Meet Kimberly Breitenstein | Owner & Cookie decorator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kimberly Breitenstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kimberly, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My thought process behind starting Turtle Leaf was honestly a lot longer than I feel most people think. Prior to starting I had spent about a year or two seriously considering starting/launching it. Prior to that, I had thought on and off about it but hadn’t thought I could seriously do it.

In the year before starting, I began reaching out to friends and family and asked if anyone would be interested in custom cookies/desserts. The response was overwhelmingly positive and so I began extensively looking into costs, permits, and just general knowledge. I am a generally anxious person so when it came time to launch I was very dependent on the numbers, Number of orders, number of cookies, etc. At the time I had just left my job that I had been in for about two years and that was a big factor as well in my starting a business.

Truly, my thinking with Turtle Leaf was that it would be a fun side hustle while I job hunted but one thing led to another and now this is my full time job!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Right now I am most excited about my rebrand! I recently rebranded and now my whole logo, name, and aesthetic have so much thought put into it I am super excited to roll it out!

Getting to this point has not been easy at all. I have been blessed with so many opportunities and so much support but there have definitely been many times where I have wanted to give up or quit. I spent a lot of nights and days crying over the challenges and problems, whether it’s not enough orders or too many orders or something else, there’s been plenty to cry over. But at the end of the day, I knew this was what I wanted to do because I always came back to the kitchen and kept on baking. When I would get sad the thing I’d want to do is bake so that’s what I’d do (not cookies haha I would bake something else as a break). But I overcame it by just having a great support system and having friends that would let me vent/cry/talk to them when I needed.

I’ve learned as time has gone on that I really need to remember that I am a person just as much as my customers are. I need to listen to what my body says and really remember that I cannot do it all myself. Sometimes I’ll have to turn down an order or block off a week and while I really, really, REALLy wish I could do every order for every budget at the end of the day I know I can’t.

Through Turtle Leaf, I just want to let the world know that you really can do what you want to do and that a dream job doesn’t have to stay a “dream”. There were plenty of nights that I would say that this would not be a long term job or that thee was no way people would want my items but day after day I am so lucky to be proven wrong. It’s been a super difficult journey but I am so happy to be on it and to be continuing on it!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Oh man, there’s so much to see and do it’s hard to narrow it down!

Food wise we would have to hit up Burger Joint (I prefer the Montrose one haha parking is questionable though), Ocean Palace and Ichiro Ramen (shoutout to Ben) in Bellaire, Gen in Midtown, and any popups that are happening. They would have to plan to come during a heavy popup week for sure because all the best foods are at popups!

I love to take people to the Houston Museum of Natural Science (I actually got married there, that’s how much I love it) and I personally love escape rooms so we’d have to go to The Escape Game in CityCentre.

Hanging out I love going to Tout Suite, walking around the Katy Asia Town area, and stopping into bookstores!

Honestly, I keep finding new spots in Houston that I want to go to/visit so my list is always changing haha

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to recognize the filipino baking community of Houston for really giving me an opportunity to make a name for myself here!

In particular, Lauren de la Calzada (of Street Treats by Lauren Kay) for doing my very first popup with me and becoming a true friend and collaborator.

Also Karen (from Butter Baby Bakery) for also becoming a true friend and a mentor.

I definitely would not have gotten to where I am without them helping me out.

Lastly, my husband Robert is one of my biggest supporters but also he is my TOP role model/mentor in navigating my small business as well. He is incredibly smart, runs his own very successful business, and has helped me in so many ways it’s incredible.

Instagram: @turtleleafcookiedesign

Facebook: @turtleleafcookiedesign

Image Credits
Robert Breitenstein