Kate Owens is the owner of KupKates Custom Cakes in downtown Valparaiso. Her work allows her to create beautiful cakes and delicious sweets, but that also means spending a lot of time away from family. As a business owner, Owens is always happy to return home to her toddler and husband each evening.
Owens has been baking since she was a young girl and has fond memories of baking with her dad.
When Owens was in high school, her photography teacher told her about Designer Desserts in Valparaiso. She decided to take her love of baking to a new level and began working there. At Designer Desserts, she was a decorator and happily learned from the more experienced bakers.
After working at Designer Desserts, Owens worked in four more bakeries before opening her own storefront.
“It’s fun. I am excited to do something new every day,” said Owens. “I’m happy that people trust us to let us be creative with their vision. It’s an awesome feeling for people to come in and be excited about what you made.”
Owens has always been artistic. She took every art class she could in high school and began to see the art in frosting. Working with fondant is still one of her favorite things about her business. She loves to design intricate cakes, and wedding cakes are particularly good for showing her creative side.
It took about eight years before Owens was ready to open her own store. She had the talent and love of her craft, but opening was still stressful. She is grateful to have had her family and husband to lean on while she made her dream happen.
“My husband and I just had a daughter at the beginning of the pandemic, which was kind of a blessing in disguise,” Owens said. “We got to be really close without a lot of outsiders. The business was closed, and I had my baby. We have another one coming in September.”
At KupKates, Owens also gets to work alongside her mother. She noted how her parents have been two of her biggest supporters throughout this journey of opening her business.
“My mom is here all the time, whether it be washing dishes or talking to customers,” said Owens. “I wouldn’t have been able to open this without my parents. They truly backed the whole thing for me.”
Now that she and her store are settled, Owens did some expanding, including hiring two workers. They both bring so much to the store; one woman is a trained baker while the other is a high school student. The high schooler works beautifully with fondant, and Owens hopes the love of baking has been sparked in her just as it was in herself at that age.
While these two new employees are on the payroll, there is one other young girl that is expected to join them in the shop. Owens’ daughter spends a lot of time at KupKates. She was born during the pandemic and has been able to socialize while in the shop. Many pandemic babies struggle with meeting new people, but Owens’ daughter has no trouble. Her daughter plays with fondant like playdoh while watching the others bake, though Owens wanted to reassure readers that the fondant her daughter uses as a toy is not used in the products they create.
Owens hopes that she can mirror with her daughter the memories she carries of baking with her dad when she was young.
KupKates makes beautiful cakes for all occasions, including themed birthday parties where little cartoon characters pose on each tier. The shop also sells special holiday sweets. For St. Patrick’s Day, there were leprechaun and clover-themed macarons. On Thanksgiving, Owens took pie pre-orders. Halloween brought jack-o-lantern, spider-web, and monster-themed cookies and macarons. Every holiday, Owens creates something fun and delicious.
Owens’ shop is a cheerful place to be. When stopping by, Owens and her daughter will happily greet you and so will the smell of baking delicacies.