cake information, many details must be gather and addressed, in order to begin helping a potential client! Private cake tasting and consultation appointments are offered throughout the week, as the best way to get the process started to get to know each client, learn & understand their vision for the Big Day, and design the perfect cake. These appointments also allow the client to taste all of the flavors we offer, and select their favorites! Six delicious cake flavors and 10 filling choices are all included in our base price, so clients are free to choose multiple flavors throughout their cake tiers!

Cakes by Darcy recommends ordering a wedding cake about 6-12+ months in advance of the big day, to ensure delivery availability, but can occasionally accommodate shorter notice requests as well.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Cakes by Darcy was 16 years strong in retail when Covid-19 hit the world hard, and it was absolutely devastating for the majority of mankind! Were we scared? That’s a hard Yes! However, we were able to adjust our sails and ride it out, for the better of the company.

When our community was ordered to “shelter in place”, we pivoted immediately from a walk-in type of bakery atmosphere, to a phone and email only business, with no pre-made product and safe curbside pick-ups! We learned within a few days that we were better off without walk-in traffic, and decided very quickly to let go of the retail space once the lease expired. Our showcases were removed shortly after, and the storefront was remodeled to accommodate wedding cake consultations only, when safe and able.

We decided, at that very moment, that we would soon become a fully licensed, inspected and insured home-based business, working from my very own residence. After all, why not? Everyone else was working from home! The Georgia Department of Agriculture had implemented a Cottage Kitchen law, which allows certain types of businesses to operate from a residence. They were the same entity that had already been inspecting us for the past 16 years, so getting licensed & inspected at my residence was easy breezy.

We quickly began the daunting process of organizing my home to accommodate all of the cake pans, cake boards, cake boxes, supplies, ingredients, sugar flowers, etc. that we were going to need once we transitioned, and started a list of equipment to sell once we were close to moving day. This in itself was a huge task, on top of the daily workload involved in maintaining a fully operational retail business! Everything was not only unknown and unpredictable, but so much of it had to be left until the final moments of the lease!

We survived another 16 months of Covid-19 in that space, and when the lease expired, we began the task of moving, and eventually we were operating from home! It was truly one of the best things to happen to the business in recent years, and I’m so very happy to have made the giant transition! We still look back once in a while and wonder how in the world we did it, but we really did! Hard work and determination always prevails!

Over the past 18 months, we have refocused our business primarily on wedding cakes and grooms cakes, which can be delivered, and while we still do make other custom cakes, the weddings have kept us very very busy!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I occasionally remind myself that in a given week, through my desserts, I have contributed a fun and exciting part of weddings and other celebrations for hundreds to thousands of people! It is so very rewarding for me to have taken the simplest of ingredients, and with my love of the craft, created a product which provides special moments for these people, and I know that one day in the future, my path will likely connect with many of these party attendees, when they need a cake for their own special occasion! It happens all the time! #blessed

Contact Info:

• Website: www.cakesbydarcy.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cakesbydarcy
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/onlycakesbydarcy?mibextid=LQQJ4d