When Things Are Simply Meant To Be

Now that I have reached my first year milestone, I feel I have a little bit of Flourish history to share with you. Today, I reflect on how when things are meant to happen, they simply do.

Inspired by the candy counter at the Sweet Gourmet (http://www.shopsweetgourmet.com/) in Sayville, I had this idea to sell soap in much the same way you would buy chocolate by the pound. I envisioned stacks of handmade soaps cut and sliced into tempting bundles and edible scents. Some of my best ideas come to me at the most inconvenient times. So, it goes without saying that this "soap idea" of course proved to be no exception. I would say somewhere between 1 am and 3 am I had an idea to display the soaps bakery style by crafting the soaps into slices of cake, petit fours, tarts, and even brownies. This of course, was just one of the many ideas and visions I was coming up with for Flourish and certainly one that would have to be well researched.

However, when something is meant to happen, it simply does. And that is how my soap cakes came to be. Little did I know that the entire idea, product and resources would simply appear on my mother's dining room table only 2 days later with not so much as uttering a word about it to anyone. There on the center of the table was a beautifully presented basket loaded with fresh cut soaps just begging to be sampled. You see, my mother's friend knew someone who was making handmade soaps and was wondering if I would be interested in them since she knew I was about to open a bath and body boutique. I sampled them, loved them and contacted her almost immediately. During that first conversation I remember being a little reluctant to tell her about my Soap Cake idea but figured, why not? After I described my idea in meticulous detail about how I envisioned the soaps scents, colors and even the platters on which they would be displayed there was complete silence on the other end. I figured she thought I was crazy. To my astonishment and utter dismay she simply replied, "I am a pastry chef who now makes soap". What where the chances of this happening?

Within 4 weeks, I was presented with these exquisite custom created Strawberry Torts, Chocolate Bundt Cakes, Lavender Pies, Brownies and Petit Fours. Basically, exactly what I envisioned one sleepless night.