THE BEARON
the tumbled adventures of an insatiable aesthete.
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ghostly’s music for ideas cover. art by Michael Cina
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Does anyone think I really sell cupcakes?
On Friday, Johnny Cupcakes founder Johnny Earle stopped by the Ann Arbor Public Library as part of his Johnny Cupcakes Lecture Series. The event was awesome for budding entrepreneurs and fans of the cult brand. Johnny wore a bow tie, one fan brought salted chocolate chip cookies, and goodie bags were hidden under every seat. And no, Johnny Cupcakes still doesn’t sell cupcakes.
10 Things I learned from Johnny Cupcakes:
#1 Open stores where people have cool accents. Johnny Cupcakes just opened their first international boutique in London. “I chose to open a store there because people there have cool accents”. One might argue that the Boston and LA stores also have their accents…
#2 Make your customers happy. At The Bearon we throw in an extra t-shirt if we mess up and send all of our customers a hand written note with their order. Johnny likes to include baseball cards, and possibly the heads of dolls. Everyone has their own surprises but the most important thing is to make your customer smile when they get the mail.
#3 Do something different. “Nobody else was putting food on clothes, let alone cupcakes on t-shirts. Cupcakes weren’t even popular” (Cue Sex & the City reference to Magnolia Bakery and the cupcake revolution. Johhny is a well rounded gentleman)
#4 It doesn’t matter if they want to strangle you. You know what’s best for your brand. When working on a project you know what’s best. You’re the only person who is going to go to bat for your vision. Don’t stop until it’s perfect.
#5 Never go anywhere without a business card. Double bonus points if they’re scratch & sniff.
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Bearon Cupcakes*
TONIGHT, Friday May 13th
Johnny Earle, Founder of Johnny Cupcakes
Speaking at the Ann Arbor Public Library. 7pm
This man is a branding genius and has dedicated himself to creating a company that is so consistent, fun, and well respected. Since I started The Bearon I’ve been watching Johnny Cupcakes grow and I can’t wait to meet Johnny and hear him speak about his experience running such a cool brand! He and his company have always been such an inspiration for me and I am so thankful that he decided to make the trip!
*Bearon Cupcakes is the name of the collaboration that my friend Laura dreamed up. Johnny Cupcakes recently collaborated with Hello Kitty so she decided The Bearon should be next (I have awesome friends). Working with Johnny Cupcakes would be the icing on the cake… Tweet #BearonCupcakes if you agree!
