H E AV E N LY S W E E T CHOCOL AT ES, Artisan Exchange, West Chester
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he first thing you’ll notice about Nancy Orlando is her smile. “I like to have fun” she says, and “I am very creative.” Combine that nature with a lifelong passion for baking and chocolate, and you have Heavenly Sweet Chocolates. Her company’s mission? “Making your celebration sweeter.” She’s done just that for the past two years. On Saturday mornings, you’ll find her at the Artisan Exchange Market in West Chester, welcoming visitors to a table covered with her handmade sweets. She offers a large array of confections, such as chocolate lollipops and chocolate-covered sandwich-cookies, all of which happen to be nut- and gluten-free. The generous display attracts sweet teeth of all ages, who gladly accept Nancy’s offer to taste the goods. Wide eyes, large smiles, and “hmm, it’s good!” are the most common responses from her tasters. Not surprisingly, few leave without a bag of her delicious confections. Popular items include chocolate-covered pretzels and award-winning caramel pretzel bites. But the wisest visitors also take her business card to bring a piece of heavenly sweetness to their own celebrations. With a collection of 6000 molds, Nancy can make any chocolate dream come true. Since 2015, she’s poured melted chocolate in shapes of all kinds, from trucks and graduation hats to beer mugs and flip-flops. “I even have a mold
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Photography by Jason Bleecher and Albert Yee
representing a chunk of cheese with a mouse on it!” she says with a laugh. This year, she’s made a lot of mermaid style wedding dress-shaped chocolates for bridal showers. From birthday parties and baby showers, to graduations and retirements, she knows how to personalize your party. Perhaps what sets her apart is her desire to give back. Every month, she picks a new charity with which she shares a percentage of her proceeds. This fall, she raised funds to support hurricane relief in Puerto Ricco and breast cancer research. Helping is something that comes naturally to Nancy and, true to her nature, she does it with a smile. “This is important to me. Together, we can make a difference.”
Heavenly Sweet Chocolates Artisan Exchange 208 Carter Drive #13B, West Chester, PA 19382 Nancy Orlando (610) 993-7667 @heavenlysweetchocolates