Today we’d like to introduce you to Karina Kappel.
Karina, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I own a small boutique home-based bakery The Artful Baker. I love the creative aspect of designing and creating cakes and cookies of all sorts. I find myself lately however, gravitating towards developing healthier versions of cookies.
My son has been recently diagnosed with several food allergies and fructose malabsorption (a hereditary condition where the small intestine cannot absorb sugar). That has led me to developing many gluten free and lower sugar cookies.
I bake goods my kids can eat and moms can feel good about the ingredients. Not to mention, eliminating several food allergens and lowering the sugar content – good for everyone!
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?
My challenges involve scheduling. Because I am a solo baker I must limit my work each week. I think it’s also difficult to make your business known to the right clients, when there aren’t enough resources for advertising.
The Artful Baker – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I’ve been an artist for many years, trying to capture the detail and beauty of nature and eventually completing a graduate degree in medical/scientific illustration. Later developing baking skills, I was inspired by my sister’s wedding to decorate some butterfly cookies for the guests. We wanted to move beyond the cartoon/artistic versions of nature to something more striking and realistic.
But this is not just artwork. I make cakes and cookies to taste at least as good as they look, using only the finest, high quality ingredients. This is still a labor of love for me and not a mass production.
My recent specialty has been gluten free baking. I create the same beautiful artwork using my gluten free sugar cookie. I’ve developed unique gluten free flavors as well, that I believe really sets me apart. Flavors like lemon-lavender, strawberry and coconut are my newest hits.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
Being selected as a semi-finalist in the Peapod’s Next Best Competition on Windy City Live and having the judges genuinely enjoy my gluten free cookies. I knew I was going on the right path.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://theartfulbaker.com/the_artful_baker/The_Artful_Baker.html
- Phone: 630-605-7293
- Email: artist@theartfulbaker.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karinamara2/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/The-Artful-Baker-349958148349799/?ref=bookmarks
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/karinamara
- Other: http://karinakappelonline.com/
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago 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.
