Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Dotson.
Hi Jessica, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
It was February of 2021 when I hit a lull of wanting to do something with my creative side. I was still working from home full time, due to Covid, I had a 10-month-old and my dad was just diagnosed with Stage 4 Lung cancer and was living with us every other week while he received treatment. So needless to say, I was wanting to “find” myself and what I enjoyed most to have some ‘me’ time while also living in the whirlwind around me. When the ice storm hit, I spent days YouTubing how to make custom-decorated cookies – the icing was by far the trickiest part – the consistency is what’s key in every aspect.
I was toying with my recipe because not only did I want them to look good, but I also wanted them to taste just as good. My husband and dad thoroughly enjoyed this part as they were my in-house taste testers. I dropped samples off to my friends and asked for their feedback – good and bad. I got my creativity from my Dad – 100%.
He would sit with me at the table, until the late hours of the night, watching my flood and draw/write on cookies and be the first to say if I messed up or needed to tweak something because he didn’t like the way it looked.
Weeks later, I launched my Instagram page and posted and marketed as much as I could in hopes to get my name out there. By word of mouth, my name started getting out there and more and more orders were coming in. I’m super thankful to other local Artists/Vendors for allowing me to showcase in their events throughout the past couple of years: June Bug Designs & The Experience, Inc. I wouldn’t be where I am today without my customers – they’re the best!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, absolutely not. Learning something new and starting something new is never easy (to me, at least), but the struggle is what makes it worth it. There are many, many long nights and there have been even more sleepless nights.
Learning to balance this new passion, along with a full-time job and my first baby, and taking care of my dad when he was with us, was quite the struggle. It was hard. I l lost my dad in the summer of 2o21 and even still, when I get a big order, or learn a new technique, I want to call and tell him about it because I know he’d be so proud.
Going on two years later, I think I’m just now figuring out what is a “good” workload to where it doesn’t consume me every night and all weekend because a full-time job and life with a toddler are wild enough. We all know time is precious and enjoying time with your kids and family, is of the utmost importance and I want to be as present as I can in that aspect.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Custom Cookie Decorator – helping people celebrate any and every occasion! My most popular themes are: baby showers, children’s birthdays, milestone birthdays, and wedding showers
I think I’m most proud of not only my artwork on the cookies but the taste. I would bet I get more compliments on the taste of the cookie and icing combo!
What sets me apart from others? Good question. There are SO many cookie decorators in the Memphis area, all of which are so talented and the ones I’ve met are so nice. It really isn’t a ‘competitive’ thing to me because we will recommend others when our schedule is too full and that’s the nice part about it – in a sense, we can be a team and support each other.
What would you say has been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The most important lesson I’ve learned along this journey would be time management and not taking on more than I can personally handle!
There was a period in time when I was just non-stop and it was so tiring. I felt I was missing out on other things with family/friends because I wanted to help other people celebrate all the big moments in their lives!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @CookiesbyJess901
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066554986278
Image Credits
Katie Norrid Photography, Jess 901, Taylor Amen Designs, and Candace Mooneyham
