Hi, I’m Jovanna and I like cake.

Well, I didn’t always like cake. You might even call me a “cake snob”. If it’s dry and crumbly…no thanks! So I started making cakes that I would actually eat (everything made from scratch). Then I decided that I wanted to bake and decorate my boys’ birthday cakes. I mean, I saw some of the masterpieces on popular cake TV shows and immediately thought, “Eh, that looks simple enough. I can do that.” So I thought that I would let my older son’s (Jaxon) 2nd birthday cake be my first experiment. It turns out, there’s a lot more to it than I thought. It definitely looked like I let Jax make his own birthday cake. Tears were involved.

So I told myself that I would practice for a year and by his 3rd birthday party (November of 2009), I’d know what I was doing. I read everything I could read, watched every video I could watch, and my mom and I even took the Wilton classes (our instructor, Jackie, was so kind and patient and truly made us excited about learning). And I PRACTICED!! I have to say…I was pretty impressed with that tractor cake.

I posted a picture of Jax’s cake on Facebook and that’s what started everything! I started making cakes for family members and friends. Then friends of friends. Then I had complete strangers contacting me to make cakes for them. So I decided to pursue the business side of things and The Cakehole was born. I have loved the creative freedom that making custom cakes allows. I waited over a year (and made several cakes) before I ever agreed to make someone’s wedding cake. That is easily the most important day in a couple’s life and I didn’t want to jump in without being completely confident that I wouldn’t ruin their big day by delivering them a leaning, melting, slouching, heinous cake. I can’t thank Minh and Kristina enough for taking a chance on me and allowing me, as a complete rookie, to make their wedding cake. This gave me the confidence I needed to take The Cakehole to a new level.

NOW THIS PART IS REALLY IMPORTANT:

I love what I do! Sometimes I can’t even believe that I’m lucky enough to do it as a “job”. But absolutely none of it would be possible with out Momma! My mom has been working with me from the very beginning. She’s completely supportive and never stops telling me how proud of me she is. I mean, she literally tells me every day. She is the hardest working woman I’ve ever met. Even though she’s my mom, she knows that The Cakehole is “my baby” and allows me to be “the boss” in the kitchen. I cannot think of a single person I’d rather work with every day. We talk, dance, sing, play, and even manage to actually do some work together and it makes me love what I do even more! I get a front row seat to see just how supportive a mom can be. Without Momma Dar, The Cakehole simply would not be. With that being said, she has spent a LOT of time with me at the kitchen, bridal shows, setting up for weddings, events, etc. My dad has sacrificed a lot of time with his woman in order for those things to take place. He has also been incredibly supportive of me and truly wants The Cakehole to succeed. He has helped me numerous times with the legal and business side of things and I am so thankful for that! I have the best parents in the world. Period!

Sometimes returning emails and calls can take up a BIG part of the day. That’s where my sister, Jocelyn, comes in. She reports to me every day with questions and orders and then she responds to the customers because she knows that often I don’t get a chance to check my emails and calls until late at night. Jocelyn takes a HUGE load off of me by tackling this stuff and I can’t thank her enough!

Last year, The Cakehole welcomed Beth, our Cookie Monster, to the team. She has been a perfect fit with us and does, without a doubt, the best cookie art I’ve ever seen! She’s seriously amazing and we are lucky to have her!

And lastly, while I absolutely LOVE being the owner of The Cakehole, there is no job I love more than being a mommy to Jaxon and Jude. My husband, Jeremy, and my boys have been completely patient, loving, and supportive of me as I live out my dream. A lot of people ask me why I don’t have a store-front yet. There are a few reasons for that actually. However, the main reason is that if I had a store with set hours, I couldn’t go on field trips with my boys, help out with class parties, take them to appointments, take them to surprise their daddy for lunch, etc. So, with how things are now, I get to do both. I’d say I’m pretty lucky.