Chelsea Ann Claverie may soon earn herself the Queen of Pop-Up title, having filled the venues of at least 25 pop-up events with the scent of her delicious brownies, banana breads, cookies, muffins and cinnamon rolls.
The 32-year-old Petit Valley resident told WE Life and Culture that, unlike most bakers, she didn’t start baking in childhood. But she is certain that her artistic abilities paved her entrance into the world.
“My business is Wake and Bake with Chels and it all stemmed from my creativity. I have an art degree from the University of the West Indies (UWI) and I specialise in visual art and design. And although for the past ten years a lot of my work has been digital, I still love doing things with my hands.”
In her final year at UWI, she said she chose to do jewellery as her exhibition. After graduating, the jobs she took on involved social media coordination and analysis. But she kept her hands-on creative skills in check with a sip and paint business she started with her mother.
“Fast forward ten years later, and I still do things in the digital realm. But I like to try and learn new things, and my friends call me ‘Jane of all trades.’ I recently picked up a new trade, and I fell in love with it. I started off with small things like cookies and brownies, and then I expanded and tried my hands at more complex things like banana breads, cinnamon rolls, muffins.”
Claverie said she takes recipes from different places and tweaks them to suit the occasion.
“I would use more local ingredients or ingredients that are more fresh. For example, I use a lot of seasonal items. And I love working with themes – Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter – I make special desserts to suit these occasions.”
She said she prefers to attend pop-up events to build her brand, as opposed to using too many of the more popular digital marketing strategies.
“I know the Christmas season is right there, so there will be great pop-ups all over the country; NAPA and South, for example, host these huge pop-ups with thousands of people passing through.”
She said she is a staple at the Blossom Market in Port-of-Spain, which ensures that people know where to find her and her treats.
“I’ve tried to establish myself in consistent places so that people can look out for me.”
In addition to her five consistent desserts, she makes fresh juices, and she is testing new recipes for chocolate chip and blueberry muffins.
“Sometimes I do fruit punches, sometimes I do guava pine, based on what fresh fruits are available.”
Claverie said she is happy with what she is doing right now, and is looking to continue on this trajectory for the rest of the year.
“I don’t want Wake and Bake with Chels to be like a massive company, with a huge storefront. I’ll probably just continue doing pop-ups and because it is more important for me to have a work-life balance.”
She said she has to give attention to her sip and paint business and her work as a freelance social media manager and graphic designer.
“I love what I do, and I want to encourage people to follow their dreams, even though it might be difficult in the beginning. It’s so self-fulfilling and rewarding when you do something for yourself.”
