After a year of planning, designing, re-planning, re-designing, we're ONLINE!   Wowwie it's been hard. Mainly because I'm trying to do everything all at once - marketing, photo shoots, website, new macaroon flavours, market stall, exhibitions, weddings, my best friend's baby shower (okay, so I miss wedding planning and am trying to pass off the baby shower as another excuse to go militant crazy organising, uhh and I heart my bezzie too). I'm also bad at saying "No" and sticking to rigid working hours and not letting it all spill over. Such is the life of the business owner. However, despite the ups and downs of letting this drag on for as long as I have, I am so very ecstatic with the work my photographer, Jean Cazals, and graphic designer, Polly Playford, have done to create such a visually pleasing space on the world wide web for Anges de Sucre.   Let's talk about the photos. Aren't they beautiful? I am like a doting new mommy staring at her macaroon babies and going "I can't believe I created them" and then "awww". Maybe I got a bit misty-eyed. Is that a bit much?  We've spent a lot of time stomping around the antique shops and markets in Kensington and Columbia Road, discovering cool and kooky such as diaries from the 1800s, beat-up and well-travelled maps and suitcases, all spread across many floors and meticulously organised (why is my home not like this??) while having a gossip and copious coffee.

 

If you're in the area, it's worth popping in just to have a wander, wonder and a natter.   Once we've made little scenes and sketches for each flavour, I get into an experimental frenzy and whip up new recipes, mixing and matching colours, and go through heart-break each time there's a flop (which there are a fair few of) and have a new victory dance each time there's a hit. We've done a signature session and a cocktail session thus far and have a few more coming up for some exciting projects.

Pistachio and Vanilla macaroons from the signature collection on a macaroon tower

 

 

 Mojito macaroons from the Cocktail collection

  Now onto the design. Polly's created a gorgeous new logo, Anges de Sucre macaroons' own wallpaper and stationery and a fresh and chic website. I thought I knew what I wanted - I love Penny Farthings, birdcages, cherubs, polka dots, floral anything, stag-heads and of course, duck egg blue. I just didn't know how difficult it would be to put it all together. Polly grabbed all of that and created something that I want to wrap around everything! How pretty would this be on tea-towels, aprons, cushions, shower curtains, skirts, bags? Diapers even! But for now, we're limiting it to the out-of-this-world packaging that's being mocked-up.  

 

Rather than plastering the wallpaper all over the website, Polly's used elements of it in a creative, careful and clever way. That's how I would sum her up. So if you're looking for a graphic designer who is all of the above, Polly's your gal. Oh, and she's dead cool.

So what's next? A Camden Lock Market stall on Thursday night, packaging, setting up the online macaroon retail shop, more new flavours and awesome photography with Jean, styled bridal shoots with some seriously talented people in the wedding industry, the Designer Wedding Show, and Taste for Christmas. Before I forget - a competition too to win a goody bag of the best selling macaroons! So check back in a bit will you?

Reshmi x

ps- Meet the smiliest lab I met in Bishop's Park. Awww.