Erin (blonde) and Marianne (brunette) Cascone, cousins, created Bon Bon Cupcakes by complete accident in October 2007. Desperate to cover her newborn's diaper, and running late for a baby shower, Marianne Cascone found an old pair of tights and tried sewing a coordinating ribbon to the bottom. It worked! People at the baby shower LOVED the look of her daughter's chubby little legs with a big, fat ruffle on them! It worked until she washed them, and they fell apart. After trial and error, Marianne came across the perfect fiber content and technique that is still used as a basis for Bon Bon Cupcakes leggings today. She made some for her oldest daughter and snapped some pictures. Once friends and family saw how adorable they were, the word spread! Within one week, she was getting inquiries from strangers about selling the little leggings! Where does the Cupcake come in? Marianne's daughter, a cupcake crazed girl, mentioned how they looked just like cupcakes when she was pulling them out of the dryer! BOOM! Bon Bon Cupcakes were invented!
Panicked, Marianne called her cousin (new Stay at Home Mom) Erin. Together they organized a quick little business plan and invested a small amount of money. Their plan was to sell these adorable creations to friends at home parties, and local baby boutiques. While they knew MORE THAN ENOUGH about buying baby clothes (eventually, they would have 5 kids between the two of them) they knew NOTHING about selling them. Erin and Marianne set up an appointment with a boutique owner to get her feedback on their progress. With only 5 samples in hand, they showed the store owner their creations. She was immediately smitten! She offered to take them to a friend of hers that sells baby apparel to stores. One week later, they recieved 400 orders for cupcakes! Literally overnight, Erin and Marianne were thrown into a position of having to fill these orders AND figure out HOW!
Long nights, lots of coffee, and determination got them through the first year. They asked everyone they could for advice on how to run an apparel manufacturing business. Lots of people laughed in their face (and behind their back!) and lots of people were so rude as to HANG UP on them when they heard the details of the business! Most of the people they sought advice from were companies that were shipping to stores all over the country and even all over the world. Erin and Marianne were told that what they wanted to do was IMPOSSIBLE. Well, to them, difficult takes a day, IMPOSSIBLE..... well, it took just a few months.
Three years later, Bon Bon Cupcakes has stores all over the country and in some parts of the world! They ship internationally. Erin and Marianne have employed a few other Stay at Home Moms, as well as been able to maintain the company from their homes. Being able to grow their business while maintaining control of their personal lives is the sweetest success there is!
~We take with us, through this journey, a new self confidence. We know NOTHING is impossible! We'll never look at a challenge the same way again. ~Erin and Marianne Cascone
Erin and Marianne Cascone representing Bon Bon Cupcakes at the 2009 Golden Globe Awards
(this was taken at the end of a long night.... really!)
