29/01/2025
🍰It's Goodbye from The Sugar Cart!
🍰I'm sure you have been aware that I've been very quiet over the past year, since loosing my Mum at the start of 2024. I just didn't feel like baking any more, something I have always loved doing. I would have been celebrating 10 years last September, and I'm so proud of my little business that I built up on my own from scratch.
🍰The previous year I had started a job in a School part time and was doing both jobs - office in the morning, baking in the afternoons. After being Self employed for 31 years, it was so lovely to get up and go to work in the mornings, and have work colleagues once again! I think the past year would have been very different if I had been home alone baking, being self employed can be a lonely job sometimes. At the time I made the decision that I would go back to baking as and when I felt ready, but have decided it's now time to officially close The Sugar Cart.
🍰It's been such a journey! I remember getting my very first order for 24 cupcakes back in September 2014, I was so excited! From then on it just went from strength to strength. Attending events such as the littledown fun day were always a family affair! We got bigger and better each year and pretty much always sold out!
When lockdown hit us all in March 2020, I thought that was it for my business. I then came up with the idea of brownies and over the next 4 months baked and delivered over 4,000 brownies in Southbourne with the help of my daughters, it's such a fond memory of ours. I then launched 'Brownie club' and at one point I had 100 members being sent brownies through the post once a month, it was hard work but I loved it!
🍰I've loved thinking up new ideas for things to bake, especially the seasonal items, although I'm quite happy never to see a marzipan fruit ever again!!😂 I've made and delivered many cupcake towers for weddings and parties and loved being a part of those special occasions.
🍰I've raised a fair bit for charity over the years and with your support have donated money to Macmillan coffee mornings and raised nearly £600 for the Ukraine relief charity. In June last year I baked treat boxes as myself, 4 daughters and my sister were doing Race for life in memory of our Mum/Nana. Thanks to all your amazing support I raised over £520 for cancer research, and think that was a fitting end to it all.
🍰I'm so grateful to my many customers, who have been such a massive support over the past 10 years, I couldn't have done it without you all. I've loved getting to know you and I do miss our doorstep chats on collection days! So that's it, just want to say a massive Thank you to anyone who has ever ordered, come to events, and even just liked and shared my posts, it meant a lot and really helped my business to grow.
🍰Thank you to my family for all the cake testing over the years, and for always helping out when there were leftovers to be eaten!! It's nice to have our home back and not have it filled with cake!
I will be having a sort out of all my cake supplies, if anyone has their own small cake business and may be be interested in anything, I'll be selling it off, so please get in touch and I can send a list of what's available.
Thanks everyone, it's been great!
much love, Lisa x
