Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandy Low.
Mandy, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I can’t really remember a time when I didn’t enjoy baking and being creative in the kitchen, especially when it came to playing with flavors and design. But I can pinpoint one very specific moment that I think started it all. I was probably about five years old when, while watching an episode of Sesame Street (yes, really!), I saw a segment featuring a cake decorator. I was fascinated. The spinning cake stand, the colorful buttercream roses, the bright white, fluffy icing—it all seemed magical to me. From that moment on, I dreamed about what it would be like to have a bakery of my own someday.
Fast-forward about 20 years, and my sister and I took some cake-decorating classes together. We began selling a few cakes as a hobby and side business, but, as life tends to do, things got busy. I moved on to other work and never really pursued it any further. I continued baking off and on for family and friends, especially around the holidays, but I never consistently kept up with it.
Over the years, I spent plenty of time watching the Food Network’s various cake shows, which left me both inspired and intimidated. Cake decorating had come a long way from simple buttercream roses! Suddenly, bakers were creating hand-carved, incredibly detailed masterpieces, and I found myself wondering if I could ever do anything like that.
It wasn’t until last year, when I took a bold leap and left my job of nearly 10 years in the hospitality industry (so apparently, I was destined to have a running food theme in my career!) that I finally started seriously considering opening my own cottage bakery.
Even then, it took several months to actually get things moving. My first step came through a fun, low-pressure kids’ entrepreneur workshop. I’m a homeschooling mom of two beautiful girls, and they both enjoy joining me in the kitchen, so when the opportunity came up, I signed us up. Together, we created our own little business concept, complete with a theme, business name, logo, and menu. It was a small and simple event, but it was exactly what I needed. It gave me the confidence, courage, and enthusiasm to finally say, “Okay, I’m going to actually do this.”
From there, I started building MY business and looking for local markets where I could participate. We’re fortunate to have so many wonderful market opportunities in this area that I’ve actually had the luxury of choosing which ones are the right fit for me. Since this is my first year—and I’m also homeschooling my girls—I didn’t want to overwhelm myself and burn out before I really had a chance to get started. For now, I participate in about two markets a month, with the hope of gradually increasing that as I become more comfortable with my menu and better at balancing all of the responsibilities that come with running a business and a household.
For the longest time, I never even considered selling at markets. I assumed the only way to make a cottage bakery work was through custom orders. But I’ve discovered that I really enjoy the market process. I get to make the things I want to make, bring them to a market, and see what customers respond to. There’s something exciting about putting your work out there and discovering what sells.
I also genuinely enjoy the community aspect. People are friendly, curious, and supportive, and I’ve had so many fun conversations with customers. Of course, you also get the occasional person who walks past, looks at the baked goods, pats their stomach, and says something along the lines of, “My diabetes!” or “I can’t have sugar!” before continuing on their way. We just smile, laugh politely, and let them go. You learn pretty quickly that not everyone is your customer—and that’s okay. You can’t take it personally.
What you do learn is what people are looking for. You start noticing which products disappear first, which ones people ask about, and what they come back looking for at the next market. Then you adjust your menu when it makes sense. There’s a lot of creativity involved in baking, but there’s also a lot of listening, learning, and paying attention to what your community actually wants.
That balance—making what I love while also learning what my customers love—is one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about building Frost and Flourish.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Life always has its challenges, but I try to remind myself that I’m where I’m supposed to be for a reason. Sometimes I wonder what my path might have looked like if I had taken my dreams more seriously when I was younger. What if I had started working in a bakery as a teenager, gone to culinary school, and continued down that path? We’ll never know. Instead, I’ve learned to be grateful for all of the experiences I’ve had along the way, because each one has shaped who I am and ultimately brought me here…to being my own boss, and having the opportunity to spend quality time with my family.
When I first started baking with my sister, I was dealing with a newly diagnosed vestibular disease that made it difficult for me to maintain a full-time job. Baking became a way to provide some financial support, but it was also a productive, almost therapeutic activity that helped me cope with some of my symptoms. And, on the darker days, it gave me something to be passionate about.
I did briefly try working in a bakery, but the reality is that bakery life is long hours and minimal pay, so once I became more physically stable, I needed to return to what I jokingly called a “grown-up job” to pay the “grown-up bills.” So, I packed away most of my bakeware and didn’t touch it for many years.
Looking back, I think my biggest obstacle was actually myself. I didn’t know how to turn something I loved into a business, and I struggled to believe in my own abilities. There will always be someone who is more experienced, more talented, or simply further along than you are—and for a long time, I let that comparison hold me back. I was perfectly content to let baking remain a here-and-there hobby.
Eventually, though, I decided to give it a real chance. Once I made the decision to pursue it seriously, I was determined to make it as official and legitimate as possible and to put in the work necessary to build an actual business. It has been a learning process, and there are certainly challenges along the way, but it has also been incredibly rewarding.
And I couldn’t do it without an incredible support system. My husband, my kids, and so many of our family members and friends have encouraged me, supported me, and cheered me on throughout the journey. Having people who believe in you—sometimes even when you’re still learning to believe in yourself—makes all the difference.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Frost and Flourish?
Frost and Flourish is a gourmet cottage bakery featuring a variety of specialty treats, including mini cakes, cupcakes, cobblers, cookies, muffins, loaded fudgy brownies, and a donut-like pastry I call the “Cinna-Twist.” We’ve also branched out beyond sweets and now offer a variety of artisan bread boules.
I’m especially proud of the bread because I’ve been making sweets for so long, but venturing into bread—yeast bread, no less—in a very sourdough-heavy market was definitely intimidating. Thankfully, it has been incredibly well received. We sell out of our bread at every market! My personal favorite is the classic white because it’s so versatile (my husband makes the best grilled cheese with it), but the first flavor I created—and still the most popular at markets—is our Rosemary & Garlic, followed by the Everything Bagel boule. I recently introduced mini wheat boules after customers began asking for them, so we’ll see how they do.
One of my favorite parts of this business is experimenting with new flavors and, honestly, new products in general. I love seeing customers’ reactions and figuring out what resonates with them. It’s also interesting trying to follow trends—or figure out what the trend even is—because there really hasn’t been one consistent trend in what people are looking for (aside from bread). That keeps things fun and unpredictable.
I’m often asked if I do custom orders. The short answer is no, although I’ve been known to make exceptions from time to time, usually for family and friends. Since I’ve only recently begun seriously building Frost and Flourish, developing my menu, and continuing to improve my skills, I’ve learned to recognize my limits. I’m not yet at the point where I feel comfortable taking on custom work and guaranteeing that I can meet a customer’s expectations in the way I would want to.
With farmers markets, I make the items I’ve spent a great deal of time developing, and customers can decide whether they want to purchase them. That gives me a level of confidence because I know those menu items inside and out, and I’ve had plenty of opportunity to perfect them.
There’s also a misconception that cottage bakeries operate like small versions of large grocery stores. In reality, most cottage bakers are doing everything themselves, often purchasing specialty ingredients and supplies at retail prices, without the buying power or large staff of a commercial bakery. Custom orders also require a significant amount of time and labor, which means the price point can be higher. One of the challenges is finding customers who understand the value behind that price and have the budget for it.
That said, there are so many incredibly successful cake and dessert businesses—even right here in our area—that I know the potential is there. I’m simply not ready for the commitment and stress that custom work would bring, and I’m okay with that for now.
Sometimes it feels like there’s a new cottage baker popping up in every neighborhood, but the reality is that there is room for everyone. Every baker has different strengths, specialties, styles, and customers. For example, I usually make soft chocolate chip cookies, but there are plenty of people who prefer a crispier cookie. If I’m attending a market where I know another baker is well known for their chocolate chip cookies, I may choose not to compete directly. I’d rather focus my menu on other items and see both of us succeed.
At the end of the day, baking every day—or even every week—takes a tremendous amount of work, consistency, and perseverance. I don’t think everyone who jumps into the pool is necessarily ready to swim, and if you find yourself treading water, you have to figure out where your strength is and build from there.
I learned that lesson myself. Years ago, I tried making custom-decorated sugar cookies, and I quickly discovered that they just aren’t my thing. I have an enormous amount of respect for the incredibly talented cookie artists who can create those beautiful, intricate designs. I’m perfectly happy admiring their work while sticking to the things I love to bake—and the things I know I do well.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Last year, I didn’t leave my job because I had a carefully laid-out plan to pursue my dream of owning a business. I left an unfortunate situation without a plan at all. I was hurt, confused, financially uncertain, and honestly, unsure of what came next. So, for a moment, I allowed myself to simply breathe.
Thankfully, I have an incredible husband who supported my decision, gave me space to grieve the loss of what I had, and gave me the time I needed to figure out what came next. He has been my biggest cheerleader throughout this journey, and sometimes I think he dreams even bigger for me than I do for myself. After his own long workdays, he’ll come home and help me with labels, packaging, and the financial side of the business. So when I say “we,” I truly mean it. Frost and Flourish may have started with my dream, but it has become a team operation.
At almost the exact same time I left my job, my sister—the person I had shared my love of baking with for more than 20 years, and who had also been my children’s caregiver while I worked—was hospitalized with kidney failure. Our family spent the following months adjusting to life without her at home and to the constant rhythm of hospital visits, as she remained there for much of that time. In January of this year, we lost her to that terrible disease, and we are still learning how to navigate life without her.
Losing her was devastating. She was the person I had started this journey with all those years ago, and for a while, I lost the joy in pursuing this dream altogether. But now, in some ways, Frost and Flourish has become a way to honor her memory and the time we shared. I wish more than anything that she were here to experience this journey with me, but I carry her with me in everything I do, and soon, I’ll be introducing some of the delicious desserts that she was known for making; Christmas is a very special time for my family.
There’s an old saying that you have to spend money to make money, and there is certainly truth to that when you’re building a business from the ground up. It’s terrifying to invest your time, energy, research, planning, and money into something when you have no guarantee that it will succeed. Trying to figure it all out while grieving the loss of someone you love, homeschooling young children, managing a household, and trying to make financially responsible decisions can feel tremendously overwhelming. I’m doing this because I love it, but also because I want to help financially support my family, not further cripple it.
Social media can make entrepreneurship look so simple and glamorous. Maybe it really is for some people, or maybe I just haven’t figured out that secret yet! In reality, there are countless details and decisions that have to be figured out along the way. And, of course, there’s always that little voice asking, “What if I completely bomb?”
I think pursuing a dream requires intentionally choosing to be tenacious. It requires sacrifice, discipline, and a willingness to create structure even when you’re technically your own boss. Setting my own schedule means I actually have to set a schedule. It means setting expectations for myself, creating boundaries, and learning how to manage my time. Cakes don’t bake themselves! When I have a market coming up, I have deadlines, and certain things have to be made in a certain order. Working out of a home kitchen comes with plenty of challenges and limitations—and an absolutely ridiculous number of dishes. Whew!
As I mentioned before, there are a lot of home bakers. There are brick-and-mortar bakeries, bakers with culinary degrees, and people with years of professional experience that I simply don’t have. I’m not TikTok or Instagram famous (yet!), and I don’t have a food blog with hundreds of recipes and paragraphs of backstory attached to each one.
But here I am, slowly making my way onto the scene, learning as I go, and—dare I say—doing it successfully.
More than anything, I hope Frost and Flourish shows my girls that it is never too late to pursue something you love. My passion for baking started when I was five years old, but it didn’t come to full fruition until I was nearly 45. I hope they don’t have to wait quite that long to figure out what they want to do with their lives, but I also want them to understand that there is no expiration date on a dream.
Sometimes the things we want most feel impossible, impractical, or completely out of reach. But if there’s one thing I’m learning through all of this, it’s that you have to be willing to take the risk. Because sometimes, the dreams that scare you the most are the ones worth pursuing.
Pricing:
- Artisan Bread Boules $13
- Mini Cakes $6 or 2 for $10
- Loaded Brownies $8
- Cinna-Twists $5
- Cookies per dozen $15 and up
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frostandflourishcottagebakery
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FrostandFlourishCottageBakery/
