With a little help from my friends, or if you prefer, it takes a village.

Today, I was thinking about the one-year anniversary of Marneycakes coming up in March. The year has really flown by! Reflecting upon all the contributions that have been made (and are made on an ongoing basis) to support my efforts by those close to me warmed my heart tremendously. Check this out this charmed litany:

My Other Half, David Green, came up with the name Marneycakes in the first place. (He's brilliant with catchy titles and names.) It was David, and our friends Nancy and Chris Minerva, who first suggested that I really go for it and make a business of this passion/knack. David also came up with the "Piece of Cake!" moniker for this blog! He's my constant source of inspiration and support in every way imaginable, and even makes deliveries for me when I can't. (I tell him he's the only "delivery boy" I know of with a Ph.D.) :)

David and our dear friend Julie Chernov gave me a commercial convection oven for my birthday last year, which really helped. Julie and her family have also had me supply their cakes for festive family functions, large and small. Julie promotes me here, there and everywhere, and is an avid cheerleader. Julie's mom, Janet Fine, scouted commercial kitchen space for me!

My mother, father, and brother Jonnie chipped in last year and got me my 7 qt stand mixer for my birthday. (Thanks over and over, you guys!)

My daughter, Chloe Volz's keenly trained eye and creative flair have been priceless in evaluating and helping to create my cake designs. On her own, she designed and created the gift certificate I use for charity auctions and raffles, and of course, she also helps me with baking! Chloe always knows exactly the touch our cakes need. She puts the word out at Oceanside High School about really great custom cakes.

Lee Daly Smollen came up with my tag line, "There is always room for dessert!", as well as collaborated to come up with a fitting business card design. Lee also suggested a concept to me that was the seed for my new Babycakes (pictured above), and is constantly passing on helpful marketing suggestions, and encouragement.

Barbara Mattera and her Other Half, Bob Reinert are hooking me up for wedding cakes with their connections at local catering halls.

Seeing me stuck in my cake-only ways, Chef Shannon Pallen was relentless in her insistence that I needed to come up with some cupcake designs, and she was right! Shannon has also been terriffic about promoting Marneycakes to her clients. Shannon is a recent addition to the Marneycakes crew as well! (She's even got our official light blue culinary jacket, complete with personalization.)

Chef Lee Perrotta (a.k.a. The Chocolate Lady, of Oyster Bay) taught me some wonderful cake decorating flourishes, as she's taught literally thousands of people the Wilton cake decorating courses. She's been an enthusiastic consultant and collaborator.

Tom Brittelli has considerable experience in starting up and running successful food-related businesses, and has been very generous with his knowledge and advice. (Tom's probably the most cheerful person I know, as well. Everybody loves Tom!)

Linda has helped me with marketing and positioning ideas, and as an enthusiastic client, has also become an evangelist for Marneycakes.

Our friends and neighbors Denise and Jim Grant have been among my regular testers for new recipes. At 6'11", it takes a lot of food to fuel Jim's body. He's the only person I know who can be counted on to sit down and devour half a cake in one sitting, and never gain an ounce!

Amy Abbey has opened the PTA networking channels for me, always letting me know when there's an event where I can connect cake samples with taste buds. (That always results in orders!)

Lisa Schneider is a fellow believer in natural and gourmet foods (and a generally kindred spirit), so we're always on the same page with her orders. She's also been an avid supporter and informal p.r. agent since the day we met.

My many sweet friends at Bloomingdale's have been enthusiastic taste testers and supplies of feedback, and are also loyal clients.

Allison Freer emails me regularly to remind me of how proud of me she is, and to tell me that starting up Marneycakes was the greatest thing in the world for me.

Brenda (my hair colorist) and Roni (the owner) at Salon Montaage in Oceanside are wonderful about serving Marneycakes samples on Saturdays to augment local marketing exposure, and help grow my business.

Karen Rifai, the owner of Artrageous in Rockville Centre, first suggested her BYOB Friday nights as a place where I could serve my cakes, and promote myself. I'm incredibly grateful for the regular opportunity to serve samples to her customers (who are there to have a great time), and also do a very fun drawing for a complimentary cake each time I'm there. Karen has said that having me there on Friday nights adds to the festive atmosphere in her shop. I say Karen rocks the free world. A BYOB night also almost always ends in orders.

After reading about all those generous, supportive people, I'll bet you can understand why I feel so grateful and lucky. Each and every one makes Marneycakes a success.


"There is always room for dessert!" www.marneycakes.com