Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Lowe.
Hi Erin, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
My love for baking began in high school. Watching Duff Goldman on Ace of Cakes and Buddy Valastro on Cake Boss sparked my interest. I was intrigued by what they could create out of cake, and it amazed me with each masterpiece. The first tiered cake I made was for my sister’s 18th birthday – boy, was it a disaster, and I still have a photo of it! I didn’t know what I was doing; the cake was still semi-warm when I iced it. It was very crooked, but it tasted great, and she appreciated it! I studied culinary arts at SWIC and graduated with my associate’s degree in Culinary Arts. I learned a lot of basics and took one cake decorating class. The majority of what I do now has been self-taught and just gaining experience through different cake orders, lots of Instagram and YouTube videos, and just practice, practice, practice.
Fast forward to 2018, I started focusing on my business more. I chose a name for it, created a logo, and started advertising myself on social media through Facebook and Instagram. I took holiday orders and released seasonal menus while working full-time and attending SIUE. COVID-19 hit in 2020, and my job at the time had been shut down, so I was at home doing absolutely nothing but baking for fun! Everyone I knew knew I was a cake decorator and baker, so I began taking on orders regularly throughout the week to keep busy and obtain extra income. In no time, I started gaining a following as I made custom orders, mainly cheesecakes. I was offering delivery daily as well as no-contact, no-contact deliveries due to social distancing. Everything blew up from there for me, and it has been amazing how much support everyone has shown!
It has truly been a blessing, and I have to give a lot of credit to the pandemic happening; otherwise, being home baking every day would not have been a possibility for me at the time. I made it official by obtaining my LLC in July of that year. After much deliberation and having my job re-open late that summer, I decided to take the leap and bake full-time while still working a part-time job a couple of days a week.
Over the years, I’ve had to overcome many obstacles and make tough decisions. I have learned, and I’m still learning how to run this little business of mine. It has been an enormous learning experience, and I still learn new things daily. It is not for the faint of heart, and there are days when I want to give up, but then I think about how I can’t see myself doing anything else. This allows me to create my schedule, which I love. Making cakes has been my passion since I was 16, and I only plan to go up from here! One of my most significant accomplishments throughout this journey has been creating wedding cakes and offering dessert bars for the occasion! I love being able to set up the sweets table at any special event. Dessert catering is a service that I continue to offer. These days, I am still baking full-time at home while working a part-time job a couple of days a week at a dog care facility. I get the best of both worlds here! Other than cakes, the most popular items I sell are my S’mOreo brownies – s’mores meets Oreo, all in a brownie! You can’t go wrong with that! I also sell a lot of cheesecakes, cookies, cookies, “Sammies,” as I call them, French macarons, wedding cakes, and pies—a little bit of everything. The list goes on!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It’s more of a bumpy road than a smooth one! I’ve had to learn a lot about running a business, such as filing taxes. That is one of the biggest hurdles. Another one I face often is finding the right work/life balance. I’m quite the people pleaser, so I always want to say yes to anything and everything, and most times, I put myself last. I’m still learning that I need to take time to rest and reset. As much as I want to be Wonder Woman, I cannot do it all.
Let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in decorative cakes; these are mainly what I am known for! I’ve had people come up to me and say, “Hey, you’re the cake lady!” Which always tickles me! I love baking desserts, too, but cakes are my true passion. It’s amazing to see how quickly I can whip up a cake from start to finish these days compared to a couple of years ago. What sets me apart from others is just the creativity that I put on my cakes. I’ve had people call it “the Erin touch,” or if they are at a party and see a cake that they think is my work, they’ll message me saying how they knew that was “an Erin cake,” which always makes my heart happy!
How do you define success?
Success is the ability to take a love and passion for something, throw years and years of practice into it, and share it with the world. Creating something people will remember for a lifetime is both priceless and rewarding, and that is what success is to me.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @erinscreationsstl
- Facebook: Facebook.com/erinscreationsllc
Image Credits
Allison Menne – photographer of the image of myself
