CLEVELAND — Shantelle Meyers is a master cake decorator, an instructor, and a pastry chef. Her journey to sweet success started fourteen years ago.
"I've been at my grandmother's house, my mom's house, just anywhere I could bake at. And then I got my own apartment... started taking wedding cake orders, just doing bigger bulk orders," she reflected. "And then about four years ago, I opened up my first location."
That location, her cake studio in Euclid, is now joined by a second location at Tower City, opened just last month. Shantelle says business is already booming.
"The turnaround has been amazing. We now have regulars, people that come daily to get our desserts. We're just all the rave here now," she says.
And with a name like Kouture Kreationz, don’t be surprised that the first impression is as memorable as the first bite.
"I chose 'Kouture" because we do more of elegant looking cupcakes," Shantelle explains. "And the 'Kreationz' part is because it's always something creative. You won't get bored looking at our desserts."
Shantelle says she finds endless inspiration simply by scrolling on social media.
"Sometimes I'm like, 'oh, cookie butter,' and then I'm like, 'I like apple pie, so let's put those two together.' So it's usually, I pick from bits and pieces of desserts and try to fuse 'em together and create something a little different," she adds.
And those social platforms are also where you can keep up with her ever-changing and in-demand menu items, like the best-selling Strawberry Crunch cupcake.
"We even had to put a limit on them to two per customer, Meyers said. "It’s packed with strawberry. It's filled with strawberry glaze. The crumble is strong in the strawberry flavor, and we use a mixture between buttercream and whipped cream, which I think people really enjoy that combination."
She also takes specialty orders - for wedding and birthday cakes, custom cupcakes and dessert displays. But no matter your pick, you can rest assured; you’re getting something special in every bite.
"Each cupcake, we pick up by hand and decorate it. So it takes a lot of time and passion and love," she said. "It's my passion. I have dreams about this. I can't stop thinking about it. I just love creating things and making people happy."