Conversations with Lamont and SaVita Davis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lamont and SaVita Davis.

Hi Lamont and SaVita, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I, (SaVita) grew up cooking and baking in the kitchen with my grandmother and mother at a really young age of 5 or 6 years old. It was a unique experience coming from a Caribbean family because the foods were full of rare spices and and array or scents and colors. I was most intrigued when it came to baking not just because of my love for sweets but I was fascinated by the beautiful designs my mother and grandmother could make with the use of a single butter knife. It made me imagine the different ways I could one day create my own masterpiece with a delicious dessert that could also be stunningly beautiful. Growing up I was asked to make cakes for birthdays, parties or just because moments. The compliments always followed up with the encouragement or advice to lean towards baking or owning a bakery as a career. With my mind set on law school, I navigated my education and career into the legal world and away from the baking industry. There was the huge terrifying notion in my mind that the thing I enjoyed doing – baking – would become a chore or a task and my passion for it would dissipate if I made it a job.

As life continued to move forward my husband, Lamont, and I were also making physical moves in pursuit of his education in Architecture. That lead us from Northern California to Southern California and ultimately landed us in the state of Georgia in 2018. As we started settling into our new country life one thing stood out really quickly… Entrepreneurship. We were surrounded by it! Everywhere we turned we were seeing handprints of that Entrepreneurial Spirit! Fast forward about 2 years and we found ourselves in the most uncertain times in our lives along with the rest of the nation as we all journeyed through the Pandemic. After a year of being in the Pandemic, we truly started assessing our careers, goals and specifically the type of legacy we want to leave behind. It was during this time that Lamont proposed a brilliant idea. He brought up the idea of us opening a bakery. As we talked through it he began to compare and contrast my hesitations with possibilities. We both came to the conclusion that we would give the opportunity a try and it would either fail or thrive. If it didn’t work it just didn’t work. So in April 2021, our business license was made official and we were open for business.

Our first major event was Mother’s Day. We jumped out of the gates advertising through a local magazine and we also made posts on our new business social media sites as well as spread the word by mouth to our friends, co-workers and neighbors. Our first order was a whopping 16 dozen cupcakes! That moment was definitely a time of learning in so many different ways. However, despite the challenges that arose there were a few things we wanted to start our business off with and maintain and that was professionalism, communication, service with excellence and a premium product that stands out. Intentionality was the key component for us. We were very intentional that for each customer we would ensure that we captured their desires and vision, especially when handling a wedding. We also were very intentional in immersing ourselves in our community so we could build strong relationships with our customers. We wanted our customers to be family and we wanted to be a part of all of their major and minor milestones. This is a huge reason why we chose to sell our cupcakes at the Farmer’s Market. It was the best way to meet new people and build a relationship with them. We were also very intentional that our product is unique and stands out amongst the other cakes and cupcakes in the industry.

The most famous comment we get is “it looks too pretty to eat,” or “typically pretty things don’t taste good,” BUT we still are blown away and filled with humility each time someone unpackages one of our cupcakes and takes a bite … it’s the most satisfying thing to see their eyes light up, their heads tilt and a large smile runs across their face as they release a sound of pure amazement. It never gets old! We truly have been amazed on how quickly the business took off. Not even six months into the birth of the business we were contacted to be the face of a local magazine which printed in January 2022. Our customer base continues to grow and we know something special about each of our customers. As the business continues to grow we have found ourselves magnetically pulled into the wedding industry where we not only provide our cupcakes but Handcrafted, one-of-a-kind, wedding cakes which are larger versions of our cupcakes. With the demand for Handcrafted Desserts increasing we anticipate that 2023 will be booked with weddings every month.

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?
Overall, we truly cannot complain. The business has been rather smooth and we find ourselves on a learn as you go process. A challenge we found with participating in events is preparation and temperature control. For example, we began selling our cupcakes at a local Farmer’s Market in 2022. Being new as a vendor and being 100% new in the atmosphere of a Farmer’s market we did not know how many cupcakes to prepare. We were not quite sure how much is too much or too little. The other component was the fluctuation of customers. Sometimes an upcoming holiday can bring more people out to the market but that can also decrease the volume if people chose to travel during any given holiday. In trial and error, we also had to face the question of what do we do with the leftover cupcakes if we made too much and if we made too little what do we do with the time because breaking down early at a market is not an option. Our learning was how to sell the excess cupcakes virtually and make a few deliveries after the market to rid ourselves of inventory and when we sold out too soon we optimized the time to engage in conversations with customers and spend quality time answering questions as well as booking other engagements like a cake for an upcoming birthday party or wedding.

We feel like we have a better grasp at quantity with Pre-Orders and social media engagement because we’ve built a trend of selling out at the markets by the end of the day while still balancing meaningful and effective communication with our customers and new faces. Weather also played a large part. We quickly learned that the South’s humidity can be unforgiving… so we had to quickly rely on ingenuity to create ways to avoid having our cupcakes melt or lose shape. Lamont’s mastermind with his engineering background quickly went into action in constructing carrying apparatuses that would maintain cool temperatures and avoid precipitation. Dealing with the cold was the easy fix.. as you can imagine the cupcakes love the cold weather… the only adjusting required was us learning how to dress warmly for Southern fall and winter weather.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We both work full-time outside of the dessert business. Lamont has worked in various fields throughout his career but his specialization and passion is his career journey in Engineering. SaVita’s career has been in the Legal field specifically in court and Litigation. The one thing we both have in common is a high standard for customer service. Lamont who worked many years for the Ritz Carlton has carried through the highest standards of customer service training into our business. Customer service may sound simple or common but it sets us apart because we do it with excellence as our standard. From the presentation of our products, the finest ingredients, the design work and intricacy down to the in-person and virtual communications we facilitate – we want our customers to know they are being well taken care of and that we strive to create amazing memories for them through our cakes and cupcakes.

We’ve learned that so many customers have experienced rudeness, brevity and a lack of listening or compassion with other companies and it has become so common for a customer to simply become a business transaction. We never want any of our customers to experience that at Handcrafted Desserts. We take the time to listen to our customers, make eye contact, sit down if possible and have a conversation with them. One thing that sets us apart is our wedding cake. When a Bride and Groom sit down for a tasting with us we absorb their energy, listen to their story, have them share about their backgrounds, likes, dislikes and special memories before we take on the task of baking their wedding cake. Our cakes are one of a kind… we refuse to make copy-cat cakes. When you order your wedding cake through Handcrafted Desserts it is just that – a Handcrafted cake with unique designs that will tell a story of the couple getting married. No one will have the same cake as you. As an artist, we are inspired by your story and that’s what comes across on the cake.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
To say that we dislike something about our city is probably not accurate – we are rather adjusting. As two California kids, we are still getting used to the weather and specifically the downpour of rain. We are learning how to operate our business with varying conditions especially since we participate in events such as the Farmer’s Market as well as other outdoor festivals and events as they arise.

We do love the Entrepreneurial Spirit of the South…. had it not been for that Handcrafted Desserts may never have come to fruition. This was never something we even imagined of doing in California. We truly enjoy seeing small businesses making an impact in their local communities while thriving.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.HandcraftedDesserts.com
• Instagram: https://www.Instagram.com/Handcrafted_Desserts
• Facebook: https://www.Facebook.com/HandcraftedDessertsLLC
• Other: https://LinkTr.ee/HandcraftedDesserts?utm_source=qr_code

Image Credits
The photo with the box of cupcakes with dipped strawberries on top was taken by Orion & Amber Daniels with IDoVideographyAtlanta All other photos (with exception of the one take with the Lamont and I in t-shirts standing with the display case) was taken by Photographer, Aleen Karakashian also based out of Atlanta.