Truffles: Tell us a bit about yourselves and how you happened to come to Sweet Designs.
Lubna: I’m Lubna and I was introduced to Ines and Sweet Designs by my mother who also works here. ’m just starting high school, and I’m really, really excited about it. One of my favorite classes this year was College Career Readiness. It made us learn more about ourselves and what might suit us. I really like to help people so I’m thinking about nursing.
Avery: My dad actually has known Ines for 7 years. He works at UPS and has helped her with shipping and my brother worked here. When I visited the store in December, Ines asked how old I was and when I said ‘14’, she said that’s a perfect age to start working here. I started here in March.
Truffles: What’s a typical day for you at Sweet Designs?
Lubna: Often it’s a little bit of everything. Today, I worked on packing chocolates and making boxes. Most of the time, I’m working on the belts, but today I also learned how to make truffles. What makes me really happy is the joy people get from eating the chocolate I help make.
Avery: I mainly work in the back with packaging. Sometimes, I’ll load up the chocolates. It really depends on what they need.
Truffles: Any big learnings for you?
Avery: I’ve learned that small details matter a lot. Running a business is not as easy as it might seem. You definitely need lots of hands to make it all work. I’m grateful that I get to work with Ines and learn from her. Not every boss wants to work one-on-one with her employees. She makes everyone feel welcome. Another big learning is time management. It’s something I’ll take back with me to school. I’m definitely learning to work at a faster pace.
Lubna: I’m definitely learning how to work with groups of people and how to work better and faster. Ines makes it feel like a family here. She also gives me life lessons every day. She tells me when I’m finishing a job up how it’s going to help me in the future. There was one former employee who became a doctor. She learned how to tie knots for the bows and it made it easier for her when she was learning how to stitch people up.
Truffles: Favorite treat?
Lubna: Not an easy question. Nonpareils and sea salt caramels. I do like the raspberry truffles too.
Avery: That’s hard, it’s all really good. For right now, the covered Oreos or any of the truffles.