On eating cake for breakfast, building confidence and thinking outside the box
with Heather Leavitt, Cake Designer
Heather Leavitt is the founder and design master behind the renowned Sweet Heather Anne bake shop in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We actually first met back in college and to tell you the truth, she was the friendly face I needed when transitioning back to Michigan from San Francisco (She even played matchmaker for some of the great local creative talent who’ve since become my closest partners!). Needless to say, I’ve always supported her career, and luckily, it’s been easy to stand behind what she creates – the most beautiful, delicious cakes and an effortless working experience between colleagues.
On End of the Night, Heather and I talk about how she translates her clients’ style onto a cake, but also how she built a wildly successful business that could support every three-tiered, buttercream-covered masterpiece. Heather is an avid learner – and her journey to discovering her passion for culinary and art was born in Florence, IT. You’ll have to hear about how that experience shaped what’s now Sweet Heather Anne, which she launched when she was just 26 years old. And in addition to her acclaim as one of the top bakers in the country, Heather has worked hard to scale a business model that yields creativity as opposed to chaos.
Heather explains “it’s all about consistency – developing systems so that it comes out the same way every time. That way you can train a new team member. That’s the stuff that I didn’t really learn in art school, but has been a lot of what I’ve been working on in the past few years. So we can do this well, each time and doesn’t matter who does it.”
Heather also lets us in on her journey to creating online cake decorating tutorials,which has opened her up to new business opportunities and the chance to connect with people in far off places like India (how cool, right?)
So whether you’re a fellow industry colleague, or someone getting married, my gut tells me you’ll fall in love with Heather’s painterly creations (which you can see on Instagram @sweetheatheranne) and really enjoy our discussion about all things cake. Because that sweet ending really is the crescendo of any great celebration, right?
Take a peek at Sweet Heather Anne’s cake portfolio on the web at www.sweetheatheranne.com
Wherever you choose to listen along to End of the Night; episodes are available on our website here, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts; know that you are welcomed with open arms.
