Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelly Nunnally.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Baking was always a part of my life growing up baking pies with my Dad and helping bake biscuits with my Mom, and it brought me so much joy! Later, when I joined a sorority, I started making desserts for all the events we held.
Once I graduated college, I felt my creative outlet missing and starting baking for friends and family. It was a simple choice to take something I loved and turn it into a business. I spent seven years baking wedding cakes and cookies after I got home from my day job. Finally, in 2017, I quit! Now I get to work on my passion every day and I love every second!
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?
When I first started Pastry Shells I worked as an engineer during the day, therefore, I had to complete every order in the evening or early in the morning. It was exhausting but I knew that if I kept going strong I would eventually be able to do it full time. It took me seven years to figure out how to price my products to actually make a profit and build up the business enough to create a full-time job.
Pastry Shells – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Pastry Shells makes wedding cakes and decorated sugar cookies. Each wedding cake is made by hand and in small batches in my home kitchen. I am completely licensed and insured to bake out of my home so each item that leaves the house has the home-baked touch to it. My sugar cookies are my favorite part of my job.
Each order is completely different and they allow me to have way more artistic freedom. My sugar cookies differ from others by being an actual sugar cookies recipe and not a shortbread cookie. You will have a slightly chewy inside with a crisp outside but with an almost too good to eat design on top.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Honestly, for me, it was going full-time with my bakery. I had a great full-time job as an engineer that made a great living for our family so it was a huge leap to go from a stable job to the unknown world of owning a business. It was the hardest and best decision our family has made!
Going full-time meant I had actually built a business that could provide for our family making all my long days and hard work worth every second.
Pricing:
- Icing Wedding Cakes Start at $600
- Fondant Wedding Cakes Start at $900
- Decorated Sugar Cookies Start at $35/dozen
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pastryshells.net
- Phone: 404-786-6286
- Email: shelly@pastryshells.net
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pastryshells
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pastryshells
- Other: www.etsy.com/shop/pastryshells
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