A few weeks ago my mom and I were invited to attend the Inc. 500 conferences and award ceremony out in DC. My mom went a few days early to partake in community service activities and business seminars. She said she learned 3 years worth of education in 3 days. Unfortunately I was only able to attend the last day, which was still jam packed with all sorts of fun stuff. The hotel we stayed in was like a whole entire town within a town.

We hung out with Chris Gardner and Norm Brodsky, as well as the AMAZING staff at Inc Magazine. Everyone was so friendly and fun. Thank you guys for taking care of my mom when I wasn't there!

Looks like these people were all seminar-ed out.

My quirky brand, Johnny Cupcakes, is the #237 fastest growing independent business in the nation, by Inc Magazine, this year. We got a nice little trophy thingy. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, my business would not be as successful as it is without the help of my wonderful team and my die hard customers.

I can't even begin to tell you how refreshing it is to talk with other entrepreneurs. We were surrounded by thousands of entrepreneurs who have all taken chances, risks, failed and gone broke over and over, people who had ideas and passions that did whatever it took to somehow, someway, make it work out.

Everyone's brand/business is different. Nobody was in competition, we were all learning from each other. Same thing happens when I talk with Benny Gold, Ben+Bobby Hundreds or Joshy D of Rebel 8. We're all completely different brands, but at the same time we're all connected through our passions. We all share the same every day puzzles that an independent brand goes through. Anyways, if you're a business owner, I highly suggest chatting it up with other business owners. That scared, lonely feeling that you sometimes might get once in a blue moon, goes away instantly.

Thanks again everyone!

One of my customers in the UK sent me a nice little box of treats! I can't keep talking about it or I'm going to start drooling. Thank you so much Grace!

My sister and I traveled to New York where I gave a lecture at Manhattan College. I forgot to take many photos, but here are a few..

What did that flyer just say? ::chomp chomp chomp:::

My friend DeJesus came out to the lecture and we hung out for a little while. I hadn't seen him for quite sometime. A few years back I had gone on tour with Gym Class Heroes-- and DeJesus and I would always wander about acting like goofballs every day + night. After the lecture we went through a gigantic maze while carrying all sorts of luggage.

Thanks for setting up the lecture guys!

My sister and I spent the night in NYC with our good friend Jessica. We laughed until we fell asleep + then woke up early to eat amazing everything bagels and to catch the train back to Boston for another lecture, at Wentworth.

Again, I forgot to take many photos until the very end, but it was a lot of fun. Ryan did a great Job setting up this event and promoting it. Thanks man!

I gave out many prizes to the crowd during our fun session of childhood trivia.

Shortly after, my sister and I headed out to North Carolina for some seminars. Boy oh boy, a lot has happened in the past few days. And this coming week is filled with more happenings! It's nice to relax sometimes, but I find myself always wanting to keep busy with new and old projects.

Back at the cupcake factory, my team has been playing Tetris with all sorts of boxes of mysterious Johnny Cupcakes products. If you haven't already-- pick up a Johnny Cupcakes Cardigan and some other custom goods that are in the online shop now.

I've been doing quite the traveling around the U.S. recently. My sister has been my traveling buddy for the most part, and we've been having some good laughs aside from almost getting shot. Met a bunch of great new friends, got some work off of + onto our plates, and ate a tremendous amount of delicious chips + cheese while in North Carolina (thanks Colin!). Just got into Los Angeles. Getting ready for There's Something In The Cupcake Mix release, this Friday at 9pm in LA, and then the next day in Boston at 9pm. I guess there's already some people camping out in Boston!

I'm also heading over to Sacramento State University for a lecture that is free and open to the public. If you live in the area or the San Francisco Bay area, make a small trip over to get a lesson from Mr. Cupcakes.

The brisk New England evening air is among us now. It chills your bones, but if you're a New England resident you're sorta immune and appreciate it.

A small piece of the line wrapping around the building. Everyone came out in good spirits for a night at the movies. It's always awesome seeing all of the familiar and new faces who come out to the Johnny Cupcakes Presents / movie nights.

Some free gifts for everyone in attendance.

This couple traveled from a Atlantic City to spend their wedding anniversary at one of my events! I thought that was awesome.

On Monday October 12th at 7:30 pm I will be presenting Ghostbusters, along with a super secret pre-show before the movie starts (short, secret Halloween pre-show starts at 7:30).  This is going to be a wonderful evening!

Below are few of the many lectures I have coming up. These ones are open to the public. If you're around you should make the trip out and get your learn on. I usually make up some random bits of trivia afterward where you can win some JC prizes too!

FYI the Boston University lecture that was listed in the Chronicle, is being pushed back to a different date.

Lots of great stuff going on. Sorry I haven't updated as much. Super busy week/weekend!

In no particular order-- below is a small list of just some of the upcoming October happenings to get excited about...

-Fall in general.
-A handful of new tops.
-A handful of new t-shirts.
-Updated eBay Vault items.
-A JC Pumpkin Carving contest.
-More random Twitter + Facebook contests.
-The October edition of The Cupcake Chronicle.
-There's Something In The Cupcake Mix in-store releases.
-Johnny Cupcakes Presents: Ghostbusters (w/ special pre-screening)
-Johnny Cupcakes x New Era hat with GLOW-in-the-dark thread. Limited to 144 pieces.

To stay up to date even more so, be sure to keep tabs on the Johnny Cupcakes Twitter page + the Johnny Cupcakes Facebook page.

Over at Johnny Cupcakes we just released some working gear. All sorts of items to help your busy self.

Some simple, custom JC notebooks. Work, plan, draw, take notes, or you can do my favorite thing in the world-- make lists. There's nothing like sitting down and making all sorts of lists to help better plan + organize your life.

All 3 notebooks have some inside-cover treasures.

The Johnny Cupcakes Knapsack. This durable knapsack is great for travel, work, school, camping, and other leisurely activities.

100% ripstop nylon.
JC camo in a grey on grey print.
Zippers with custom zipper pulls.
Adjustable front straps with buckles.
Black comfy padded shoulder straps.
2 bigger slots-- Back slot has removable laptop case.
Front slot has areas to fit water bottles, pencils, keychains, money, credit cards, sunglasses, etc.
+ a few secret compartments!

And there you have it. A simple, fun variety of items to help better organize your life. These are all available in the online shop now!

This Saturday at midnight I will be presenting a classic John Hughes(RIP) film, Ferris Bueller's Day Off. If you've ever skipped school and/or pretended to be sick, this movie is for you. Originally we were going to show it during school/work hours-- but I figured it wouldn't go over well with other company owners and parents.

Advanced tickets are available now! CLICK HERE to purchase yours ahead of time. See ya at the movies!

If I ever start a gang-- our bicycles are going to look like these;

By the way, that is definitely me in 40 years.

Every year my hometown has been having a great end of summer festival where all of the local business's, surrounding towns, and most of Hull's population comes out to relax and partake in. Sandcastle building contests, hot dog eating contests, and more.

We set up a booth each year and not only sell the last of some t-shirt designs, but we also have a FREE decorate your own cupcake table, mainly for the kids. Danny and Linsay running the show along with Kelley and my mom. Danny just transferred from the Boston shop-- to the Hull shop. Make sure you swing by and say hello. He usually works Monday - Thursday.

My mom bakes many many cupcakes that morning.

An array of toppings for all of the kids to choose from.

Look how amped that kid is in the back! That, or he had a bit too much frosting/sugar.

This kid is bad-ass. He looks like he's the leader of The Outsiders. Slicked back hair and barbed wire tattoo.

Nam and Tammy swung by to pick up some shirts for back to school. Really nice people with wonderful parents.

Slush break!

This puppy wasn't too happy about the hot dog eating contest.

These two traveled all the way up from D.C.-- what a great dad!

Bryson came through!

KC and Kell showing some hometown support.

Kyle reppin the old back-to-school JC shirt!

Bugs Bunny cuts the deck!

That's All Folks! (sorry, I had to do it)

It was a VERY rainy day in Boston. Absolutely pouring outside.

That didn't stop these people. You can't really tell in this photo, but they rigged up a giant blue tarp, and they built themselves a crafty little water-proof tunnel.

I think I see Mary Poppins!

I worked with the folks over at Warner Bros. to get us some limited edition cartoon cells for the first 20 customers in each JC shop. They were all sealed in these top secret envelopes. I couldn't even catch a peak inside these! You should of seen me-- I looked like an 8 year old trying to guess what his parents got him for Christmas, on the night before. Trying ever so hard to peel off the sealed, heavy duty envelope without ruining anything. I gave up.

Each cell was different. Even though some were numbered to a higher amount than others, we literally got a mix of cartoon cells totally the amount of 20. I didn't even get one! I didn't want to take anything away from my customers who braved it out in the rain. Hi Jeff!

Only 'x' amount of each of these in the entire world.

An embossed, signed, Certificate Of Authenticity accompanied each secret gift. Signed by Ruth Clampett, Bob Clampett's daughter. Bob Clampett was the animator, producer, and director of the Looney Tunes cartoons.

I even had fresh carrot cake cupcakes delivered to go along with Bug Bunny and his love for eating carrots. Due to the rain, the carrots showed up a tiny bit late, but were still enjoyed by many.

So I found this insane Rambo Eraser at a flea market over this past summer. There was no way I was leaving without it. Two things came to mind right off the bat;

-How the heck are you supposed to erase with something that's bigger and heavier than the pencil? Never mind it's awkward shape.

-Rambo is the complete opposite of a children's movie. I don't see any parents buying Rambo Erasers for their children's back to school supplies.

Maybe this is why someone still has a surplus of Rambo Erasers on hand.