… IF YOU BUILD IT.
October 22, 2019
If you build it…
I also recall, right before opening in 2013, being afraid that I would sell everything in my shop and have nothing to fill it back up with. I might have been a little too confident in my sales abilities…and then I remember my hubby saying to me…”don’t worry about that, just do a good job, treat people well, shine the spotlight on others, and more makers will come.” And he was right.
It has been such a joy to meet so many talented people here in Columbia that I didn’t even know existed. In early September, out of the blue I got an email from Julie Hutton from Frenchy Treats. I had not yet heard of her, but somehow she had heard of me. (Whoever sent her my way, thank you soo much!) She asked if she could drop off some Macarons and Croissants for me to try. Ummm….YES! They were delicious.
Born & raised in France, and in the US for 10 years now, Julie finds herself in Columbia while her hubby finishes his Emergency Medicine Residency. I asked her if she grew up learning how to make croissants and macarons in her kitchen t home and she said no, because in France there is a patisserie on every corner and you just walk to the corner and get what you want. So only the bakers really know this art form, the average person in France does not make these treats. Julie had to go to school and learn!
She is delightful and I can’t wait for you to meet her..(and hear how she says macaron, croissant, choc-o-lat, patisserie… so, so beautiful. )
As yummy as they were, I wasn’t quite sure what direction to take the opportunity. I’ve been down this road a time or 2 before. I’ve seen how hard it is to be a baker. Sure at Plume, we do cupcakes, and we do them VERY well. They’re made from scratch and they’re d.e.l.i.c.i.o.u.s. but they aren’t rocket science.
Baking artisan croissants is skilled, hard work and requires 3AM wake up times, and lots of rolling, and butter and proofing, and shaping before you even get to the baking to have croissants ready for a 7am opening. It can be so easy to burn out. And neither Julie nor I wanted that to happen so we kept talking and throwing ideas around and decided that neither of us was ready to have a 7AM opening 5 days a week but we COULD do it once a week and make it really fun and special. So that’s what we’re doing.
This week we’ll be doubling the amount of croissants that will be available. The menu is brief but trust me, you will savor every single bite!!
PSA: Julie creates macaRONS; delicious, adorable AND GLUTEN FREE!! treats. These delicate pastry shells are made from almond flour and meringue then filled with made from scratch jams, creams and ganache’s . (Julie does not make macaROONS, which are cookies made from fluffy mounds of chewy coconut, which I also LOVE!)
You can find Julie’s MacaRONS in our Bake Shoppe case every Tuesday – Friday during our normal Shop Hours right next to the cupcakes! They will be available for walk-ins every business day that we’re open.
We’re also excited to let you know you can order croissants (by the box of 10) for pickup at Plume at 10am every Tuesday – Saturday as well. However, croissants will only be available for walk-ins during our Pop-up events which we hope to host weekly.
PLEASE NOTE:
We sold out during our first Pop-Up in Record Time. If you know you’re coming…please hop over to the Facebook Event and mark “GOING”. If you know you for sure want a certain amount of Plain Croissants, Chocolate Croissants or Macarons…please help us out by ordering ahead.
You may place your order by replying to this email with your Name, Phone Number and what you would like to order. Orders may be paid for at Pick-up.
We look forward to seeing you this week!