Today we’d like to introduce you to Samantha Terrana.
Samantha, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
A sweet man once sang, “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it. Anything you want to, do it; want to change the world… there’s nothing to it.“ And just like that, Willy Wonka changed my idea of life and the confectionary world indefinitely.
I remember the first time I ever watched the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, as a child. Gazing at such a euphoric place with bottomless pits of candy land dreams, lollipop wishes, and endless chocolate rivers, my spark was officially ignited into what is now my tiny nod to Mr. Wonka’s brilliance – Wild Child Cupcakes.
Fast forward to my 20-year-old self with an emotionally unbalanced life, being a single mom to the sweetest one-year-old human, juggling three jobs and somehow balancing college in between – the stress of the real world was suffocating me. Yet, somehow at the end of even the busiest day, I always found my peace in the kitchen surrounded by cake mix boxes, candy pieces, and piles of scratch written dessert combination ideas. My “me-time” meant blasting my music playlists from Billie Holiday and Etta James to Eazy-E and Fall Out Boy, while frosting and imagining what Mr. Wonka would say about this and that flavor combination. Eventually, after realizing I couldn’t (and shouldn’t) eat all of said craziness on my own, I started sharing the yummies among friends and family for feedback – all of which returned with “you should start a business! This is good stuff! You can totally sell this!” Ha! Like I was ready to join the world of the Cake Boss and Charm City Cakes !? Yeah, right !!
It wasn’t until one day, when I managed to make it on time to my English Literature university class and grabbed a seat in the front row, that the confectionary angels decided to shine down on my mind permanently. The class began with my professor holding up the thickest of books and announcing that it was to be read and reported on by the following week – which triggered an automatic panic attack inside of me and sent me running out the door five seconds after his announcement. I couldn’t even begin to fathom adding one more ounce to my workload – something for a future that I wasn’t even sure I cared to have on a diploma. After dashing desperately to my car, having a good hysterical stress-relieving cry, I firmly told myself “if you even dare drive off this campus, you better have a solid plan, Sam!”
Just like that, I sat in my tiny Toyota Corolla and took a blind chance, texting everyone in my phone letting them know I decided to take a leap and start my business. I told them I was selling boxes of 24 mini cupcakes, $5/box and free delivery, with the condition that they would get back to me with honest feedback. That first week I had 19 orders, the week after was 52, and the weeks to come kept multiplying orders. It was crazy! I worked all day and night after that, delivering orders on every corner of town with my daughter in one arm and pink cupcake boxes in another.
Weeks turned into months; months into almost ten years of growing my sweet business, raising three sugar-high wild children (and one more on the way), and having the most supportive sweet-toothed husband, who’s always willing to take one for the team with flavor samples and cake leftovers!
Has it been a smooth road?
In sweeter terms, it has definitely been a unique version of a “rocky road”. Throughout the years, there have moments than ran smooth as chocolate – other times a little nutty and rocky, while some seasons sticky but yummy, as marshmallow fluff, tends to be.
My struggles have varied between experiences, but all of them being what has driven me on to the next level of my potential. One of the toughest times was trying to prove myself to my mother, who believed I needed a college degree to be successful and happy in life. Her doubt, on some level, is what still fuels my fire to keep learning, expanding, and pushing my creative limits. Every happy client of mine fills that doubt in my heart just a little more.
What I’ve mostly come to learn in the years of exploring the MANY outlets of this sweet industry is that you never stop evolving and growing. There are times you’ll believe in every fiber of yourself, and other moments where you’ll struggle to find an ounce of motivation to keep going. As with every field, you will always find someone ahead of you and behind you – but both will have something to teach you. The main objective is to choose whatever makes you happy, and immerse yourself on every level until you reach your idea of success – and don’t ever let anyone else tell you otherwise.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Wild Child Cupcakes story. Tell us more about the business.
Imagine all of your childhood candy land dreams – chocolate drips for days, toasted marshmallow piles surrounding you, sprinkles of every shape and color filling every crack and crevice that candy bars and lollipops haven’t already touched, frosting swirls and cakes layers of every flavor, piled high and coated in happiness. Now imagine being able to see such a mountain of sweet euphoria coming your way, while awakening all of your inner “kid in a candy shop” vibes – THAT is the soul of Wild Child Cupcakes!
While I love a traditional chocolate chip cookie and an elegant French macaron, my company’s design aesthetic is surrounded by the idea of “what can I add to make this EXTRA looking and tasting, while bringing nostalgia back?!” The flavor list is endless (72 combinations and counting!), style inspirations come from everywhere, and the main qualifications of a Wild Child treat are for it to be sweet, tasty, and kinda crazy!
The Wild Child Cupcakes menu varies from cakes, chocolate dipped caramel pretzel wands, and condensed milk truffles, to crazy looking cake pops, uniquely decorated macarons, airbrushed chocolate-dipped sprinkle coated apples, yummylicious cookie sandwiches, tiny personal jar cakes, and SO much more!
While I wholeheartedly love making every treat listed above, my biggest pride and joys are the #Wildstyle cakes. Nothing brings me more satisfaction and pride than when a sweet client tells me “these are the colors, this is the theme, that’s the flavor – now do your thing!” I can’t even begin to describe what an honor it is to have full faith creative liberty handed to me by a trusting person. Such trust and motivation keep my drive alive!
Where do you see your industry going over the next 5-10 years? Any big shifts, changes, trends, etc?
Originally from Miami, FL, I moved my entire family and business here to the DFW area a little over a year ago. It’s been a challenging start for Wild Child Cupcakes, as there are sooo many brilliant sugar artists in the area and my main focus has been to settle my family’s new roots in such a big and exciting place. For now, I’m back to square one, working on reinventing the sugar spinning wheel and slowly introducing Texas to the Wild Child Cupcake madness.
While currently accepting orders as a home-based business, the main goal of Wild Child Cupcakes is to one day open a dessert bar, filled wall to wall with yummies and fun for everyone wishing to awaken their inner “kid in a candy shop” nostalgia!
Contact Info:
- Phone: 786-400-3672
- Email: WildChildCupcakesinc@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wildchildcupcakes_inc/
Image Credit:
Mario Terrana
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