Today we’d like to introduce you to Janderyn Makris.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After leaving a career in political consulting I decided to start cooking and baking for my own social dinners as something to occupy the time and thought maybe I could do it for a living as far as events go. I realized I didn’t want to be cooking anything for anyone else other than my family so baking was the second thing that was left and I truly loved doing it.
After some time my husband suggested that I try and do wholesale. So that was my first sales campaign. I went into Nordstrom’s and Bloomingdale’s coffee shops. They took our product here locally for a few of their locations that were in the department stores.
What Earth and Sugar are today is definitely taking a few steps back to realize the creative path I wanted to take. I didn’t have much of a passion for baking after my experience with wholesale, so I took a little time off. My husband has always been the one to encourage me to do something entrepreneurial. I had the option to stay home with my children but I felt I also needed to do something that would require the artistic part of my brain to be needed. When I came back a year later I took a different approach and decided to build a name and a brand first with a product that was good but also different.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
At the beginning, it was a struggle because people didn’t really take my preference of visual aesthetic. It’s become a style that is very common and ever so popular, but at the beginning five years ago that wasn’t something people looked at and said, “That’s a high-end, luxury cake.” where it’s very clean and styled with fresh botanicals.
I decided to take an unconventional approach towards building a cake studio and it worked. Reaching across the social media platform and finding support within popular stylists and wedding planners I dreamed of working with outside of my area. It allowed me to participate in editorials and features with established designers, once I had a portfolio I was able to build on that rapport and people could see the new style I was trying to build down here. Something fresh and clean yet adaptive to many event styles.
Please tell us about Earth and Sugar.
Our dessert boutique approaches confectionary creations with natural ingredients and gorgeous aesthetic. Reflecting uncommon thoughtfulness and creativity, our stunning designs and presentation inspired by blends of organic and modern styles are the cornerstone of our bakeries continued success.
We specialize in cakes and desserts for private events. While we have not in the passed delved into retail, we will officially be opening a seasonal pop up on the island of Palm Beach in a few short weeks. Placing our beautiful confections in an upscale boutique at a plaza that is home to luxury retailers such as Hermes and YSL.
I have many proud moments in my business, from being interviewed as an artist in Brides Magazine, having features in almost every national wedding magazine, standing behind a name that is recognized by people in all corners of the world, but the most satisfying thing has been to earn the reputation of having a vision that differs from all the other bakeries in South Florida.
Although Instagram is a blessing and I am forever grateful for the reach it has allowed us; the relationships we have with our community and clients alike, and the memories we are able to be a part of will always be what I almost grateful for.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Never let anyone plant a seed a doubt in my mind for wanting to be different. Most all I would have held on to more time with my babies, although that is not something I would be able to change if I could do it all over. You give something 120% or nothing at all.
Contact Info:
- Address: 5505 South Dixie Highway No. 4 West Palm Beach, FL 33405
6951 Nw 16th Street Miami, FL 33126
340 Royal Poinciana Plaza Palm Beach, FL 33480 - Website: www.earthandsugar.com
- Phone: (561) 735-1796
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/earthandsugar
- Facebook: facebook.com/earthandsugar
- Twitter: twitter.com/earthandsugar
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/earth-and-sugar-west-palm-beach-2
Image Credit:
PS Photography + Films
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