Today we’d like to introduce you to Geralyn Shives.
Hi Geralyn, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
About five years ago, I was working in corporate America at a desk job that I was not passionate about at all – I knew I wanted to be doing something more fun and creative. One day, I came across a video tutorial of a cookie being decorated with royal icing on social media, and I thought to myself, “that would be so fun to try!”
I learned everything I could by searching YouTube, watching tutorials, reading blogs, testing recipes, and practicing as much as I possibly could!!! Just for fun, I was posting the beginnings of my cookie journey on my personal Facebook, and someone reached out to me to create a 250 cookie wedding order, and Royally Decorated has continued to multiply ever since!
Royally Decorated has recently branched out and started a 3D custom cookie cutter Etsy shop called Mountain High Cookie Cutters. Our cutters are uniquely shaped and hand-illustrated with sturdy quality for all seasons and occasions!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned? Would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The journey has been both smooth and rocky! You wouldn’t know by looking at it, but royal icing is extremely finicky to work with! There are so many aspects that a “cookier” needs to keep in mind when using it. One of the biggest ones is dryness/humidity, and we all know Colorado has a lot of one and barely any of the other, haha! Plus, it’s always a challenge to be a first-time business owner, but I continue to surprise myself with the things I can learn and achieve!!
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about what you do?
I specialize in hand-crafted sugar cookies decorated with royal icing! From creating my sugar cookie recipe to spending countless hours on blogs and YouTube teaching myself new techniques, I’ve put in so much effort to ensure I perfect every part of the cookie for my clients!
I’m most proud that I’ve taught myself everything I know.
What sets Royally Decorated apart is not only are the wonderful cookies works of art, they taste even better!
What was your favorite childhood memory?
My absolute favorite childhood memory is every year when Christmas came around, all of the girls in our family would gather at my grandma’s house to spend hours baking Christmas cookies together. We would make endless amounts of cookies, laugh, talk, eat cookie dough, and drink hot chocolate. I looked forward to that time each year – it was the best, most warming holiday tradition that I hope to one day host with my daughter and any granddaughter I may have in the future!
Pricing:
- Pricing is fully dependent on the specifics of the cookie design. However, my minimum price per dozen is $72.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.royallydecorated.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/royallydecorated/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/royallydecorated
