Hi, I’m Holly Slayton, owner of Sweet Carolina Cupcakes on beautiful Hilton Head Island, deep in the low country of South Carolina.

I am so grateful that you visited our website and took the time to stop by my page.  So many of you, our loyal customers, have also become life-long friends so I thought I would share with you a little bit about how Sweet Carolina Cupcakes came to be…

In the spring of 2008, with a 2 year old in-tow, I moved to Hilton Head Island to open my bakery. I was beginning a new chapter in my life.  I knew I wanted to work for myself.  I needed to find a career that would allow me to live in this wonderful place, and raise my daughter as a single mom.  And I needed to rely on the tools I already had.  While I was certain the recipes were good ( after all, I learned to bake from my Grandma!), I honestly didn’t know how a cupcake shop would be received.  To say I was intimidated is an understatement. With more than a little trepidation, the encouragement of my friends and family, and a lifetime of time-tested recipes, I stepped off into the unknown. A couple weeks later, business license in-hand, I rented my first commercial kitchen space and started baking.

Yes. My Grandmother, Eloise, was like so many of her contemporaries of the Post-War years. She spent most of her days in the kitchen. Growing up in a rural environment, she learned to bake from her mother who had learned from hers. As an adult, Eloise collected, tried, swapped, and modified almost every recipe she could get her hands on. Even scribbling hilarious notes about the recipe in the margin. My brother, sister, and I spent most of our childhood days in her kitchen. As unofficial taste testers and kitchen assistants, we learned through immersion. I knew how to beat egg whites into stiff peaks before I could ride a bike. I could fill this page and more with everything she taught me.  It is these recipes and the spirit of homemade quality that drives Sweet Carolina Cupcakes today.

After several test batches, making some tweaks here and there, and quite a bit of nail biting,  we were soon opened up serving up fresh baked cupcakes to locals and visitors on Hilton Head Island. Without a store front from which to sell, we loaded up twice a week and set up shop at  Harbor Fest — a local tradition on summer nights.  There, we introduced Hilton Head Island to the best cupcakes they had ever eaten.

Before long, we moved into our first retail location. We were located in a small store front, in an out of the way office complex, not exactly a high traffic location. And like most startups, we didn’t really have an advertising budget. What we did have was you. Our loyal customers.

Initially, only small group knew about us. But they were loyal. Folks who randomly came in once, soon came back day after day. And those folks told their friends, who told their friends, and so on, and so on…  Our small group of customers was slowly growing larger with each passing week. As word spread around the island and beyond, we began seeing the same customers over and over again, along with new faces every single day. Soon we were fielding calls and emails from folks out of town who had heard of us, planning to stop by on their visit to our little island home.

After about a year in this small space our customer base had grown, and we had outgrown our space. So, we moved to our current spot in Coligny Plaza.  Soon after the move, our small but steady group of customers began to grow even faster. You found us, and we found you. Before long we were selling out every day. And our small but steady group began to quickly turn into a crowd.

Since then we’ve been here, year in and year out. And you’ve come back to us, day after day, year after year. You’ve come to us for birthdays, and anniversaries.  You come in to show us the babies who have joined your family since we made your wedding cake a few years back.  You’ve come to us as a regular ritual on your annual visit to Hilton Head, and on a daily basis to fuel your sweet tooth. It has been because of you that we’ve been so successful.

Since 2008, we have grown each year. Just a couple years ago we calculated we had sold over 1 million cupcakes!  There have been lots of long hours. And not every day is a cake walk ( sorry, I just couldn’t resist… ) But it has always been exactly what I wanted it to be – a way to share my creativity and love with our community, and bring a smile to every single person we touch.  And we don’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.

Here’s to you, and One Million more cupcakes..!