Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Donnelly.
Hi Tiffany , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
“You should start a cookie business” is the phrase I would hear countless times when I would make decorated sugar cookies to give away for fun, simply to make something sweet and meaningful for people I cared about.
I would laugh politely and think, “that sounds awesome, but that’s not my story”. Fast forward through the years and little by little, cookie by cookie, it did become my story.
I decorated my first sugar cookies as an adult eleven years ago. They were Halloween cookies, and I thought I did a pretty good job. They were cute and decent. So, I continued to make cookies for special occasions and holidays.
I watched countless tutorials, experimented through lots of sugar cookie recipes to perfect what now has become my signature sugar cookie recipe, and practiced until my piping was clean and my confidence grew.
A couple of years later, someone asked me if they could pay me to make cookies for a birthday party. I said, absolutely not, and offered to make them for her as a gift. She ended up so kindly giving me some money for them anyway. It just felt weird to ask for money for something that I didn’t even consider work. It was fun and a hobby for me.
As I transitioned into full time Motherhood with my two beautiful little girls, I slowly started to recognize that the time and heart I poured into decorating cookies wasn’t just for fun – it was something people truly appreciated and were willing to pay for.
Despite the challenges of the year, 2020 turned out to be a successful year in cookies for me.
I wasn’t looking to start a business. I was a Mom rediscovering her creativity, simply trying to stay grounded during the uncertainty of the pandemic lockdown. I was (and still am) working as a Pilates Teacher, but when our studio closed for what turned into nearly a year, I found myself with unexpected space. Baking and decorating cookies became my creative outlet and offered a small but meaningful bit of light and sweetness to socially distanced celebrations during such an uncertain time.
As we know, word of mouth is the best advertisement for business. I was now receiving requests for birthdays, baby showers, and holidays. Slowly but surely, what was once a hobby started to turn into something more.
When you hear phrases like, “these are too beautiful to eat”, and “they cried when I showed them”, you know you’re doing something right.
I decided to make the leap and started taking orders more regularly. I created an Instagram to show my work and started baking and decorating during nap times, and late into the nights after my girls were fast asleep. It was hard, but something about it felt absolutely right.
The more things evolved, my vision grew, and I wanted to design something more intentional, and purposeful. Something that made people feel a certain kind of way. I wanted my work to feel like art – custom and truly meaningful to the people receiving them with the kind of detail that turned these cookies into keepsakes.
I’m still learning the art of balancing a growing business with family life. That said, my family is my everything and my husband is my biggest supporter and cheerleader. None of this would be possible without his unwavering support. He is the calm behind the chaos when the deadlines feel tight.
Today, my story is still unfolding and its sweeter than I ever imagined.
I’m proud to serve clients who value thoughtfulness, beauty, and storytelling.
I have the joy and honor of creating stories through edible art and being a part of life’s most meaningful celebrations.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think that starting a business is probably never easy.
I really pride myself on being a person who’s great at time management and organization. Well, raising small children while trying to grow a business at home taught me what real multi-tasking looks like. It was an exhausting but fulfilling juggling act all at once.
Your kids are only little once and because I wanted to be completely present, I would work very little on cookies during the day and this is when working late night hours came into play. There were moments I felt like I was building something beautiful, and others when I questioned whether I could keep up. I had to learn when to pause and recognize when I was feeling burnt out or overwhelmed.
This helped me become more creative with my time. Whenever I set up to start an order, I would set my girls up with their own little baking station that had their own cookie cutters, dough, and rolling pins. This worked wonderfully and still does to this day.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I design custom cookie story sets, edible works of art that capture the heart of a moment with personalized elements that go far beyond the decoration.
What sets me apart is my ability to take something as simple as a cookie and turn it into something that can summon such joyful emotion.
I take pride in creating pieces that leave a lasting impression. It isn’t just about the cookies. It’s about the connections which I’ve made so many of through this work, both personal and professional.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
In all honestly, I rarely have the time to read anything and when I do, its at night and I fall asleep so quickly so it takes me forever to get through a book. I do love a good 1920’s mystery.
The podcast I’ve listed to consistently is called Breaking Beauty Podcast and at first sound, it may not seem like a resource that would help me in business or life, however, its quite the contrary for me. Being a stay-at-home Mom, you sometimes feel lost in mom-mode and so I always love a good beauty and fashion moment. I love makeup and I love to dress up to feel my best.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: tiffanys.sweet.life
