By Pham Tran
Everyone has a creative side, and so does guidance counselor Phuong Pham-Le.
Pham-Le started her cookie decorating business, @noleycookieco, on Instagram almost two years ago. She felt like she had been in education for so long, and as her kids got older, she wanted to try something else—something more fun that she could enjoy.
“I started because I have always liked art and liked dessert, and I’m pretty good at drawing,” Pham-Le said.
She took a cookie-decorating class through a friend of hers. Although the training was only an hour long, Pham-Le was able to go online and test out different recipes. She then tweaked them a little to add her personal touch from frosting to icing.
“My favorite part [about decorating cookies] is designing it for the customers. So like, they just give me ideas of what they want. Like, my daughter’s into kuromi and swimming. So then I kind of take it on my own to do kuromi and swimming,” Pham-Le said.
Pham-Le takes orders from anyone, from family to friends. She also does a lot of vendor orders for big events.
The person who inspired her to become a sugar cookie decorator was actually herself.
“I was planning my kids’ party, and it was costing so much money to pay for these sugar cookies, because it’s like almost $100 per dozen. So I’m like, I think I can do it myself, and better,” Pham-Le said.
Pham-Le normally decorates cookies in her free time and especially when her kids are in bed. She would find ideas on Pinterest and Instagram and show them to the clients, making any changes based on their preferences if necessary.
As a mom and a guidance counselor, Pham-Le sometimes finds it difficult to run her business.
“In the beginning, I was taking a lot of orders, but now that my kids are in sports and work, I think finding time to do it is probably difficult. Because sometimes it can take a few days,” Pham-Le said.
At the end of the day, if you ever need advice in opening a cookie-decorating business, then Pham-Le is the perfect person to go to!
“Just do your research, and you have to have friends and family to critique your work. And that’s how it’s good,” Pham-Le said.
