Do you love cake?

I have a confession to make. I love sweets! If it has sugar in it, I will probably love it. if it has chocolate in it, I will love it even more! If it has fruits and berries in it, I’ll have it for breakfast!

So if you like sugar and cake then I urge you to keep reading because you are going to be part of a community that is fun, educational and tasty!

I recently joined Colette & Lola as the Operations Director.
I’ve always liked the brand even when it first started.

I admired it from a distance. And eventually tried their cakes and really liked the flavors and designs they had.

You walk into any of the Colette & Lola cake studios and instantly you feel like you’re in a dreamy cake wonderland!

I am writing this blog because I want to share with you my vision for Colette & Lola, but before I do, I want to share two specific moments in my life where cake was involved.

My first memory of cake

The first memory was when my mother baked a birthday cake on my 6th birthday when I lived in Holland. She baked what we call in Dutch, a “Colombijn” cake, which is similar to the Indonesian “Kue Bolu”. I remember having a smile from ear to ear because my mother had baked a cake especially for me!

That was a rare treat back then. I remember I couldn’t stop smiling and I was wearing a huge goofy smile, which I wore until my cheek muscles starting cramping up.
 
My friends gathered around the cake, and instantly I felt loved and had butterflies in my stomach because I was so excited! I still remember the white frosting with sugar coated nuts on the side and piped brown chocolate swirls on top of the cake.
 
I remember my first bite being light, fluffy and creamy from the frosting nestled perfectly in between the layers of cake. It had just the right amount of sweet and smooth creamy texture.
 
It was heaven! Almost dream-like.  It was an emotional and fun experience! I could feel the love my mom had put into that cake and to this day, it remains one of my fondest memories.

My Second Memory of Cake

The second memory, was when my first dog died when I was 10 years old. His name was Bello, a good and loyal dog that would always run and jump up on me when he saw me come out the car from school.

Every Sunday, I would laze about on my porch and he would always sit next to me, as we both stared at the beautiful blue sky. I would share stories with him and somehow I felt that Bello always understood me, as he looked at me with those kind round and sparkly eyes.

He was my companion.

My buddy who would follow me wherever I went.
 
When Bello passed away, I was extremely upset. I remember this huge lump form in my throat as I was trying to hold back the tears.

It was the first time I had experienced death.

I didn’t know how to process it. Who was going to sit with me on the porch and stare at the sky? Who was going to greet me whenever I came home from school?
 
The following day, my best friend at school, a girl called Kim, saw the sadness that had taken its place in my eyes and heart.

The next day, Kim surprised me with a small white vanilla cake, that had a round yellow chocolate in the shape of a smiley face drawn with a dark brown chocolate, the edges were surrounded by multi-colored sprinkles.
 
My big goofy smile instantly came back as I was reminded that I had friends who cared for me.

That’s the power of friendship and cake.

Those are my two biggest memories of cake in my life.

Cake is not just something you receive or give to someone. There’s an emotional attachment to a cake. A memory, a sign of friendship, an act of love and a sign that you truly care.

So what happened to cake over the years?

Once I became an adult, I lost that feeling of happiness whenever I received a cake. Some of the cakes I received almost felt… boring.

They looked as if not a lot of love was put into the making of those cakes.
 
The magic was gone
That feeling of happiness was gone
My big goofy smile was gone

So my dear reader, why am I sharing all this with you?

My job title may be; Operations Director of Colette & Lola, which basically means that I run the business.

But honestly, I don’t see myself as an Operations Director.

Instead, I see myself as having one mission:

I want to bring back that feeling I had when I was a kid. I want to feel excited again about cake and what it meant to receive it. The feeling of friendship, love from family. Making connections with people.

I'd like to focus on bringing the fun and emotion back into giving and receiving a beautiful cake!

Best of all, I want to share this with you all!
That’s my job. That’s our job here at Colette & Lola.

We have recently released some exciting new cake designs and flavors that do just that, bring the emotion back into cake!

So stay tuned to this blog and our social media for exciting updates.

One Small Favor to Ask of You

Oh and one more thing!
 
I’d like to ask you for a small favor
I want to ask you to share your best cake memory with me.
 
Here is a picture of me.

 

I can often be found sitting in the Colette & Lola outlets working. So if you see me sitting in an outlet, please don’t be shy and come up to me and say hello.  Introduce yourself and just say that “you’d like to share your cake memory with me”
 
I’ll buy you a slice of cake for sharing your favorite memory with me.

See you in our Colette & Lola cake studios!

Arvid