Sophomore Ashlyn Bellmyer has her own bakery called Ashlyn’s Creamery and uses her baking skills to bring joy to other people’s lives. Bellmyer uses the Instagram @ashlyns_creamery to take orders and advertise her items.

Bellmyer got started in baking when she was little, watching members of her family cook. Another thing that got her into baking was watching TV shows to get started growing up. 

“I always used to watch my dad cook and I would bake with my grandma. I just slowly started to have a love for cooking so I started watching The Food Network and other cooking shows where I taught myself how to bake,” Bellmyer said. 

Bellmyer’s business idea first started when she tried a recipe and it turned out to be really delicious. Her dad then had the idea of selling her products and her business eventually grew until she was baking and selling other desserts as well.

“I tried out a new ice cream recipe and when I allowed my family to taste it, they went crazy for it,” Bellmyer said. “That spurred my business idea, which then lead to me starting to make cakes, cupcakes, and cookies.”

Librarian Ashley Bennett bought cupcakes and cookies from Ashlyn’s Creamery for her daughter’s 12th birthday and they were a hit. 

“It was easy to order through Ashlyn’s page, she answered all my questions quickly,” Bennett said. “The cupcake and frosting were a perfect combination and the cookies were huge and amazing.”

With prices of certain things increasing, Bellmyer shares her struggle with getting the ingredients and materials she needs to sustain her business. 

“Some challenges I have is of course currently the inflation of prices. Butter, eggs, and flour have increased in prices majorly over the past year,” Bellmyer said. 

Another struggle that Bellmyer faces is scheduling out her week to time for her bakery and school. 

“To balance school and my business I have to have a written schedule,” Bellmyer said. “I also need to only schedule a certain number of orders a week, and be able to know I have time to accomplish my orders.”

After Bellmyer started expanding her business and making cakes, cookies, and cupcakes, as well as ice cream, her cakes became a favorite among her customers. Though her cakes are well liked, Bellmyer does have seasonal favorites as well. 

“My most popular item is my cakes. People love personalized cakes and order them for birthdays, graduations and more. But during the summer, ice cream is probably the number one,” Bellmyer said. 

It is very important to Bellmyer to use baking as a creative outlet and make desserts she is proud of. 

“The best thing about creating baked goods is me being able to be creative and put my ideas into an edible form,” Bellmyer said.