Midlife Creative

In 2022, I’m going on a hunt for midlife creatives from here, there, and everywhere. I want to pick their brain about their area of expertise, how they got started, and what inspires them.

The first artist I got the chance to talk to was Johanna Franey from Morris, MN. Johanna owns and operates her own baking business called Creative Confections. Her Instagram page @creativeconfectionsmorris is overflowing with photos of unique cakes, cupcakes, and macarons she has made. I wanted to find out how this interest in baking cakes got started and how she finds time to make such masterpieces while juggling all of her other mom responsibilities. Johanna is married to John, a homeschool mom of four kids ages 5, 7, 9, and 11, and also a piano teacher of 25 students a week. As a mom and piano teacher myself, we had a lot of things in common to talk about. My husband and I also went to college in Morris, MN and lived there for 5 years after getting married, so we have that small town connection as well. Here are a few bits and pieces of my conversation with Johanna.

Q. Have you always considered yourself an artist?

A. No, not at all. In fact sometimes I still doubt when people tell me I’m creative. When I was 14, I was on a trip in Washington, DC and my mom gave me a camera and asked me to take some photos. She looked at them and told me “these are pretty good”. From then on, I started taking an interest in photography. I also played the piano and was in plays, but would not have called myself an artist.

Q. When did you start making cakes?

A. There was a group of young adults that were getting together at church and we would have treats afterwards. One of the young college girls would always bring these gorgeous baked goods and I admired them and thought, “I’d better up my game”. My competitive nature is what got me baking. I started baking for fun in 2014 with 3 young kids under my feet. I dabbled in it for about 4 years and then got licensed with the state in 2018. I didn’t have any formal training, I just learned by doing. People would come to me with an idea for a cake and I would figure out how to make it. There was a lot of trial and error at first and a few big flops where I had to start over, but also a lot of successes that made me feel really proud of myself.

Q. What does a typical week look like for you?

A. I homeschool my kids in the morning and then afternoons are spent teaching piano lessons during the school year. I don’t teach piano during the summer, so that is my busier time for baking. I bake for the Morris farmers market and also fill special orders for birthday and wedding cakes. During the school year, I bake on weekends unless I’ve scheduled to take a weekend off.

Q. Do you ever get burnt out?

A. I did have a time when I took on too much and needed to take a month off to rest. After that, I started setting clearer boundaries for myself and saying no if a request didn’t fit with the needs of my family. One thing many people don’t realize is how physically strenuous baking can be. There are some weekends when I can be on my feet for 18 hours. I have learned the importance of stretching, getting massages, and having down time. One of the tensions in owning your own business is learning to set limits and stick with them. Saying no to customers for the good of my family has been a lesson I’ve been learning.

Q. Do you ever doubt yourself?

A. I like to remind myself that when someone is ordering a cake from me, they aren’t just doing it because they want to be nice. They actually like my cakes and many are repeat customers. Whenever I start comparing myself to other bakers who are further along than I am, I stop and remind myself of the progress I have made.

Q. What do you do for self care?

A. I do find the baking itself as self care. It’s a creative outlet and I have something beautiful at the end to show for my time. Learning how to say no to customers has been a valuable skill that I’ve been able to use in other areas of my life as well. I also like to switch things up when I’m tired of baking, and write poems or taking photos of nature.

You can see more of Johanna’s creations on Facebook and Instagram at Creative Confections. The photos shared here on this post are some of her favorites. When asked why, Johanna says:

“I’m proud of the cakes pictured here (other than the wedding cake) because I didn’t copy from a concept photo. I just had an idea in my head and was able to create them. I’m proud of the wedding cake because I had to re-do the middle (marbled) tier three times to get it right, and I was so frustrated and stressed, but pushed through and was finally able to make it work.”

Thanks Johanna, for sharing your art with me. One of the things that stood out to me most from our conversation was how much you have grown as a businesswoman in such a short time. I resonated with how you are learning to define clearer boundaries, understand your limits, and prioritize your marriage and family time so you don’t take on more than you can handle. I was also reminded of the importance of positive and encouraging voices in the lives of young artists. Your mom encouraged you to start taking photographs and even though that didn’t end up being a long term business, it was an important step in your creative journey. I love how you are holding all things loosely and realize that this baking business may not be forever, but it is a good fit for now. I know your cakes have brought a lot of delight to many celebrations. I look forward to seeing more of your work and watching you grow as a wife, mom, friend, and artist. It’s a joy to know you!