Hello friends,
I hope this finds everyone well. Just thought I would write you all to refresh your memory or in some cases introduce our baby. Our A-
MAZING company that we have been working on for the past year.
Just some history:
Alicia and I met working together at a sales and marketing firm about two years ago. We pulled some seriously long and hard hours. We were at work at 6a.m. and didn't leave to go home until after 8p.m. most nights. The lessons and the knowledge we gained while working there is invaluable and
immeasurable. We organized marketing campaigns based on who had the highest number in sales that week. Delegating and teaching lessons, building our own teams of employees, learning how to conduct interviews (8 hour long interviews!). We learned what it meant to hit the pavement. We went business to business all day long selling a product (ruining some really nice pairs of shoes). We learned about rejection. We learned about sales. We learned about people. And we definitely learned about being BROKE. At a 100% commission based job, it was pretty much DO OR STARVE. But most importantly we learned how to work
hard and dream
big.
On New Years Day, 2007 we decided that none of it was good enough. We needed to take what we had learned and start our own business. We had gained way too much knowledge to be working our proverbial asses off for someone else. And some how, some way we came up with Petite Four Couture.
The object:
Make delicious treats that
everyone and their mother loves. And if you don't love petite fours just let me know so I can take you off my friend list. Kidding kidding. And if you don't know what petite fours ARE...we are about to show you. We're about to show everyone. They are one inch by one inch, 3 layer jam filled cakes hailing from France. Hand dipped in white chocolate
ganache giving it a hard shell outside and a moist inside. Decorated with intricate, dainty marzipan flowers, ribbons or whatever our hearts or your minds desire. They have, in fact, been a staple on dessert menus at
Versaille Palace since dessert became dessert. So with
my love of eating and crafting and
Alicia's love of baking and fashion - there you have it. A cake company designed around fashion. Each season we will have a new Collection. Packaged in hat boxes or jewelry boxes they make the PERFECT gift. Every single solitary petite four is hand glazed, hand dipped and hand decorated. Making each one completely couture.
So, while most of you have heard
tid bits about us doing this, or walked in on our baking disasters or woken up in the morning to find the aftermath or found us
still working 14 hours later, we're actually DOING IT. It's all happening. We've had some pretty serious orders and have FINALLY begun working on our website, started writing a blog and opened a bank account and have deposited a couple BIG FAT checks in there to surely make the next batch of cakes even sweeter.
We just want to start the company off right by thanking everyone who
has and
continues to offer up their time to help us. Whether it is offering up their kitchens, buying us new fun materials to work with, finding us books to teach us new techniques, helping us design, let us borrow an egg, helping us taste test, helping us package, telling their friends about us, or simply telling
us "this is going to be amazing": THANK YOU!The first batch of Petite Fours Alicia and I made were made on about a 5x8 work space at our house in Fells Point. We rolled the marzipan out with a Jameson bottle in lieu of a rolling pin. They tasted questionable. But we assure you that now they taste incredible but we're hanging on to Jameson. We are thrilled! But we are looking forward to a MUCH BIGGER work space as we're trying to find investors for the company as I type this.
But as the economy gets more and more screwed up, I like to remind people that some of the most successful companies in the world were founded during some of the roughest times in our country.
EG: During the Great Depression, Ford came out with their most high tech, most expensive car to that date and people bought it. And they continue to today. So, while things get bitter out their its nice to have something SWEET to look forward to.
And the icing on the cake: Recently, we received some junk mail. A 6x9 postcard selling us services. It was addressed to Petite Four Couture. And it was from the sales and marketing firm where Alicia and I met. Yes, one and the same. And with
every ones help, it will be in the first picture frame when we open our first location.
Keep us in mind for the holidays, any occasion that happens to come along or if you're just craving something beautiful. Check back to our site while the "construction" happens and stop over to our blog just to say "Hey!"
http://www.petitefourcouture.com
http://pfcouture.blogspot.com/
We just wanted to let everyone know what we've been up to and we hope that everyone is doing great!
One Love,
Jas and Alicia
