Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Bowers.
Hi Megan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi, I’m Megan Bowers—wife, mom of two daughters, dog mom, entrepreneur, painter/artist, and the owner of Three Melons Bake Shop, a home-based bakery in Woodstock, Virginia, specializing in custom-decorated sugar cookies.
I began my baking hobby as a child, making Christmas cookies every year with my family. I grew up loving art, always taking art classes throughout school and was a member of the National Art Honor Society.
Fast forward to the beginning of 2017 when I was able to become a stay at home mom to our second daughter. I battled postpartum depression and baking ended up being my stress release. My creative juices are always flowing and I wanted a way to express my creativity and still provide a bit for my family, so I started making cupcakes for family and friends. Cupcakes then turned into cakes and then suddenly came my love of custom-decorated sugar cookies. One single order for pig cookies for my former employer’s Children Literature Conference turned into a sudden new career and Three Melons Bake Shop was born.
When I was first starting out with cookies, decorated cookies were just starting to take off in the baking industry, so I started off being self-taught by watching videos on YouTube. It’s been really cool to build my skills and my business as the niche has continued to blossom. I’ve been welcomed to the opposite side of the table these days as an instructor, which is incredibly mind-blowing. I’ve taught at many different workshops for my industry and even at Cookie Con (the cookier’s version of Comic Con).
While my main focus is on custom decorated sugar cookies, I also offer cupcakes and wedding cakes. I’m incredibly lucky to be able to create edible works of art in so many different ways using such simple ingredients. My love of art and baking has made an incredible opportunity to spread happiness in the form of food art, while working from home and enjoying my family. It brings me so much joy to think of how many wonderful celebrations my work has been a part of.
The bake shop was named for myself and our two daughters because we all have what our family calls, “melon heads” (my husband is an honorary melon head). Special shoutout to my sister, Katie, who helped me in the naming process.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Overall my journey has been pretty smooth, however, there’s always some potholes to contend with.
One of the most unexpected problems I have faced so far have been economical (supply chain issues, tariffs, ever changing and rising prices of ingredients/supplies) and when Covid hit. When Covid struck, everything was turned upside down. Suddenly, all of the orders I had on my books were canceled, postponed, or up in the air. Everything shut down, parties and events were canceled, everyone was staying home and it really felt like my livelihood was in jeopardy. Then came the supply chain issues. Supplies and ingredients were hard to come by and the prices were doubled or tripled.
A couple months into the shutdown, people decided they still needed to celebrate and enjoy the little things…like their child’s birthday. So, my orders began to come back or were finally holding steady on my calendar. Although the events were smaller in size, people were still wanting to celebrate. So, I had to adapt in order to still provide a service and an outstanding product to my customers. Since I work from home, my orders went from being personally handed to my customers to “porch pick-ups”. I purchased a cute little green drink cooler stand for my porch, where my customers could safely pick up their orders without compromising their social distancing practices or health. I also created DIY cookie decorating kits in various themes to give families something fun to do since most kids were doing school online. My husband is a battalion chief and paramedic and my sister was an OR nurse at the time and I used my 3D printer to print face mask extenders for healthcare providers. I was so glad to still be able to celebrate with my customers, help the community and my family, and to bring even a sliver of happiness throughout those dark and uncertain times.
The only other real issue I have is setting and keeping boundaries. Since I work from home, it’s super easy to work 24/7. One thing I have had to push myself to do is to learn to say ‘no’, be more intentional with my time and focus, and not spread myself too thin. I changed up my product offerings and focused on what brought me joy and cut what didn’t. Learning to protect my time and energy has helped me grow my business with intention and focus, which in turn, has made me a better mom, wife, and creative.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I specialize in custom decorated sugar cookies – although I still do the occasional cupcake order or wedding cake. I also focus on corporate cookies, in which I utilize an edible printer to print logos or other images directly on to my royal iced sugar cookies.
I am most proud of the quality of my product and my relationships within the community, particularly with my fellow business owners.
One of my biggest honors was being awarded 3rd Place in the 2-D Category of the Julia M. Usher’s Cookie Art Competition™, which is one of the biggest international cookie competitions. It was my first time in a competition and decided on a whim to go for it. I was incredibly honored to be a finalist and ultimately a winner of the competition. What made the award even sweeter was that the piece that I submitted featured my sister.
I was awarded “Best Home-Based Business in Shenandoah County 2023” by the Shenandoah County Chamber of Commerce, which was one of the sweetest and most humbling memories I have because I was nominated by and voted for by my fellow business owners and the community. It meant the absolute world to me.
One of the wildest things I have had the opportunity to do is to create for several different celebrities, professional athletes, musicians, and Fortune 500 companies.
I am also a professional artist – focusing mainly on acrylic painting. Being creative not only gives me an outlet but allows me to create happiness in both edible and non-edible forms. Although in the end, my edible works of art are physically consumed, being able to create in various media forms is cathartic and rewarding. My paintings may adorn a home or business and my cookies present themselves at parties, weddings, and other celebrations.
I’m incredibly lucky to be able to create mini works of art in so many different ways. My love of art and baking has made an incredible opportunity to spread happiness, while working from home and enjoying my family. It brings me so much joy to think of how many wonderful celebrations my work has been a part of.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I think my fondest childhood memories are all of my family. We lived in a really small town and my grandparents lived just a few blocks down the road. So, my sister and I would ride our bikes down to their house and back whenever the weather was nice. We are a super close-knit family and were always together – whether it was (and still is) Sunday lunch at my grandparent’s house, helping in the garden and eating lunch at my late great-grandmother’s house, or our huge family reunions. My mom was a stay-at-home mom, so we were afforded the luxury of so much fun family time. We were incredibly lucky to live so close to our immediate family and quite a bit of our aunts, uncles and cousins.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://threemelonsbakeshop.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3melonsbakeshop/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3melonsbakeshop
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mbbowers
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/meganbowersstudio/
