Today we’d like to introduce you to Layce Smith.
Hi Layce, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
Hi, there. I am Layce Smith, a former editor turned high school English teacher turned baker/entrepreneur. My cottage food home bakery is called Heirloom Baking Company, and I would love to briefly tell the story of how it came to be.
Heirloom Baking Company was born from the summer doldrums of a bored high school English teacher in the year 2019. As a person with many hobbies, I usually have no problem filling free time with various projects and activities, but that particular summer I needed a new challenge. I had learned about a growing trend in decorated cookies, already developed my own shortbread recipe, and learned how to make a simple flood-consistency royal icing. While I figured the trend was likely on its way out, I thought it might be fun to set up a website and Instagram account to share what I had already done and see if anyone might like me to make them a custom order.
As it turned out, the trend was not dying. In fact, more and more people were learning about it, and decorated cookies seemed to be showing up at special events almost as often as decorated cakes. I was a bit late to the party, but the demand was high enough that there was room for me to take part. At that time, I viewed Heirloom as a hobby with the potential to fund itself if I could make just enough money to cover the cost of supplies. That was my only goal, and it worked out pretty well. I began to take custom cookie orders here and there from friends and family, and slowly the business grew by word-of-mouth.
Over time, I considered the possibility that baking could be more than just a self-sustaining hobby. My husband, Tanner, and I have been on the financial independence retire early (FIRE) track since we married 8 years ago, and one of our goals has always been to save up enough not necessarily so that we could quit working, but rather to enable us to bet on ourselves and start our own business. We had talked for years about a beautiful little bakery that I might run someday. We imagined a place where someone could wander in and feel as though they were in their grandma’s kitchen. It wouldn’t be sleek and trendy and impersonal; it would be cozy and familiar, homely. In the midst of a trying school year during what we thought to be the tailend of a terrible global pandemic, I felt like I needed that bakery more than ever, I wondered if maybe other people needed it too, and we seemed to be in a good position for me to take the leap.
Rather than dive headfirst into a full-blown commercial endeavor, I decided to try to sell my wares at a farmer’s market as a cottage food business in the spring of 2021. After looking around at various markets, I was thrilled to be accepted as a vendor to the Denton Community Market. The aesthetic of the market, which is set among the beautiful, storied homes of the Denton County Historical Park, fit perfectly with my own aesthetic goals, and I really loved the market’s producer-only policy. I showed up on my first Saturday with my great grandmother’s pink table cloth, some antique jadeite cake stands that my friends and family bought me one year for my birthday, and my two staple products: decorated almond shortbread and mini chocolate chip cookie cakes. I loved every minute of that day, and I have loved every minute of every market day since then.
From the local producers and wonderful patrons who frequent the Denton Community Market, I have found so much support and the affirmation that there are other people out there who need the bakery of my dreams as much as I do. I would love for Heirloom to have an actual storefront someday, but for now I am happy to invite people into my kitchen through social media and to interact with new and returning customers at my open-air booth on Saturday mornings. As I continue to develop new products, build relationships, and allow my business to grow and evolve, my focus for Heirloom will be on creating that cozy, familiar atmosphere where anyone can feel at home.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was teaching full-time, coaching track, planning a prom for my graduating seniors, and taking custom orders when I started selling at the Denton Community Market in the spring of 2021. This proved challenging, to say the least, and led to more than one snotty-nosed sobbing session, to say the most. When I decided to take Heirloom to the next level while still teaching, I knew it was going to be tough; however, I also knew that I wanted to find out if my small business had the potential to grow beyond what I was already doing, and I wanted to have a pretty good idea of that potential before I considered leaving a job that meant a great deal to me.
Even though it was a difficult season in the beginning, I have had the greatest group of people helping me out all along the way. My husband, Tanner, attends every market with me out of the goodness of his heart, my family and friends from various walks of life stop by periodically to offer support, and I have some amazing regular customers who have made this journey feel so worthwhile.
We’ve been impressed with Heirloom Baking Company, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Heirloom Baking Company specializes in carefully curated collections of consumable curios. Whimsical, highly decorated shortbread is where it all began and is still at the heart of the company with over 15 flavors (including savory as well as vegan and gluten-free options), but Heirloom is also known for making cookie cakes. The almost-too-pretty-to-eat baked goods that have come to represent the Heirloom brand are a delicious testament to my overall mission: making everyday life more beautiful for everyday people.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I am always coming up with new flavors that require fruits, nut butters, cheeses, etc. Therefore, I love getting what I need from other local producers when possible and then promoting their products alongside my own. The best way to support my endeavor as a small business (apart from coming to the Denton Community Market and buying from me) is to support other small businesses by shopping local as much possible. I would love to see a world in which more local producers can earn a livable wage and more people have the opportunity to shop at local markets where their money goes back into their own communities.
Contact Info:
- Email: heirloombaking@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.heirloombaking.company
- Instagram: @heirloombakingcompany
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heirloombakingcompany
