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10 pounds down 32 pounds to go!

Friday, August 11, 2006

mmm blackbird pie

apparently the state has a website. and all you have to do is type in your proposed business name and it tells you whether it's taken in the state. here are the stats:

The Bakery is sadly gone
Chocolate Moose also gone
Just Desserts was d.o.a. but it's gone too
Icing is gone
Death by Chocolate is available
Chocolat. is available and i'm leaning heavily this way
Cake Factory is available, but i don't love it.

many others were tried, but they were taken and i didn't write it down or i wasn't in love with them. but i definitely think kyra won the cookies for her hilarious efforts if indeed she wants them. if i thought i could answer a phone "cake it up a notch" without snorting laughter it would definitely win.

i have to make a final choice. and then i have to meet the small business people and learn about the prepared food tax and get a permit and also do whatever else they tell me. then i can set up a checking account so when i go to write all this shit off i'll have nice shiny records. not to mention ordering some boxes and cake rounds and pie tins and oh, flour. and then set up the site, and take some damn pictures of all the stuff i have to bake so i'll have an attractive catalogue. even a waffling amateur can look professional with a little care. appearances, appearances. i can always write the bestseller "how not to be a baker" and make millions if this doesn't work out. it's important to have a back up plan.

9 comments:

Kyra said...

Actually, I still like Cake It Up A Notch...LOL DH here liked it too, suggested I start baking cakes until I smacked him. Course, if you named it that, then I'd HAVE to come and visit the new store, seeing as you aren't that far! ;)

Umm...there were cookies to be won??

BTW, I like Chocolat too...

You could make the coolest boxes and stuff too. :) I toyed with a similar idea for a while, but I was more creative with the boxes and then no one ATE those...

Amy said...

i think the idea, if i go with chocolat, is to have plain cardboard colored boxes, and brown ink. and probably pink ribbons. or white boxes if that's cheaper, but i like the brown on brown. i have to keep repeating to myself "in time". i have to see if i can sell anything before i get too hot and bothered. so many details (i knew, but i'm still like WOW).

Amy said...

oh yeah, originally there was sort of a contest. kind of. loosely. it seemed appropriate to offer cookies as a reward, except look at my audience...no one wants cookies in the mail so i put a bar harbor t-shirt on there as well. up to you.

Jennette Fulda said...

How would you pronounce Chocolat? Like "chalk-oh-lot"? Or just regulat "chalk-let"? The only problem I could see with Chocolat is that people might think you only make chocolate desserts. I only figured out a couple months ago that Burlington Coat Factory sold stuff other than coats :)

Amy said...

i would pronounce it in the francais. we talked about the chocolaterie vs. bakery thing and since almost everything i bake i cover in chocolate i think it'll be fine. 'course i'll do white cakes and cream puffs and such but i'll also be doing truffles and really chocolate is where my passion is. and i think it'll look cool on a business card. it will be obvious in the promotional materials that i do more than just chocolate.

Wendell said...

How about The Cakery? Stupid? Chocolat is cool, but I'm always intimidated by things I'm not sure how to pronounce. I tend to avoid them, rather than putting myself in the posistion of possibly having to (mis)pronounce the name and look (sound) like a dope. It's stupid, I know. Most people are probably not as silly as me though.

Coco said...

Just voting (again): while I agree that Chocolat is lovely, I'm gonna have to say I also really like Jennifer's contribution, The Cakery. Very cool.

Either way, the way you're moving on this dream is awesome and inspiring. Yay, Amy!!!

Amy said...

my sister suggested the cakery too. i do like it, i just want to do more than cakes and show that with the name. a name to grow with, if you will. i do hear you on the unpronouncability factor. i would totally do the same thing. i guess it's worth the risk to me, at the moment...

V'ron said...

I'm casting my vote for "cake it up a notch" simply because the name carries with it an implication that these are no ordinary desserts -- they're ratcheted up boyond something you'd get at a grocery story (albeit even a gor-may grocery). Its different enough from the well known phrase that should keep "cease and desist" letters from emeril coming.

email me personally, and I'll be happy to give you contact information for a friend of mine who did the same thing: made the leap and opened her own speciality bakery called "Eat Cake!". (I would have liked "Let 'em Eat Cake" too, but it can get long). With that in mind, you could maybe shorten your idea to "Cake It Up". On second thought, maybe not. But still, Debbie is really nice and I'm sure she'll be happy to share some lessons learned and war stories....

http://www.eatcakemilwaukee.com