The story of Haute Stacker begins in my chocolate shop, The Cordial Cherry, in August of 2016. There I was, amongst my precious cordial cherries, multi-tasking...running my shop, preparing for the upcoming holiday season, and discussing baby shower arrangements with my top chocolatier, who was expecting her first-born. She is an amazing chocolatier and pastry chef, and I knew there was no way I could impress her with anything I would make, so in jest, I suggested we serve doughnuts. We laughed at the notion of a fancy pastry chef being served Krispy Kreme or Dunkin Donuts...but the more we talked through it, the more we felt like the idea would be perfect. Everyone loves doughnuts, we'd serve and assortment to appeal to all, and it would be soooo easy.
But, with my mind fixated on making things pretty, I just couldn't accept the idea of simply setting doughnuts on a platter or serving them straight out of the box! Instead I would stack them on a beautiful wooden pedestal and post that I built in my dad's garage. I built four of them and they were each 26 inches tall! I painted them black and topped all of them with ornately decorated beads. It was a really pretty display...each doughnut was separated by a flattened cupcake liner, which gave an impression of ruffled lace...they sort of resembled the Victorian bustles of the late 1800s. I was so happy with the way they turned out...and the thought that these VERY casual pastries could look so impressive by simply stacking them made my heart flutter with pride.
The moment of truth...as guests arrived, everyone's attention was drawn to these beautiful towers of doughnuts...except nobody realized they were doughnuts! As the shower progressed, the doughnut towers continued to spark conversation...people asking where I bought them and if I was selling them at The Cordial Cherry!
I remembered this feeling from earlier in my entrepreneurial life...it was the same feeling I got when I realized people were amazed by my designer cordial cherries. It's a truly physical response that includes a combination of increased heart rate, internal smiling, and a tingling sensation that runs through one's extremities. You DON'T ignore these signals...I believe it's God's way of telling you that something AMAZING is about to happen so hold on!
Now here comes the problem...by the time we were ready to serve doughnuts, they had begun to collapse under the weight of those above. The shower was a success and the doughnuts were a hit...nobody seemed disappointed about the collapsing doughnuts, but I was. I bid everyone adieu and tidied up, but my mind was full of so many thoughts...it was complete overload for my very ADHD brain.
As the days moved on, I couldn't stop thinking about everyone's reaction. The feeling I described earlier only intensified...with sudden bursts of excitement as I envisioned modifying my doughnut stacker so that the doughnuts wouldn't collapse. My mind was in full-blown invention-mode...if I could come up with a way to prevent the doughnuts from getting squashed, people everywhere could stack doughnuts! I know there are bigger problems in the world to solve, but I believed (and still do) inventing a new way for people to celebrate life's most precious moments is a noble endeavor too, so the quest was underway and there was no way I could escape this new mission.
Over the next year, I would work in secret developing prototypes, collaborating with engineers, discussing how to protect my idea with a patent attorney and dreaming about building a company that would bring whimsy and beauty to people's lives. My final design was more incredible than I could've ever imagined. Not only are you able to stack doughnuts...you can stack nearly anything! Imagine towers of cookies, cakes, bagels, chocolates, sandwiches, sushi, cheese...the list goes on and on!
With my patent application filed and my invention officially "Patent Pending", I can start talking freely and showing it off to everyone! There's so much to do still...and I feel like I'm embarking on a journey that could be an adventure of a lifetime.
