Johnny Cupcakes

Last week I had about one hundred friends over my home to celebrate the holidays. It just so happened to be the night of a brewing blizzard too. However, Mother Nature didn’t seem to stop anyone.My house was filled with an abundance of holiday aromas, catered delights, live music, positive people, hugs, laughter + games. I had no complaints except that it felt like it ended too soon. Sometimes I wish certain situations + experiences would last forever.
Half of Finkle, Marty + Joe taste testing. Finkle helps out a bunch with planning and he’s the manager over at the Johnny Cupcakes Newbury Street shop. He’s also working on a neat book with his girlfriend Brittain, titled, I Love My Bike Book. Marty’s a sharp dude– (speaking of bikes) check out his company Geek House Bikes. Joe has been helping out during the holiday season at the Boston shop. He’s a funny guy.

KC + Kellie. Kellie’s uncle Paul was the designer/creator of the Reebok Pump. KC is a great artist, photographer, and he helps out at the Hull shop every so often. And you might have seen Kellie modeling JC products here and there.

Josh, Keith, Clark, Ricky, and my Mom. (below)

- Josh and his girlfriend Maggie visit me every year for Christmas. I met Josh about 8 years ago. Our bands toured together and have shared many adventures, antics + memories. If you get a chance, check out his bands Evergreen Terrace and xCasey Jonesx. Josh and I once bought 400+ scratch tickets.

- Keith’s in Finkle’s entourage. You might see him at one of my movie nights in Boston. If so, say hello to him.

- I met Clark not too far after I met Josh on tour. He designed a poster for a venue that my old band On Broken Wings played (with Josh’s band Evergreen Terrace.) Prior to playing that venue, my band had actually gotten into a serious van accident, flipping over 3.5 times on the most dangerous highway in North Carolina while on tour. We were supposed to be dead– however, we got our totaled van towed and we all spent some time at the hospital. Rather than heading home, we decided to rough it up and play the last couple dates of the tour. One of those dates was at a venue in Tampa, where I took noticed to this one poster that Clark happened to create. I was having a difficult time growing my brand (and band), so I wanted to mix things up and start working with different illustrators. Clark was one of them. I used to mail him ideas and drawings of my silly concepts and he’d show me what he was working on through e-mail or whenever we’d tour through his area. He even did some of the earlier Johnny Cupcakes websites! Anyways… A lot of time went by– and 2 years ago I brought this talented, crafty pal of mine onto the Johnny Cupcakes team full time! When Clark’s not working, he’s singing 80’s rock love ballads and skateboarding. He also enjoys ping-pong and turkey meat anything. If you happen to come across a skateboarding piece of turkey meat that sings 80’s rock love ballads, plz send this way. Thnx.

- Ricky was brought on board a few years back. He is the operations manager at Johnny Cupcakes, doing many behind the scenes iron work. Some things include, but are not limited to– making sure we have product, working with the manufacturers, making sure the stores have product, working with website developers, helping keep the everything efficient and flattening out any bumps in the road. And trust me, not matter how big or small your business is, there will always be bumps in the road. It’s all part of the puzzle though! If running a business was easy, than everybody would be doing it and it wouldn’t be so special. Ricky always keeps his cool and comes up with a variety of solutions for the unexpected problems. Whether it’s during work hours or in the middle of the night, Ricky mans up with no complaints. He’s got almost every episode of The Office memorized, and he does a pretty mean impression of the creepy old man from Family Guy. “Well, hey there young fella…”

- Mom aka Lorraine. The love of my life and backbone to my business. She does a whirlwind of business-cartwheels every day + night. I think my computer would crash if I had to type out a list. Let’s just say that she does all of the things that scare people away from starting a business. Shortly after my Newbury Street shop opened in Boston 3.5 years ago, I was able to hire my own Mom full time. This was probably my biggest personal accomplishment– seeing my mom happy. She was happy at her old job in the city, but it was the ridiculous rush-hour commutes that wore her down, giving her not much time or energy to spend with the family or to have a personal life. Even though work at Johnny Cupcakes can get overwhelming at times, she some how gets it done 110%. And with our most recent additions to the brand, my sister Linsay and neighbor Kelley, my Mom has a pretty powerful arsenal of help. Hopefully in 2010 she’ll spend some more time on her sea shell artwork. My mom creates all these beautiful sea shells from around the world. I’ll have to post some photos sometime.

Quinn, Brian + Micah. Quinn and Micah are part of Boston’s bakery team. Very hardworking, funny fellas. Whenever I’m in the city, I find myself laughing half of the time. The other half of the time, we’re prolly laughing too. Mainly due to some of the confused + interesting characters that we seem to attract at the shop every now and then. Micah’s sister and I went to middle school together and shared the same teachers. If you get a chance– stop into the Johnny Cupcakes Boston / Newbury Street shop and say hello to these dudes and the rest of the team. Brian (in the middle) looks very very short in the photo for some reason haha. Brian worked with us earlier this year. He’s a good guy and loves just about anything…except clowns. When I mentioned wanting to do a clown theme for Boston’s annual There’s Something In The Cupcake Mix release– Brian’s face literally turned white.

Tabby + Emma couch conversing. Tabby is the assistant manager at Johnny Cupcakes Boston / Newbury Street. She’s been with us for a little while now and has been doing an awesome job keeping things organized, running smooth + looking good! Tabby enjoys writing, Twilight, heavy metal, rugby, broadway musicals (esp. homemade ones in-store) and good food. Feel free to find out when she’s working + surprise her at the shop with an eggs benedict from Stephanie’s on Newbury Street. You’ll make her day. Maybe she’ll even make up a little song + dance for ya.

Emma is a long time friend. I first met her in 2000 when her and her schoolmates would come into the record shop I worked at, Newbury Comics, and purchase chain wallets + 3XL Slipknot shirts. I’m not one to speak. I used to wear very large pants + my first concert was TLC, Boyz 2 Men, and Montell Jordan. Nobody was born into cool though. It’s funny how some people act like their caca doesn’t (or didn’t ever) stink. Don’t act like ya’ll never bought Manic Panic Hair Dye!

Anyways– Emma used to come out to some of On Broken Wings’ shows + even a Sweeps reunion show (Sweeps is the rap band I used to be in when I was 15. I rapped with my friends + I DJ’d. We even played a show at CBGB’s once!). Emma was also a part of the JC team before she moved out to California to work on movies + travel around. My Best Friends Girl + The Zoo Keeper are some of the films/projects that she worked on. Emma’s probably going to hate me for using this photo, but I think it captures her silly personality. Emma, her ex ex boyfriend and myself, all camped out on Nantasket Beach once, and we woke up with no skin left due to the mysterious beach mosquitos.

Me and my favorite little sister in the whole wide world. Haha.. my sister Linsay and I say that to each other all of the time, even though we don’t have any other siblings. This has been Linsay’s first official year with working for my brand full time. She had just graduated from Bryant University and she’s been pulling way more than her weight. Human resources, payroll, running the JohnnyCupcakesVault on eBay, booking my travel, organizing the Johnny Cupcakes Lecture Series, setting up school tours at the JC Boston shop, customer service, phone orders, and tons tons more. I think my sister has made over a thousand new friends this year just from being herself on the telephone.

The Cupcake Factory Dream Team! From left to right.. and then bottom; Cody, Chris, Ricky, Danny, and Paul at the bottom (real name John, but there’s already a Johnny so he’s been Paul).

Cody and Paul are responsible for organizing the warehouse, helping with inventory, all of the shipments that go out on a day to day basis and that come in on a daily basis. Heck, if it weren’t for these two then you guys wouldn’t have your Christmas presents, birthday gifts, orders, etc.. The stores also wouldn’t have their product, and you’d be caca out of lucka. Not only do they get the orders out, but they do it in the coined JC style. Every order gift wrapped with custom Johnny Cupcakes tissue paper, special boxes, random surprises, and more. They’re helping make everyone happy, in sort of a Santa kind of way. Actually, if Santa Claus had two nephews who listened to Lil’ Wayne 24/7, then these would be your guys (: When they aren’t working, Cody is destroying everyone in Call Of Duty & Paul is taking remarkable photos.

Chris (brown winter hat), just joined the team this year. Chris is our CTO, Apple Certified MacGuyver. He can take a part a computer and put it back together in 39 seconds using only his teeth. He’s on duty 24/7 whenever we need him to work his magic. Chris also pitches in when needed. From customer service to unexpected bazillion box deliveries, inventory, or events. He’s excelled in his photography + video, splitting up in house tasks with Dave Green. Chris also has a very fast automobile with all sorts of Fast & The Furious type gadgets up in the engine. When he’s not revving his engine, Chris is further polishing up both his photography and his weaponry.

Ricky I introduced you to a few photos up.

Danny used to work at the JC Boston / Newbury Street shop, and the very first Johnny Cupcakes shop in Hull. A few months back he transfered to The Cupcake Factory where he’s been a HUGE help to my sister Linsay. Danny has probably made almost as much friends as my sister has, with his helpful, funny, honest personality. Mastering customer service/relationships, telephone orders, and the JohnnyCupcakesVault eBay account– Danny’s been killing it!

Vincent and the Misses, along with Maggie. Vincent and I met in early 2000 when our bands first played together. Our strange personalities and love for 80’s anything quickly bonded our friendship. Check out his band The Acacia Strain and support them if they tour through your city. They’re probably one of the heaviest bands.
Dominic and I went to high school together. We both had border line learning disabilities and often found ourselves doing magic tricks during spanish + english class. Out of school we played capture the flag with a ton of neighborhood friends. Dominic wore all out camouflage army fatigues during his first game with my friends that I introduced him to. It took us over 3 hours to find him…and we didn’t even find him– he found us! When we were 15 years old, Dominic played drums in one of our first bands, Sweeps. After returning home from being in the air-force for one thousand years, he decided to move to Oklahoma. But in one month he’s about to hop over to Denver, Colorado to help open up a piano bar.

In the photo below Dom appears to be doing security for my arcade.

Jeff and Jenna wouldn’t leave my basement for quite sometime haha. I met Jeff almost 4 years ago, before I opened my shop in Boston. Jeff’s a good dude & it’s always a pleasure to chat with him. He’s a fashion + creativity connoisseur often traveling, writing, and introducing innovative products to all sorts of people. Pretty awesome job if you ask me! Him and I are both Portuguese, which means we have a strong bond with our families… and that we have hairy chests. If you get a sec, check out some of Jeff’s sites; HighSnobiety, Selectism, & more here.

Jenna and I met years ago as well. After being friends for a while, we teamed up to get some new products + ideas off the ground. She’s been working with my brand helping develop most non t-shirt type products and organizing some of our video + photo shoots. When she first came on, Jenna was also doing our marketing + PR. We both have a lot in common; Our love for packaging, Christmas, Halloween, candy, food, surprises, seasons, and products with in depth detail. Jenna just opened an amazing studio space in Boston. I recently had the opportunity to meet + hang out with all of the talented, polite folks at Patch Studio. I’ll be doing some future projects with some of Patch Studio too. Speaking of future, another one of Jenna’s many projects, is FUTURECRAFT. Hand weaving beautiful textiles with her mom, she’s built quite the neat brand for herself.
Stebs is one of the rad, creative people that I met through Jenna’s studio. Him and I are going to be doing some work together soon. Check out his company Quarter Productions. He’s got a great eye for capturing details and bringing depth, color & emotion out of every day people + activities through his videos.

(…TO BE CONTINUED…)