baking at the next level

[penjordan]

No--this isn't a mistake! I have started a cottage industry by taking my baking, which I've done as a hobby for the past 20 years, and turning into a small business. I'm starting with special order retail and wholesale, baking out of a local kitchen, and plan to open a retail space in the next 18 months. Is there anybody else out there doing something like this??

[Kathy Ann]

Looks like you might be a maverick here! Welcome! I don't personally know anyone who has tried this, but the small bakeries in our area seem to be doing very well. One has internet access and their own brand of coffee.

[penjordan]

Kathy Ann, thank you for your welcome! I've never thought of myself as a maverick, but I'm always the last to know anything. Are you on the east coast? I'm on the west coast (Whidbey Island, Washington), and there seems to be a positive *lack* of independent, high-quality bakeries in the area. Everybody goes to the grocery stores for their baked goods (ick), or to the newly-arrived Krispy Kreme (double ick). We'll have a website in the next couple of months too; will post the address when it's available. I hadn't even thought about doing our own coffee. Hm....

[Lisa S]

I just had a tea party for my daughter's birthday. I ended up just buying the prettiest cookies that I could find from Fred Meyer, but I was wishing I could find a bakery to get something really special. We have a few here in downtown Portland, but nothing super close to us.

I remember walking by the bakery on a winter morning on the way to school when I was a kid. My mouth would water at the smells and sights of all the goodies. In all the years that I walked by that bakery, I never thought to ask my mom for a quarter to actually buy something. Silly kid!

The best of luck to you. Whidbey Island is a really cool place and I bet your business will be a great success!

[Kathy Ann]

Yup, I'm in Maine but I lived near Seattle for a couple of years. My son was born in renton in 1984.

[Lisa S]

I was just looking at houses in Maine on Realtor.com! It looks like there are a ton of beautiful homes there. I always imagined that Maine's weather is similar to the Pacific NW with better fall foilage. What do you think? Do you like living there?

[ptmanan]

I first visited Maine as a child - spending summers camping at Acadia. I vowed that if I could ever live anywhere, it would be Maine. And so here I am. I moved to Maine in 1982 as a single 24 yr old, and have never looked back! My first place was 9/10 mile down a dirt road! I just love it here. Nothing beats the fall foliage, nor the glorious snow cover in winter (even if when it gets below zero). I have no desire to ever move back to NY. When I visit family 'down south" (NY), I can't wait to cross over the bridge from NH - my shoulders relax and body goes into peace mode.

Having been to the Northwest as well, it reminds me a lot of Maine, however, I think you get more rain than we do. It is beautiful country out there. Our foliage is bright and rich in color, and lasts a few weeks (about one - two weeks difference between northern and southern Maine).

[penjordan]

I'm from Whidbey Island, Washington (about as NW as you can get) and can tell you that we don't have as much rain as some places out here--Portland and the Olympia Peninsula, for example, get almost twice the rain we do--and that our foliage is nice but not a national event like in the NE. I've never been to Maine, but have been to Vermont/New Hampshire/Upstate New York, and find the two areas are similar in some ways and very different in others. I wouldn't base my decisions on annual average rainfall statistics, but if you get depressed after only two days of cloud you should take that into consideration!

[Kathy Ann]

Sorry I haven't been back in a while to answer! Maine is like Washington in that the weather varies by region, though the variations are smaller. But most generally it stays between 70-80 in summer, though it can get up to 90. It's a lot cooler than that on the coast though. Fall is usually around 60, with peak foliage lasting about 2 weeks. Winter can really vary. This year we're having what I would consider a "proper" winter, which means good snow cover to protect the garden from temperature swings. Last week it was 40 degrees for 3 days but most generally it stays in the 20's and 30's all day with an occasional week of single digits during the day. The home prices are great. A mansion in a high-tax area could cost as much as $200,000.00, but our 10-room house in a nice quiet part of the city, on a quarter acre with full municipal services, was 80K 5 years ago.

[Lisa S]

Wow! Your home prices are wonderful. I went online yesterday to check out schools and crime and I was very impressed with the statistics. It sounds like a great place to live. I love to check out realtor.com ~ I'm looking for a cute small town with affordable living ~ do you have any suggestions?

Thanks!

[Kathy Ann]

Buckfield is nice, and so are the little towns in the Bridgton area. If you have kids who like sports, I can tell you where to go if they want to focus on skiing, basketball, sailing etc.