This week was amazing! A product launch in New York City seemed appropriate, and to debut Haute Stacker at the Event Planner Expo was the perfect platform. There were event planners from all over the world...and the response was incredible! We had a constant crowd of people around our booth...it was so fun to see the genuine expression of amazement as people approached the display of Haute Stackers.
I loved watching people's expressions when we showed them how simple Haute Stacker is to use... The initial comments that people had were all the same, "How to you get the doughnuts off?" or, "How does it work?" There were three of us there demonstrating how easy it is to twist the topper off and slide the stacker plates on or off the post to serve...simple!
The coat rack with hanging Haute Stackers stole the show! I literally took the coat rack from my front foyer and suspended eight Haute Stacker...two from each hook...and the effect was beautiful and dramatic. So many people wanted to buy my coat rack that we joked throughout the show that we should be selling coat racks too!
At the show, I wanted to demonstrate how versatile Haute Stacker is, so we displayed cakes, truffles, cookies, and doughnuts (both fancy and casual). We even partnered with Du's Donuts of New York to showcase how simple white doughnuts can look fancy once stacked. Thank you Tyler, of Du's Donuts, for sharing some of your amazing pastries!
With all the excitement and nonstop flow of attention, unfortunately, I wasn't able to step away long enough to even snap a couple pictures of the event in progress. But I was able to grab a few pics of our display before the show started...
I want to say thank you to all of the event planners who stopped by my booth...everyone was kind and encouraging. It was so fun to visit with all of you about all the possibilities for Haute Stacker. And, a special thank you to Margaret for going out of her way to give our card to Barbara Corcoran, who was the keynote speaker for the event.
As soon as I get back to Omaha, I'll resume putting out tons of ideas for you on our blog and social media!
I LOVE my job! Sometimes I walk into the shop, pause for a moment, breathe deep and say a prayer of gratefulness that God has blessed me with so much joy in my work. I get to imagine beautiful things every day, and then create them with my own hands, and then share them with people all over the world! It doesn’t get any better than this! Sometimes my ideas are BIG…so big that they take nearly two years to create and sometimes they’re tiny…like my newest cordial cherry design: my Easter Flower Patch Bunny. I know bunnies actually have nothing to do with Easter, but they’re certainly a sign of Spring and have brought my kids and me much joy over the years watching them play chase in our back yard. Once, I watched one of these bunnies stretch up as high as she could to nibble the petals right off of an unsuspecting flower…it was adorable! So this newest cordial cherry collection the result of that day’s inspiration.
Unlike most chocolatiers, our pieces are often a multi-day process of punching out specific shapes, sculpting various parts, dipping, and finally assembling all the pieces and applying the finishing touches. On day one of production for our newest design I punch out “V” shaped sugar pieces and let them harden overnight. These will become little bunny ears. I also pipe by hand, tiny little flowers. Once set, they can be painted with shimmer spray and then dotted with their center detail.
Day two, requires sculpting the head out of a rolled fondant and shaping it around the “V” from the day before. It’s important to set these on wax paper to create a flat bottom so they don’t roll around and also that they lift off easily when ready to dip. These will set overnight as well to allow them dry enough so they will dip easily.
Day three…it’s time to dip our bunny heads into a white chocolate. This process is delicate and must be conducted within about 10 seconds. I use two of my favorite chocolate tools (reshaped paperclips)…one is used to lift the fondant head and the other is used to push it onto the wax paper. Once the white chocolate sets up these sweet little bunny heads are ready for their hand-painted faces.
We use white chocolate cordial cherries to be the body of our Easter Bunnies. The cherry stem is removed and a dollop of chocolate glues the bunt head to its body. The stem of the flower is painted and the flower attached. The final step is to pipe the little bunny feet and arms. And that's it...three days later...our sweet little Easter Bunny cordial cherries are complete.
The interview from the evening...
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Do you ever feel like you're being led to help someone but you're not sure where to go or where to start? And then God, in His mysterious ways, prepares the path that He's carefully designed to satisfy the desire He placed in your heart. That's exactly how I felt a year ago...little did I know that donating chocolates to a fund raising event (which I had done countless times before) would result in me serving as a mentor to teen moms. I was a teen mom...I remember the feeling of hopelessness and fear. I remember the uncertainty of my future and my daughter's future. And, looking back, if it weren't for mentors in my life at the time and the peace that only God's love can bring, my life and my daughter's life would have taken a very different road. Feeling thankful every day for the bounty of blessings God has given my family, I had been looking for an opportunity to serve as a mentor for a young mom going through the same things I experienced. In the Spring of 2016, I was approached by a few representatives of Youth for Christ...an organization that seeks to establish Christian youth groups in public schools. They asked me to provide chocolates for their fund raiser, an event called "See the Story." As the evening progressed, I was moved to tears several times as youth and volunteers stood up to share their stories. Toward the end of the night, Carey Oswald (Director of Parent Life a subgroup of Youth for Christ) shared the story of one of the teen moms she had been working with, and in that moment I knew why I had been led here...I knew what I was supposed to do. I messaged the organizers and asked how to get involved. Long story short...this past year, I've been spending every Wednesday evening getting to know some amazing moms and their beautiful babies. These moms have faced trials that most of us only hear about on the news...they get up every day and make a decision to be a loving mom in spite of the struggles they face. They're wise enough to seek the guidance of mentors and the sense of family that Parent Life brings. I'm so proud of each of them and they inspire me every week.
If you'd like to come and hear a little of my story and the story of one of our teen moms, you're invited to attend the See the Story event on Sunday, March 5th at the Embassy Suites in LaVista. The evening starts with food and fellowship at 5:30 and The Cordial Cherry will be serving desserts to close out the night. I promise it will be a memorable evening. To reserve your completely FREE tickets or to get more information on how to get involved... Click Here!
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I bacon your pardon, but we’ve got a SOOEYT Valentine’s Day gift idea for you…our Pink Piggy Cordial Cherries! It’s hard to look at these adorable little oinkers without smiling and you can bet your Valentine will smile too. And, that’s just the beginning…one taste of these chocolate covered cordial cherries and you can expect squeals of delight. In fact, we guarantee hogs and kisses will follow! And, if you want your piggies to fly, remember we ship!
Use online discount code: PINK50 and for in store pickup call (402-679-3011) between 12:00 and 5:00 CS.
We couldn't be happier with our new Snowmen Cordial Cherry design. This beautiful version of our Snowmen Cordial Cherries boasts a two-tiered, hand-sculpted piece, standing approximately 2 inches tall. Our talented chocolate confectionery artists delicately paint every tiny hat and sweet little scarf with patience and incredible attention to detail. These adorable chocolate confections make excellent client gifts, teacher gifts, and family gifts for the holidays and, with their 3-month shelf-life, can be given several months prior to consuming.
We've added many chocolate gift options this year as well, including multiple price points and gift sizes. Click here for details.
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