Sprinkles & Spice, a North Little Rock-based cottage bakery owned by Kathleen Lawson, recently celebrated one year of operations. Kathleen also serves as the executive director of Economics Arkansas. She felt inspired to start a side business alongside the launch of the organization’s $10 Challenge, a high school competition that encourages students to invest $10 in a business and see where it takes them. Kathleen’s small investment has taken her to a full-blown, licensed and insured side baking business. At its peak, Sprinkles & Spice had products on the shelves at 11 retailers during the holiday season. “This is education in action,” says Kathleen. “This process of launching, building, and growing a side business has given application to all the principles of economics that we aim to bring to the classroom.”
Sprinkles & Spice started with cocoa bombs and breakable chocolates but quickly expanded into baked goods, including custom cakes, cupcakes and cookies. If baking is an art, then buttercream is Kathleen’s medium. While the Sprinkles & Spice calendar often fills up with custom orders, Kathleen also offers holiday and other monthly specials. For March she is planning some whimsical St. Patrick’s Day treats and an assortment of DIY kits to keep your youngest bakers (or yourself!) busy during spring break. Follow her on Instagram and Facebook to stay in the loop. You’ll definitely want to stay tuned for April when she plans to bring back last year’s best-selling breakable bunny bottoms (that are just as fun as they sound!) and candy-filled chocolate eggs. If you can’t wait that long to try her treats, stop by CareLink’s signature event Cupcakes for Goodness Sake where she is one of the bakers competing for the title of Best Cupcake! Pink cake photography by Dero Sanford
