Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Dew
Hi Heather, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I began baking at five years old with my mother. Like most children, I found it fun! As I got older with much younger siblings, I found it even more rewarding. I started baking their birthday cakes for them and it brought them (and me) so much joy! It filled my love tank, if you will to have any recipient love what I’d made for them. I didn’t fully realize how much I truly loved baking though, until I made my daughter’s first birthday cake in 1993. After that, I took a local cake decorating class, and started my licensed home bakery called Heavenly Heather’s in 1994, in Lebanon, my hometown. I baked for local merchants and customers until 1999 when I moved with my family to Centerville, Indiana. I worked full time as a medical assistant and took time off from baking except for my employer, friends and family to focus on my family. In 2013, my then husband and I purchased a historic mansion built by Oliver P. Gaar in Richmond, Indiana. It is a beautifully crafted 10,400 sq. ft. space that I felt a soul connection to as soon as I entered the doors. It has quarter sawn oak throughout, coffered ceilings, murals, various parlors, bedrooms and a ballroom on the third floor! I immediately had visions of baking from the kitchen and operating the mansion as a venue for weddings, receptions and other events. We set to task quickly to start the restoration process and during part of that time, I attended the prestigious Bonnie Gordon of College of Confectionary Arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I knew if I was going to offer my baking at this professional of a level; I needed to have more than my mostly self-taught skills. Here, I had been living in a town with one traffic light, and then attending pastry school in the largest city in Canada! At times it was frightening, but the dream in me was so much more than any of my inner fears! In 2014, we hosted our first wedding for a dear friend of mine as a trial of sorts. It was definitely a learning experience! I wanted to have a name that matched my aesthetic. Queen Bee Confections at The Mansion on Main was born! For four years, I hosted weddings, showers, receptions, parties, Earlham college reunions, corporate and political events. Through these events I met so many wonderful people! My children, mother and grandson helped! I was honored to bake for a famous musician’s lead guitarist, the governor of Indiana, and hundreds of local customers. It was so much hard work. So many hours of labor were involved, yet it was so fulfilling. It felt like a dream. I would often be in the kitchen baking and hear laughter coming from the various events which thrilled me to no end! I so enjoyed that I could be a part of their special day. I’d always felt like the black sheep in my family, but baking made me feel so accepted by others and it made my soul feel complete! I even offered cake and cookie decorating classes, and donated my time teaching in the community at some local events for fun. I participated in some local baking contests in Richmond, Indiana and won best cookie, best brownie, best chocolate cake over the course of a few years. I won best fruit dessert for my caramel apple cake in Waynesville, Ohio once too! It was definitely validating to know that people liked what I was making! In 2018, I had to say goodbye to everything I knew and move back to this area after a traumatizing divorce after 27 yrs of marriage. I lost my personal home, my venue and baking business I loved so dearly. I felt so defeated. I’d finally gotten to a place where I was feeling so fulfilled, my business was just starting to really take off and I had to lose it all. But each time life throws you a curve ball, you have to get up, adjust and keep going. While I currently work full time for a local health system in Cincinnati, I hustle in the evenings and weekends to bake up those same sweet treats out of my tiny home cottage bakery in South Lebanon. I still bake under the name, Queen Bee Confections. One thing I know, is that you have one of two choices. You can quit or keep going. I choose everyday to keep going. Is it easy to lose it all and start over? Absolutely not. But, what do we learn about ourselves in the process? If life were always easy, how would we learn how to overcome trials? With a drive to endure despite hardships, we can only be successful, whether it’s in small or big ways! I may have lost all the “stuff”. But, I didn’t lose my ability and decades of experience! I have wonderful friends that encourage me in so many ways! I don’t know where I’d be without their support! One way for anyone in this life to feel fulfilled is to give back. I often bake for a non-profit organization called, Icing Smiles. This organization provides special cakes for ill children or their siblings. Seeing the light in their eyes over a cake battling more than you and I can ever know just does something to me. It certainly puts life in perspective!
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?
I’m sure most of your readers have stood on the edge of a beach and felt the waves gently splash against them. As anyone walks further in, those waves can sometimes get really scary and crash against you really hard, knocking you down. I’ve been knocked down more times than I can count! It’s terrifying to start over, and over, and …..over again. My faith in Jesus propels me forward in the midst of life’s trials! If I measure success only by money-I suppose I’m a giant failure. But, I measure my successes in my ability to get up after being knocked down. After losing it all, it can feel insurmountable to begin again! Some struggles for me are tapping into the resources that get you seen/more visible, especially after moving from one state to another. The social media aspect can be overwhelming with the algorithms and knowing how to utilize them, along with re-doing a website on a budget. After Covid, the market became extra saturated as well, so knowing how to stand out can be tricky! We all have a passion inside us though, and for me, that is baking. It is truly my love language toward others. Whether I have too many orders in a week, or not enough-it brings me joy. Isn’t that what we all want? Bringing others some happiness through sweet treats is the gift of success in and of itself.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I bake custom cakes and sweets for special events such as weddings, showers, parties, and corporate. I specialize in wedding cakes and they are my very favorite to make and set up! I am known for my buttercream. It’s not too buttery and it’s not too sweet! I’ve tweaked it over the years and get complimented on it often. I also bake paleo, vegan, gluten and dye free upon request. I am currently experimenting with some sugar free options with my existing recipes. Tasters anyone? I’m most proud of my resiliency and ability to adapt to the many changes I’ve gone through in the past eight years! I’m proud that some of my customers drive over an hour to pick up their cakes! Now, that is truly an honor! One thing that might set me apart, is that I am always trying to find connections through my passion of baking. I started a small program once called, “Random Acts of Sweetness.” I had extra sweets left from an order and didn’t want to waste them. I delivered the extra sweets I had to a local mom and photographer one day. I knew she was having a rough day and it might bring her some joy to have a treat. She offered to pay and I told her to think of someone else that might like a sweet and the next time I had extras, I’d deliver them to the person she nominated. I kept that going for years! It was so fun to surprise people and get to know them in ways I’d have otherwise never known!
What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is that my customers know how much thought and passion I put in to every detail of their sweets. I’m very aware that what I offer may be viewed as just small part of their special day, but I want it to be as perfect as possible! Even the tiniest of details are important for me to execute to the best of my ability. I’ve always wanted my work to stand out as hand crafted, scratch-made sweets, and for that kind of care to shine in the end result.
Pricing:
- It varies a lot with custom cakes and sweets!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @queenbeeconfections
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/QueenBeeConfectionsBakery
