If you find yourself walking through McIntyre Residence on a Saturday morning, you’re bound to be greeted first by the smell of fresh baked bread and, shortly afterward, Emily Hardy and Kate Vander Wall.
Last week, these two freshmen started their own baking business, “Hillsdale St. Bakery. Although they haven’t been running the company for long, they are already experiencing success.
“I bought two bundt cakes and I ate them both within two days,” Sophomore Danny Molter, one of their first customers, said. “They were scrumptious.”
Molter had purchased the cake during the Student Activities Board Maker’s Market, but said he looks forward to purchasing food from them again.
“As for Kate’s soup, I destroyed a can of that,” Molter said. “It was delicious, some of the best broccoli cheddar soup I’ve eaten. Same goes for the pound cake. Delicious.”
Hillsdale St. Bakery’s genesis is simple: two like-minded people and an opportunity.
“It started when we heard about the Maker’s Market last semester. We were both interested and already selling products,” Vander Wall said. “We’re both very artsy people and we wanted to do some type of arts and crafts thing at school, but we also love baking, so we decided to give it a go by selling bread here.”
By the end of Maker’s Market, they knew that it wasn’t just Molter who appreciated their work.
“The bread that we had sold out in about 45 minutes or an hour,” Hardy said. “We were like, ‘Wow, Hillsdale loves bread!’”
Since the business has only been up and running for a week, they aren’t sure how much time it will take out of their schedules. However, they both agree that it will be flexible with their routines.
“We’re planning on doing the baking mostly Saturday mornings and then delivering the bread in the afternoon,” Vander Wall said. “It’s not too inconvenient because we can do homework while it’s baking and rising. Last semester that was just time I was sleeping, which sleep was great, but I don’t need twelve hours of sleep Friday night.”
According to Hardy, it doesn’t feel like work.
“I enjoy baking. It’s a stress reliever for me,” she said. “It’s kind of the same thing with my art: I love art, I’m gonna be making art anyway, so I might as well make art I love and sell it and share that with people.”
Both Hardy and Vander Wall already had entrepreneurship experience before the bakery.
“We both also have other small businesses: I have a sticker shop, and Kate has a card shop,” Hardy said.
For Vander Wall, business has always been a family affair.
“Me and my siblings were always the kids who didn’t just have the lemonade stand. We had the lemonade stand with the frozen grapes and the cookies and the popsicles and everything. We had the whole business plan,” she said. “My dad is a business owner who worked his way up and we inherited that entrepreneurial mindset, I guess.”
If you’re looking to support a small business on campus, make sure to reach out to their Instagram page or email address listed below. Orders must be placed by 10:00 pm on Friday nights, and are both baked and delivered on Saturdays. Prices range from $4 to $10, and custom orders can be negotiated.
Sales can be made through their Instagram page,
@hillsdale.st.bakery, or email at hillsdale.st.bakery@gmail.com.
