I started doing customer appreciation day two years ago.  I hope that every year it just gets bigger and better than the year before.  So far I've been blown away by the turnout and by people's positive reactions to it.  This year it will be held on Sunday, June 23 at the Ley Memorial Pavilion at Harris Park in Dodgeville from 11am-2pm.  So mark you calendars!  

If you don't know what customer appreciation day is about- let me tell you! It's basically a day full of fun and treats to celebrate and thank my customers.  I have around 30 other local vendors come in to set up and sell their products and crafts, as well as bringing the stuff from my other two side businesses (makeup/skincare and clothing).  Last year I added a food truck, singer/entertainer, and kids crafts table to the event and that really seemed to be a success!

While the event isn't long in duration, the last two years it has seemed just enough time.  Enough time for everyone to come through, do some shopping, grab lunch and hang out.  The first year I ran way short on cupcakes; so l last year I didn't want that to happen again and overshot the numbers a bit and had an abundance of cupcakes.  Oh I almost forgot! For customer appreciation day you get $3 off on full dozens as well!  This year I'll be seven months pregnant...so it should be interesting to say the least! 

It is a fun filled day that I now look forward to yearly.  I put a ton of time and effort into this event in hopes of making it amazing for the vendors that take the time to spend this day with me and for all of you customers that have made this all possible!  I really hope you can make it and that you enjoy it as much as I do!

In the last blog post, I talked about fun menu updates like new flavors and flavors getting fun makeovers.  This time, the updates I'm making aren't so fun.  In fact....they're terrifying to me.  I've talked about this change for a couple of years; I've even posted about it before, but I never went through with it and tried the best I could not to actually do it.   Unfortunately...it's time.  Time for a SLIGHT price increase in my products.

Every year my costs go up more and more and I just eat that cost.  Why?  Honestly, because I'm scared to lose customers by raising prices.  I started this business out of my love for baking.  However, love can only go so far....love of baking and what I do doesn't make my expenses go down.  I've given this example before, but I'll give it again- since opening my cost of vanilla has more than quadrupled.  Ask any baker who is a pure vanilla (not artificial) user and they will curse this ingredient cost.  This increase makes it over $400 for ONE gallon!  And this is just one of my expense increases.  

We live in a small community so the thought of these slight increases is very intimidating.  I know losing a few customers to competition is inevitable, but I'm hoping my supporters see the worth and value in my product and the business I've built.  I'm a commercially licensed bakery...which can be another big expense.  It's recently became legal in Wisconsin for people to bake and sell from their homes.  I went through, and go through yearly, all the hoops and expenses of getting and staying licensed and meeting all the state commercial kitchen standards.  This means yearly fees, and also means I pay more for little things like water and electricity because I operate out of a commercial building.  If I factored in all of these expenses that most people might not think of going into the price of a cupcake, including my time (which I tend not to factor in for), things would be far far more expense than these little increases will reflect.

I did do the same small increase in cookie prices last year and didn't notice any backlash or have complaints from it, so I'm REALLY hoping for the same when it will now be be applied to cupcakes and cakes. The increase is $0.25 on cupcake flavors- which breaks down to $3/dozen if you were getting a full dozen.  For example: standard cupcakes are going from $1.25 to $1.50; deluxe $1.50 to $1.75; and specialty $1.75 to $2.  

Cake increases vary by size, anywhere from $2 on a standard flavor 6" cake to $10 on a 1/2 sheet cake.  If you've ever looked at my menus, each size and level of cake and cupcake varies by the same price increments.  I've kept all of that the same, but just increased it by one level.  

All weddings and orders that have already been placed will be marked and charged at the "old pricing".  This also applies if you've already reached out to me for a quote on an order with a specific date to it.  Moving forward any bookings or inquires will fall under the new pricing.  

I  REALLY REALLY hope everyone can understand that I am doing my very best to keep prices low and I have kept them this low for as long as I possibly can.  But in order to keep bringing you the treats you love and keep business going for years to come, a change does have to be made.  

Thanks you for the love and support and continued orders!