How Kara Turner Newmark’s Sweetology Brings People Together Through Decorating Cakes and More
It's not every day that a lawyer-by-training decides to shift gears and create her own innovative cake and cookie-decorating business, but Kara Turner Newmark's story is anything but ordinary.
Kara is the creative mind and entrepreneur behind Sweetology, a brand created to bring people together and inspire joy over the shared experience of decorating the most delicious treats imaginable. Sweetology does all of the hard work for you, sending kits including fresh-baked cookies, cupcakes, cakes and more, plus all the frosting, sprinkles and decorations—as well as piping bags and tips—that you need to have the themed decorating party of your dreams. We simply can't get enough, and we just had to learn more about Kara Turner Newmark and her incredible story.
Name: Kara Turner Newmark
IG Handle: @sweetsweetology
Hometown: St. Louis, Missouri
(Image courtesy of Kara Turner Newmark)
1. Kara considers herself, and her unique career path, to be a bit of an anomaly.
"I am a lawyer by training and became an entrepreneur in the life science and technology ecosystem in St. Louis for the majority of my career. I had an opportunity to exit one of my companies over a decade ago and was faced with the decision of "What's next?" At the time, my kids were entering middle school and my husband also had a big job, and I decided that I wanted to see if I could create a company of my own. I did not know what it would be, but I knew that I needed to love it and I wanted the challenge of creating a national brand. (I had zero retail experience, by the way). After several business plans and a couple of years later, I hit on it. I was drinking wine with a girlfriend in NYC and she asked me how my business was coming. I said at the moment, "I don't know, I just want to love it. I am happiest when I am in my kitchen with my kids, licking fingers and bowls and being together." That was literally the moment when I had the idea—create a space where people can come together, be together, being creative, having fun doing what we in America love to do—celebrating, and marking milestones and holidays with cake! Sweetology was born."
-Kara Turner Newmark
2. Kara describes Sweetology as a DIY cake decorating studio, with everything in the store existing solely as creative inspiration for your decorating needs.
"The store is happy and colorful—think Willy Wonka meets Nailed It! Now I am shipping decorating kits all over the country for people to enjoy in their own kitchens. I never envisioned that I would be in the baked goods industry. Not to be corny, but I simply followed my heart, chased what made me happy and used my skills and experience to get it done."
-Kara Turner Newmark
(via Sweetology)
3. Her favorite dessert in the world is a flambéed Bananas Foster.
"To me, food is my love language. Baking and cooking for others is a way to say 'I love you,' and carries with it emotion, intention and nostalgia. My dad used to make Bananas Foster for us as kids. It was quite an event and much anticipated as a kid when he would light the dish on fire. To me, that dessert is just a big hug—and who doesn't love ice cream?"
-Kara Turner Newmark
4. A lot of thought went into the name of "Sweetology."
"At its heart, it is about the experience of creating and connecting with people with whom you love to play, celebrate or mark milestones in life."
-Kara Turner Newmark
(via Sweetology)
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5. Kara makes it very clear that the brand is not about the cake.
"Our mission is to connect people by sharing a fun creative experience around cake, cookie and cupcake decoration. (Although our cake and buttercream are the bomb—they have to be to compete!)."
-Kara Turner Newmark
6. The founder of Kara's first startup shared some very powerful wisdom with her.
"Being an entrepreneur is hard. Not everyone can do it. Know where you are going and be flexible enough to know it won't look the way you thought it would when you set out on the journey. It is a journey, after all, and the important part is the 'try.' Be courageous."
-Kara Turner Newmark
7. Kara works hard every day, but she says that allowing herself time to play and be checked out has gotten her to where she is today.
"As an entrepreneur, there is always a feeling of racing against the clock, more that you could or should be doing. I have learned to calibrate that. Let go a little and trust it will work out."
-Kara Turner Newmark
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8. Her No. 1 decoration tip is that it doesn't matter if what you create is "perfect."
"Decorating is at its heart creativity and intention. Let go of perfect and have fun creating. Art is in the eye of the beholder, and the person you decorate with or give your creation to will see that intention and beauty and creativity—and no matter what it looks like, it will be fun eating!"
-Kara Turner Newmark
(via Sweetology)
9. Most importantly, Kara wants the world to know that she loves what she does.
Totally in love with chocolate cake? Click HERE for the best Instagram captions to show off your creations.