We recently connected with Stephanie Cruz and have shared our conversation below.

Stephanie , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I have been doing cake decorating for about 8 years on and off as a hobby. It was not until 3 years ago when I realized that decorating cakes, cookies, cake pops was truly a passion of mine. I realized no matter how time consuming it can be , it also brings me so much joy be able to create and work for myself. I was able to get better with pricing and thats when I decided to turn my hobby into what now is Pixie Dough Sweets! The creative freedom and potential it has to make a living with allowed me to take a chance on myself and grow my business so I can eventually do it full time.

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.

Growing up I have always loved creating. Arts and crafts was something I always gravitated towards in school and during my free time. Anything that consisted of painting, drawing or a craft that would let me express myself would bring joy. Although, art has always been my creative outlet it did take me a while to realize that I wanted to pursue it professionally. It was not until I got a job in the deli and bakery department of a grocery store in my 20’s, where I got introduced to cake decorating. I got trained with the basics of how to ice and decorate store bought cakes. I ended up leaving that job and worked from home as a caregiver, I found myself having extra time in the evenings and decided to dive in cake decorating again as a hobby because it was fun. I wanted to learn more than just simple cake decorating techniques so I invested in some workshops and youtube videos where I can learn more techniques. As I began to post pictures and videos on social media my following grew and inquires for orders as well. Mostly referred by family, friends and returning customers which I am so grateful for. Everything is custom, and I really enjoy hand painting images/characters, sculpting fondant figurines and making flowers out of gum paste. Cakes and decorated sweets that you normally would not be able find at a grocery store. I am proud of the growth Pixie Dough Sweets has had and I hope to be part of many more celebrations for years to come.

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

The most rewarding aspect about creating edible art is to see the reactions my customers have when they see the final product. Their smile and feedback is what gives me satisfaction and knowing I made the right decision in pursuing my dreams. Knowing that my product will be part of someones big day or memory. Also, have returning customers is always heartwarming.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building audience on social media can be a struggle at first. I struggled a lot with that especially when I was barely starting out. I was not as consistent as I should have been when it came down to posting. Being more consistent has helped me grow my audience and everyone who reposts what I post have contribute to that as well. I try to post once a week or more if possible. Also, I have recently been making videos where I show parts of me so I am able to interact with my audience. My advice would be consistency and just being yourself!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @pixiedoughsweets