We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenny Robinson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenny below.

Alright, Jenny thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I’ve always been a creative person. I enjoying trying to new arts and creating things, ranging from knitting, jewelry making, scrapbooking and a brief dabble in woodworking, but baking has always been something I love! I started experimenting with cookie decorating over 20 years ago when I would make heart shaped cookies out of a sugar cookie box mix, decorate with pink icing and write my students names on them for my class for Valentine’s day. When I had kids I started researching cookie decorating and dabbling in new techniques. When I realized it was something I really liked and was fairly good at, I decided to take some classes and work to get better. When Covid hit I really started working on decorating cookies and giving them to friends & family. After looking at how many people sold their cookies I decided to take the leap and do the same thing. It was a learning curve with setting up my business legally and researching all the state regulations to make sure I was doing everything correctly. I second guessed myself many times. Would people buy my cookies? Were they really good enough? What if someone didn’t like them? I had to put myself out there and trust that I was good enough.

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

I provide custom decorated cookies for any occasion. My sugar cookies are a soft, buttery cookie with a hint of almond flavoring that melt in your mouth. My icing is a mix between a glaze and royal icing so it dries hard, but has a soft bite. I’m able to make as few as a dozen cookies up to as many as you’d like. The most I’ve made is 54 dozen for a local church at Easter. Decorating cookies is my hobby job as I’m a full time high school librarian in the Shawnee Mission School District. I love creating something special for all occasions.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being creative?

Nothing makes my day more than when my clients pick up their cookies and absolutely love them! I try very hard to perfect their cookies to match their inspiration, event, or design they have in mind. It’s a labor of love that I get to share with others. It’s my passion and I love being able to add a little something to someone’s special occasion.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think society needs to understand that the things we create are a labor of love. It is our passion that we choose to share with others. It takes time and talent to create beautiful cookies. I think people are sometimes surprised that they can’t order 5 dozen cookies and pick them up in two days. It’s a process that takes time. I also feel creative people are sometimes undervalued. Putting a price on something you create is hard! You want to share what you’ve made with others, but you also have to take into consideration the time it’s taken to create the product. I sometimes think creative people undervalue themselves.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sprinklesandicingcookies.com
• Instagram: @sprinklesandicingcookieco
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sprinklesandicingcookieco