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Hello Cookie Fans! It’s always exciting to begin a new journey, I think. You have an idea what to expect but don’t always know how the journey will unfold. This is how I feel as we settle into our new space -- our new home is called -- home. We are here learning the new flow and tweaking where needed. This is what spring is all about, a new beginning, a different journey. Our chickadees have returned to their house at the top of our stairs for the 7th year! They will soon begin flying back and forth with small...

March marked the beginning of Women’s History Month.  This year’s theme is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Labor and Business.”  Hey, I’m a woman and I’m in business!  Since I’ve started this business thing I’ve met some amazing women that have taught me a lot about business and helped me learn a lot about myself.  And so I pivot to cookies -- but not MY cookies: Girl Scout Cookies! Who does not love a Girl Scout Cookie? I was a Brownie.  No, not like Franjean and Roll, Brownies from the 1988 movie “Willow.” The kind of Brownie that sold Girl Scout...

Hello Cookie Fans! I really enjoy reading cookbooks, more specifically, baking books.  Current books are prepared with amazing photography and stories often accompany most recipes or at least a short description about the inspiration. But just like fashion and appliance colors, cookbooks change with the times.  This realization came Christmas morning as I sat down with a cup of coffee and toast and grabbed a nearby book to thumb through as I ate.  The book, Southern Living's "The Cookies and Candy Cookbook," circa 1972.  Some of you may remember cookbook series our mothers and grandmothers acquired, you know the cookbook version...

Living and running a business on a sandbar has its own quirks and challenges.  A big one is sourcing my ingredients.  Some things are ordered and delivered to the kitchen, but my staples of butter, sugar, eggs and flour require a trip to Virginia every 2-4 weeks. I don’t dread this trip since it gives me a chance to sing or listen to business podcasts.  I also notice the passing of the seasons as I drive past the crops in the fields.  On my last trip I noticed it was almost time to harvest the wheat. I found it a little...

Before I started Sweater Box Confections, I had the honor of working two winters in Atlanta for the Reeb family in their fourth generation chocolate and pastry shop, Maison Robert.  I met Robert as a student at John C. Campbell Folk School, a magical place in western NC.  I took his class twice and got to be his assistant for a couple years until his daughter, Katia, played the daughter card and I got booted. Oh well, she hired me for the Atlanta gig so I forgave her. It was a great experience.  Not only did I get to work around...