Today we’d like to introduce you to Mik Nuzzi.
Hi Mik, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The last time I caught up with the Voyager team, Mik & Cookies was Los Angeles based and barely a year old, and now we are in sunny San Diego and celebrating three years of colorful cookies. The journey to this point has been winded, curvy, filled with crazy high peaks and ultra-low lows. But everything along the way has made me and this business into what it is today. The idea of Mik & Cookies came to be in 2017, during a time of transition, as I was actively seeking new job opportunities and making myself open to new ideas that were presented. At this point in my life, I was craving a change in my life! Then, for Halloween, I got inspired to make a batch of decorated sugar cookies for our annual costume party. They were far from perfect, but I immediately fell in love with icing cookies and decorated often in my free-time. Having no actual skill in drawing, but a knack for being creative, I was actually always the worst at putting my ideas down on paper. So when I discovered that royal icing was a medium, I enjoyed working with, the artist in me was born and I began decorating cookies constantly. I would bring in my creations to the office for everyone to enjoy on a Monday morning, boosting spirits and making people smile.
Eventually, my friends around the office were inquiring about ordering cookies from me, which was SHOCKING — my first order was for the wedding of a co-worker. Just four months after decorating my first sugar cookie, I quit my desk job to pursue this full-time with the support of everyone around me. I couldn’t have done it without them. The change I craved was cookies! In the three short years since starting Mik & Cookies, I have made cookies for Hollywood stars, amassed a following of 67k cookie fans online, launched a successful online shop with recipes, digital cookie classes, cookie cutters, and baking supplies, won a competition at THE CookieCon, and even made my TV debut on Food Network’s Christmas Cookie Challenge this last holiday season! Not to mention everything else in between, it’s been a surreal journey, and a true story of taking a risk and finding PURE joy. The future is boundless!
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Every business faces its struggles and battles, but no business has faced anything like what we all faced in 2020. I know every story is different and we are fairly lucky to have come out of last year still afloat, with notable accomplishments under our belt and still shining brightly. That’s all thanks to the support from our community and clients. They rallied, cheered us on, and encouraged us to keep going. At the beginning of 2020, we were in the final stages of negotiations on a retail space to turn Mik & Cookies into a real life place for creating, hosting cookie classes, enjoying sweet treats. Unfortunately, with the turn of events in March 2020, we walked away with our heads hung low and ended up moving out of Los Angeles entirely by May 2020. A change we never saw coming. I scrambled to figure out the direction for Mik & Cookies after leaving the other plan behind, eventually turning to merchandise and building an online shop for my brand. I had already built a solid digital portfolio of offerings from cookie recipes to cookie decorating guides so the next best thing was expanding on that and bringing tangible products to the customers too.
Because that was the whole idea with the shop originally, to make Mik & Cookies a tangible brand. I can’t physically make cookies for everyone but I want to provide as many people as I can with recipes, tutorials, and the tools necessary to get the job done. The newfound “free time” in 2020 allowed me to create new merchandise and products, and allowed me more time to work on in-depth digital guides and tutorials, such as icing coloring and cohesive color palette building. Even though I didn’t get to teach anyone in a cookie classroom last year, we still got to learn together virtually, and they got to order supplies at the same time they bought their guides. That was truly incredible and I am still in awe looking back on how Mik & Cookies evolved this last year!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Mik & Cookies specializes in decorated cookies and offering tools and fun delights for cookies, bakers, and creators alike. Digital content creation for social media usage is another fun avenue of my business, from 15-second quick tips to in-depth tutorials, I love to create for other companies and brands and make education fun. For the hobbyists or someone looking to learn the art of cookie decorating, I offer an array of digital tutorial downloads, from recipes to cookie classes, there is always something new to learn and inspiration to be found.
I also lead cookie decorating classes and virtual events! What’s great about my brand is that people enjoy following along and supporting not only for my art and cookies, but for ME too. I love getting to share who I am as an individual and connecting with others online by sharing my life and adventures with my husband, Spencer, along with my story as a cookier. I want my presence online to feel inviting, achievable, positive, and inspiring. I find that my cookies stand out from the rest because they are an extension of myself, with their positive energy, whimsical designs, eye-catching color palettes, and fun vibes.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Resilience and positivity have been pretty key characteristics in my success. When starting anything new, one needs to be completely open-minded and ready for failure but remain resilient to always bounce-back. Not every idea will stick and not every concept will be successful in practice, and that’s OK! As long as one keeps their head high and powers through the hard times with resilience and positivity, they will flourish, feel joyful, and find success. If and whenever I feel my success “isn’t good enough” in comparison to others, I like to reflect on the things I wished I had three years ago, and I’ll feel totally happy with and proud of what this journey has brought me and how far I have come. I mean, I MAKE COOKIES AND SPREAD POSITIVITY FOR A LIVING!! It’s a total dream come true.
Pricing:
- Recipes from $7
- Cookie supplies from $5
Contact Info:
- Email: mik@mikandcookies.com
- Website: www.mikandcookies.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikandcookiesco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mikandcookies
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPRqtxp_hGw4BRDGjAyRC6w
Image Credits
Mik & Cookie LLC
