Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana Sorto Watson.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’m a gifter. I love giving people meaningful gifts. One day, I wanted to give my mom a chocolate covered strawberry arrangement for her birthday.
Being a single mother, I had to work something out, on a budget.
So I made it myself! I dipped the strawberries and put them in a basket with flowers. And when my mom got her gift, she cried.
I started off doing strawberries. I gradually worked myself up to dipping other things, like pretzels and Oreos… the next year I learned how to make breakable hearts. I made one for my mom and sister for mother’s day. They loved it. And that’s when I finally decided to take a leap of faith and promote items.
In 2023, my sister had a life changing stroke and I became one of her caretakers along my mom. It gave me the push to make my business a full time venture. I still had to work and make some type of income through the pain and uncertainty my family was facing. I had to quit my job of 12 years to help out with her. It was a very trying time, but it also gave me the opportunity to grow my business. I now specialize in royal icing cookies, fun and colorful cakes and cupcakes, and all types of chocolate dipped desserts. I’ve done every type of celebration and holidays, from celebrations of life to weddings.
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 would say yes and no. Luckily the type of work I do is edible, so my family has been fed a lot of my ugly creations.
But in the beginning, I had to invest a lot in supplies and material. A lot of wasted stuff!
I’ve also had a tough time balancing work and family life. As I mentioned, I’m a caretaker. That takes a lot of mental, emotional and physical toll. In the beginning, I was working a lot of times behind years. I wasn’t as skilled and as proficient with time, so I worked a lot of late hours.
Art takes time. And time is gone once it passes by. A lot of late nights and weekends I’ve worked. I still do sometimes when my load is too heavy as I work alone, but that’s simply because I either underestimate how long the orders are going to take me or I just decided to start late. It’s all about balance
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a baker. I create different pieces of art through chocolate, butter cream and royal icing.
I was so scared to try royal icing sugar cookies. It seemed almost impossible.
But when I finally did, within the year, my skill level improved so much.
I think my love for art, appreciation for perfection and my ability to make my designs come to life really helped me to get to where I am with them now.
I’m the type that just needs a few details and my mind starts racing. It comes so easy for me to grab my vision and apply it to my cookies or cakes. And it always works out!
On a weekly basis, I produce anywhere from 8-12 dozen cookie sets. And I’m doing maybe 2-3 cakes a week now.
How do you think about happiness?
Being able to add some beauty and sweetness to my customer’s celebrations and events makes me happy.
The positive feedbacks as well.
I know my work. I know it tastes good. And I know it’s beautiful.
But the reassurance from them makes it all worthwhile. Some of these celebrations are really personal. Whether it’s a baby’s arrival or a birthday, it could be the baby they’ve been wanting for years, or a first birthday being full blown celebrated. You never know. I treat every order the same. You just never know what they mean to someone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.anabananachocolatecreations.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anabananachocolatecreations
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/anabananachocolatecreations/
- Other: https://g.co/kgs/fZA9zq
