We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Talia Dixon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Talia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

It’s a joy to speak with you, thank you for this opportunity! I really struggled with finding the business name that was perfect for my home bakery. At first I tried so hard to think of a clever name that everyone would appreciate- something catchy that would draw people in. I remembered that it’s important to stay true to who I am, and start by focusing on what makes me happy and feel good. When I caught on to that, I thought about how I even got here, and why I started doing what I do; my family. It truly is a short and sweet story, I simply meshed exactly what I am together to create what I thought was the perfect name. To this day, my dad regularly calls me Sweetpea. It was the name he and my mom chose as my nickname when I was a baby. Along with that, there was no better place to start my business than in my home, making me a Cottage Baker. Together, those factors helped me decide on “Sweetpea’s Cottage”, and the rest is history!

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?

For those who may not know, my name is Talia Dixon, the owner of Sweetpea’s Cottage. I grew up in a small town in Michigan, surrounded by an incredibly loving and supportive family. Who I am today wouldn’t be possible without their constant guidance and encouragement, and I have so much appreciation for them, my husband, and God for where I am now. My husband Ethan and I moved to Blissfield, Michigan in 2022 to a wonderful little home with my dream kitchen. This is just one small but important detail that plays into the backstory of how he and I decided that this was an amazing opportunity to start a home bakery and offer my products to anyone who loves homemade custom treats.

My backstory on how I got here is not what you’d expect, and truly came out of the blue for me. I decided when I was 15 that I wanted to go to Culinary School, and I loved cooking with my dad. When I was 18, I did that very thing, and have been in the restaurant industry ever since. The most amazing job opportunity I’ve had that helped spark Sweetpea’s Cottage was at Cooper’s Hawk. I was hired in as a prep cook a little over a year before I opened my home bakery, and at the interview I could choose between pastry or a regular prep station. I remember I told my hiring manager, “I will work any station you want me to, but please don’t ever put me in pastry. I HATE baking!” I let him know that although my grandma had taught me how to make baked goods look pretty when I was younger, baking was definitely not my thing. He insisted he would not, but two months after I started, he wanted me to train in pastry, anyway. After putting up a bit of a fight, I surprisingly quickly began to love it. I was promoted to a Traveling Pastry Trainer, helping to train new staff at their openings in the Midwest. I absolutely loved my job, but being away from home for long periods of time was hard. I prayed and prayed many times before realizing the best thing I could do for myself and my husband, was to see where my new love for baking would take me on my own. Just months before this decision, God blessed us with our first home together, with all the space I would need to take this step.

I booked my very first order which was a wedding in October of 2022 for our good friends Alyssa and Jake, and through that I was again blessed with so many amazing customers who continue to spread our business through our surrounding cities. I could not be more grateful for their wedding being the debut of Sweetpea’s Cottage.

After playing around with a few different flavor choices, my family and friends got to be the best taste testers and help me decide what I would offer as my options. I decided to offer custom cakes, cupcakes, cake pops and chocolate dipped treats when I first opened. Since then, my mom helped me learn the art of custom cutout cookies, so I now offer those as well!

Aside from running Sweetpea’s Cottage, I also work at Lenawee Christian School as a Cafeteria Supervisor- and yes, that means I’m alongside some of the sweetest lunch ladies you’ll ever meet! I’m grateful for my boss Val for allowing me the flexibility I need to do two things I love dearly, and supporting me in all I do.

A big part of my brand is that almost everything is made from scratch. I strongly believe nothing is better than homemade, and I love that I can choose my own ingredients and have control over what is in each product, so there is no guessing games when it comes to explaining what I offer. I love using fresh ingredients, especially items that are in season to create new limited time menu items.

What I am most proud of right now, is that I get to spend almost every day doing something I love for some of the kindest people I’ve ever met, all in the comfort of my own home. It’s so difficult to find a job where you’re doing what makes you happy, so I’m grateful for the opportunities and talents that God has given me to be where I am now.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

Word of mouth and Facebook have truly been my biggest source of new clients. We started with just friends and family, then friends of family and friends, and from there we have been tagged on Facebook posts for recommendations from people hoping to find someone who does custom treats. Social media has been a great way to spread our business as there are so many areas to put your name out to surrounding cities and counties.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I’ve always believed that consistency is the best way to build reputation. It’s important to realize how many areas we need to stay consistent on though, because there are so many. Following recipes, proper bake times and temperatures, clean decorating techniques, pretty packaging, freshness of ingredients- these are just the start. We also focus strongly on customer service, kindness, grace and understanding, and quick/ flexible responses and services. We don’t pick and choose who we care about when it comes to our clients, because each client is a blessing and we care about what we do and who we do it for. We wouldn’t be able to grow without the love and support of each person who orders from Sweetpea’s, and they deserve quality, consistency, and efficiency to the highest standard.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Sweetpeas222
• Other: [email protected]

Image Credits
Alexa Johnston Photography