WICHITA — When Ashley Stanley graduated from McPherson College in 2008, she hoped to get a job using her graphic design degree.
“The economy has made it pretty difficult for that,” she says.
So while doing freelance graphic design, Stanley continued the baking she started at her mother’s former kitchen store, Kitchen Connection, in Great Bend.
“It’s been kind of a side hobby of mine,” Stanley says. “Then I decided, you know, I really love to bake. I love to combine my love of art and cooking. Why not take a chance and start something?”
So she’s debuting her new Cupcakery business for Valentine’s Day.
Stanley will continue baking out of her mother’s former space and have drop points (such as Brick’s at Bradley Fair) “to kind of break into the market and kind of get a feel for things in Wichita.”
She’ll serve the Great Bend market also.
Stanley is trying to set herself apart with unusual flavor combinations and offerings like cherry limeade cake.
If things go well, Stanley says, “I might want to take a leap and see where it can go from there” with a storefront.
“That’s kind of the purpose of this, just to see how everything goes over.”