Shecky’s

With a new show on TLC and booming bakery business Georgetown Cupcake, it’s hard to say what could make the job of Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne even sweeter. Except maybe if they were best friends…AND sisters! (Yes and yes!)

Born only a year apart, Katherine and Sophie are as different as salted caramel and chocolate hazelnut (their favorite cupcake flavors, respectively). The two have always baked, guided by their gifted grandmother, but never could have imagined making it their life’s work. Born and raised in Canada, Katherine chose to stay in Toronto, working as a special events planner for Gucci, while Sophie moved to Boston, taking a job at a private equity firm.

Two years ago, they had an idea. They had always loved to bake and felt that if there ever was a time…it was now. Washington D.C. was lacking in the cupcake department, (surprising with the rapid influx of cupcakeries sprouting up elsewhere), so the two took this opportunity and ran. They converted an old townhouse into Georgetown Cupcake, an über-successful cupcake shop and also the backdrop for the new TLC show DC Cupcakes, in its premier season now.

With no fancy press or formal advertisements, the sisters set out to bake delicious and quality cupcakes, using ingredients like Valhona chocolate and Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla (yum!). The popularity they have obtained is nothing short of amazing. The bakery features 10 flavors daily (like the traditional vanilla cake/chocolate icing combo we all know and love), in addition to custom orders and five different flavor specials a day, including a lemon blossom that’s made with a lemon cream cheese filling and adorned with a candied lemon, or the PB fudge made of a Valhona chocolate cake, a ridge fudge center, and finished with a peanut butter frosting and fudge drizzle for added decadence (definitely necessary).

The Kallinis sisters are a prime example of following your dreams, as the two left their homes and their careers in pursuance of a shared passion. As with any new business, it hasn’t been a perfectly smooth journey, but a rocky road (hehe!) filled with bumps and obstacles. Luckily, the two have each other as best friends and sisters to lean on for support.

P.S. – even though the bakery is based in D.C., shipping is available all over the United States. So from Palo Alto to Poughkeepsie and everywhere in between, you can enjoy these tasty treats…wherever, whenever!

-Lynden Halpern

GIRL TALK TIME: Would you ever start a business with a sibling or friend? What would you want to do? Do you know anyone who has started a successful business with a friend? Have you ever left everything you know for something completely new?!

COMING SOON…NATIONAL GIRLFRIEND AWARDS

PSST! National Girlfriends Day is Sunday, August 1. We’re celebrating you and all of your fabulous girlfriends by throwing our first annual National Girlfriend Awards. Check back on Sunday, August 1 and throughout the month of August on Sheckys.com to nominate your best girlfriends or your very own girlfriend crew for one of our 10 awards. Best part about it? Each winner from every category gets their own special prize pack! We can’t wait to hear your stories.