Today we’d like to introduce you to Natalie Bryn.
Natalie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started out as a single mom just wanting to make birthday cakes for my kids. I was always “artsy” so I wasn’t intimidated by trying something new. Turns out, I didn’t suck!
So I started making kiddie birthday cakes and progressed into grown-up cakes, baby showers, birthdays, bridal showers and eventually wedding cakes. I was laid off from my “real job” in January of 2011 but had been doing cakes in the evenings for about 4 years at that point, so I collected my unemployment for 15 months and hustled my booty off.
Going to venues, taking samples, meeting other vendors, participating in open houses, etc. By the time my unemployment ran out, I was booking weddings regularly and on the preferred provider list for about 10 venues! It’s grown from there every year! When I joined Instagram, that was the next catalyst, in that it introduced me to sooooo many other vendors, got me involved in styled shoots, and got my name out to a whole new audience who were searching for inspiration!
Great, 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?
To look back, I’d say it’s been exactly what it should be….. a bunch of late nights, hustling, working hard, trying new things, watching YouTube videos, etc. I wouldn’t say it was hard, but I remember thinking to myself, “I wish I could book every weekend with just one wedding!”, I remember thinking it wasn’t happening fast enough.
Now, I would say, “you have to trust the process.” If what I have now would have been given to me when I asked for it, it would have crushed me under the weight of it. I would be out of business now because I couldn’t have handled it at the time. I needed the time to get faster, for my work to be cleaner, for my skills to be sharp and for things to become instinctual for me to succeed at the level I am now. I have been told many times, “You were an overnight success”.
But that was just because they started seeing me everywhere in a relatively short time (once I got on Instagram). But the truth is… I was out hitting the pavement for 12 years before they heard of me! Proverbs 4:25 & 26 says, “Let your eyes look forward; fix your gaze straight ahead. Make level paths for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.” If you know where you want to go, you can’t be comparing yourself to anyone else’s path. I made a plan, thought things out. and followed through with it, even when it seemed to be going very slowly.
Cake Envy – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am primarily a high-end wedding cake designer. I can do a limited number of desserts and I do grooms cakes as well. When scheduling allows, I take birthday cakes and baby showers also. I have no idea what I’m known for. My friend, Kathryn, in the cake biz, says my crazy fondant stuff (I put skulls and dragons on cakes!). I think my cakes are representative of me as a person. I’ve done crazy designs, can pipe pretty good, can make fondant and sculpt and I’m pretty creative as far as that goes.
I would like to think I’m known more for my attitude and how I treat people than for anything I make with my hands! And I’m most proud of the integrity I’ve conducted myself with. I strive to be helpful to others, even other cake people and have found that most of them are helpful in return! I truly view them as my cake tribe, not my competition and it’s my complete honor to get to refer people to them and receive referrals from them! Nothing is a better compliment than where I’ve gotten to then when another cake designer sends one of their clients to you!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment for me was spearheading a free wedding for a military groom who just returned from deployment. I called together some of my very best and most loved vendors and I was so proud that they all said, “Yes” to donating this wedding!
I was never more proud than that moment. There have been many high’s… we’ve done some beautiful things and staged some amazing shoots, but the real-life things that matter are the lives you touch, and that day will be hard to top!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.CakeEnvyOnline.com
- Phone: 678-456-8806
- Email: info@cakeenvyonline.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/cake_envy_ga
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/cakeenvygeorgia
Image Credit:
Shannon Ford Photography, Hope Ballenger Photography, Linda Threadgill Photography, Rustic White Photography, Dash Photography
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
