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By Dylan Sherman Cloquet Pine Journal

CLOQUET — Rebecca

Center started Crumbles when she moved to Cloquet three years ago, after she had been baking cakes for family and friends for eight years.

Crumbles is a bakery in Cloquet that offers personalized cakes, cupcakes, cookies and more.

“It is definitely a 24/7 job, but I love every minute of it,” she said. “I’m always baking, always sketching up new designs, thinking of new creative techniques and different things to do on cakes.”

Baking with her grandmother when she was young was what got Center started on baking, and she has been passionate enough about it to make it a full-time job.

Then it grew into trying to recreate cakes she would see on TV, and from there it evolved to what it is today.

Being able to work from home was another draw as it gives Center more time to spend with her daughter.

Center said a lot of the fun she has had while making cakes has come from the more challenging and elaborate cakes she has had to make.

She has made things from a beer bottle or can-shaped cake, a turtle cake, a Starbucks cake and many more.

One that sticks out to Center was when she made a pork chop cake for a customer’s family member who was nicknamed “pork chop.”

“I made the cake look like an actual pork chop, and then I made an edible plate, and then I made mashed potatoes and green peas,” she said. “That was just so much fun to make.”

Since starting the business, Center has done no advertising, other than starting her own Facebook page, and she said her business has grown mostly through word of mouth.

“I have a lot of repeat customers, and I haven’t done any marketing at all,” she said.

It is not uncommon for Center to be baking to fill eight to 10 orders over a weekend, sometimes even baking and decorating for eight hours straight.

“My biggest weekend was 22 orders a weekend, which I don’t know if I’ll ever do that again because I really didn’t sleep that week,” she joked. “But, yes, it is constant, it never stops, which I love and I would never change that.”

Despite sometimes having to fill large orders, Center only has one double oven that she works with.

“I try to bake the day before and then decorate them the same day just so they are super fresh,” she said.

The design process for a cake depends on each customer and what they want. Some have specific ideas they want incorporated into the design and others give her a theme and wait to be surprised by the design.

Once she has an idea, it usually takes Center around an hour to come up with a design and another hour to finalize the design.

Depending on the design, decorating the cake can be time-consuming.

“A unicorn cake takes me about three hours from mixing, baking and applying the decoration,” she said. “A more elaborate cake, like a sculpting cake, that could take me upwards of six to eight hours.”

Justine Groshens, one of Crumbles’ customers, heard about the business through a friend and has made somewhere between 10 and 20 orders in the last three years.

“I have been going to her for every order I have,” she said. “She catered all the desserts at my wedding.”

Consistency and communication is what sets Crumbles apart from other bakeries, she said.

“There has not been a time where it has been anything other than what she has said it was going to be, and I really value that in her work,” Groshens said.

She said Center asks the questions other places don’t to ensure customers get exactly what they want.

“She puts everything into every design she has. ... People are missing out if they don’t (get a Crumbles cake),” she said.

The customer reaction is the best part for Center, as she puts a lot of time and effort into making the cakes.

“One of the things I try to do for all of my customers is try and go above and beyond, like something that they don’t expect,” she said.

Creating new things and taking on challenges is something that Center enjoys doing. One customer asked for an Australian cookie, one she had never heard of before and decided to learn it for the customer.

“I am up to any new challenge of something someone wants me to bake,” she said.

Sometimes new techniques or designs require a lot of trial and error, which is not an issue for Center.

“My family loves trial and error because then they get extras,” she said.

Customers interested in one of Center’s cakes or other bakery items can reach out to her through the Crumbles Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ CloquetCrumbles.

Focus on service

A service project was added to the program several sessions ago.

During each session, the participants are split into groups and asked to partner with a local nonprofit organization. The groups work with their nonprofit partners to figure out a need the leadership program attendees can fill.

Casper’s group threw a St. Patrick’s Day and St. Urho’s party for Sunnyside Health Care Center residents, complete with green milkshakes, games of bingo and fun costumes. Groups have helped nonprofits host fundraisers, or complete construction work they’ve long wanted to pursue. The annual YoungLife 5K, for example, started as a leadership program service project, Zink said.

Schick said he brought the idea to Zink as a way for participants to take what they learn in the

Industry Wide Issues

From Page 1

The projected decline of the Northeastern Minnesota region is 4.9%, while the statewide percentage is expected to grow by 2.8%.

Bonk noted that finding qualified candidates for vacant positions has taken longer than usual.

“Some positions are taking a little bit longer to get a qualified candidate pool, if you will, so (it’s taking) a little bit longer (than) we’re seeing maybe on certain positions,” Bonk said.

Creating a job-alert system to maintain a pipeline of qualified candidates eager to fill vacant positions has been one way in which Sappi has worked to leadership program and put it into practice.

“It’s really to come together and provide some good for Cloquet and the surrounding area,” he said. “It’s a chance to put all those principles to work — what it means to serve on a team, how do you plan, foresight, forethought, communication all the way through.”

At first, Zink said she was skeptical about how combat this issue. the component would be received, but people have loved it.

According to a Minnesota Hiring Difficulties survey conducted in 2019 by the DEED Office, published in “Hiring Difficulties in Manufacturing,” 62% of job vacancies in skilled production occupations by manufacturing firms in 2018 were reported to be difficult to fill.

Manufacturing companies under the umbrella of food, furniture, paper printing and textile were among the hardest positions to fill when compared to the seven different manufacturing categories included in the report, with 70% reporting difficulties in filling positions.

Much like Sappi, USG has been able to maintain a desired workforce at its plant thanks in part to a variety of proactive hiring strategies.

“At the end, people say the best part (of the leadership program) is the service project,” she said.

Valuable connections

Another valuable aspect of the program for Casper was networking with the people in her session. In fact, she said she’s still in contact with a lot

USG production engineer Joe Jameson said its near-optimal staffing level ties into the company’s goal of seeking out career-oriented candidates, who are focused on staying with the company until retirement.

“We’re looking for people who want to make a career out of USG and not be a transient. We’re not looking for temporary people. We’re looking for people to join the family, so to speak,” Jameson said. “They want to stay in the area. They want a decentpaying job. They want good working conditions and benefits, and USG offers all of that.”

USG plant manager Jenna Leger credits the cultivation of a strong pool of candidates seeking employment with the company of the people she met through the program.

Like Casper, some of them have gone through transitions since they participated in the course. She said some have moved to other parts of Minnesota, and some have retired, but they still stay in touch.

“When you’re a young professional and starting out and you’re just learning how to network, what better place to meet people? People who are learning, who want to invest in themselves and their careers,” she said.

And the networking doesn’t end when the program does.

Past participants are typically invited to the graduation ceremony at the end of each session, which Casper said is another benefit.

“Things have been a little messy because of COVID, but I do try to show up because those are great people to meet — those are people who are investing in themselves,” Casper said.

The chamber currently as one of the biggest keys to their success in navigating the dwindling workforce.

“It’s definitely a tight labor market and skilled trades like mechanics and electricians are always in demand. We maintain a pipeline of qualified candidates for several critical positions, so we’ve been able to stay almost fully staffed in recent years,” Leger said in an email to the Pine Journal. “We’re also committed to training and development for our employees, so we take time to invest in building someone’s skills. For example, we have provided on-the- has a session of the leadership program under way. For more information on how to attend the next session, call the chamber at 218-879-1551 or email chamber@cloquet.com. job training for an operator who wanted to move into an open mechanic role.”

Consultant Scott Blatchford are participants in the chamber’s current session of the leadership program.

The positive reputation in the community, which has often led to generations of families being employed with the company, has been another factor in their success.

“Some of it’s the culture. I think we’re a great place to work. We have a lot of generational (hires), like we get referrals of people wanting their kids to work there and that gets around in the community,” Jameson said. “People wouldn’t want to work in a place where their neighbor doesn’t want their son to work or something to that effect.”

Hoping to get ahead of the issues related to a shrinking workforce, USG has made it a point of emphasis to provide resources to college students about the benefits of working in the industry in hopes they will pursue employment at companies like USG.

“USG also has partnerships with local community colleges and trade schools to help students understand the benefits of a career in manufacturing and get exposure to the field early,” Leger said.

Olson