Meet Priscilla & Michael Sweet | Sweets Extraoardinaires

We had the good fortune of connecting with Priscilla & Michael Sweet and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Priscilla & Michael, what do you attribute your success to?
In short answer – building relationships.

We have come to find that in everything we do: networking, consultations, answering the phone, even eating out the key to success is building a relationship with that person. We network A LOT – so when you take the time to get to know someone and their business or their goals they are much more likely to keep you top of mind. We take note of details about their life ( kids, pets, events, etc) and bring those up in conversation. When we speak with wedding couples – its not just “ok, what flavor would you like” We start with “how did you meet?”, “What made you choose your venue?”. These questions allow us to learn more about them and make the experience more personal rather than transactional. If they are wearing a particular brand or team clothing and we can relate ( whether good or bad – sometimes if its a rival it brings a few chuckles!). When answering the phone – our opening statement is “Tell us more about the event” we welcome all details. And finally eating out. Nothing ruins a dining experience than a server who’s had a bad day – and you can tell. The service is crappy, the food may be cold and late, its very impersonal. We take the time to ask – “how’s your day been?”, “What do you recommend on the menu.” anything to get them talking – tattoos are a great ice-breaker or something unique about their appearance.

You would think the typical business owner would say the answer to this is great marketing. Well yeah it is but it’s much more than that. Relationships, transparency and humility are probably the 3 things we want to extend once our company grows.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
This one goes to Priscilla, as she is the lead artist and the creator of what you see coming from our bakery in terms of cakes. I am a self taught artist although I feel like throughout my childhood I must have absorbed some creative skill from my Mom – who was a Pre-school teacher and very artistic – she drew a lot and of course made crafts with the kids and also with us. I spent 20 years in retail management so that helped we deal with people and situations. Growing as a cake artist takes time – I defenetly learned what works and what doesn’t work, unfortunately by creating and then getting feedback. Like Learning that you can’t put fondant in a humid refrigerator because fondant and moisture are enemies. So learning these tips and tricks on how to apply certain edible materials and how to achieve certain designs is behind many hours of hands on practice, research and risk. Just like a chef who’s creating a new recipe – you have to make it to find out if it will taste good. I also learned what I do, and don’t like to do. Cake artists, like any creative, has a focus and a specialty. For example, I absolutely despise square cakes. They take forever to frost because of the corners and I just prefer not to do them. I would rather spend my time making animals out of fondant and elaborate wedding cakes ( round ones lol).

I also found out that I am naturally drawn to bold colors – I might be heavy handed with the food coloring, but that’s also what sets me apart – most of my cakes are bold cakes with bright colors – you wont find many pastels in my portfolio.

That’s what I would say is our brand – Bold colors, Bold flavors, Bold cakes. We won’t take just any order – we ask a lot of questions and if it is right for us – we will take it because we know we can create an amazing product and gain a satisfied customer.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
OOOh – this is tough. So Michael and I are big foodies – we love unique experiences and just good food. I would say among those would be speakeasy’s. Undertow and 36 below are ones we frequent. Mexican food of course! Blanco Tacos is super tasty. Barrio Queen is also one of our faves. Local on the west side I would say Social on 83rd is also on our list. Bubba’s 33 for some good ol’ American eats. I mean we have a spot for every type of food. Chicken wings? Crazy Mikes hands down. Pizza? Doda’s Pizza. Italian? Adela’s in Phoenix or L’Amoure in the East Valley.

Maybe we take a trip up North for the sights, downtown Phoenix is super fun – Priscilla grew up in the city so definitely hit up Hanny’s or Cibo or Oven & Vine.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Our Amazing Arizona Community! Made up of those very relationships we spoke of earlier – fellow entrepreneurs, past, current and future clients, friends & Family! Honestly anytime we have needed help in our journey we have turned to our supporters.

Website: www.silverrosebakery.com

Instagram: @silverrosebakery

Facebook: @silverrosebakery

Yelp: @silverrosebakery

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Image Credits
Az Wed Pics