Inspiring Small Business Owners- Sugar Marsh Cottage’s Dale Potts

 I encounter many people in my decorating, blogging, and Etsy businesses that inspire me on a daily basis and I thought it would be fun and insightful to interview some of these small business owners and hear about their products and/or services, tap into their creative sides, and see what their recipe for success has been! But first, a little background on what inspired me to begin it….. 

My husband, youngest son, and I traveled to Coastal Georgia for a few days earlier this month for Spring Break to a pretty little town called Darien, which is about 50 miles south of Savannah on the Altamaha River at the mouth of Georgia’s coast. As luck would have it, the place we were going to stay near Savannah didn’t work out, and the owner of Open Gates Bed & Breakfast in Darien, Zach Rath, had a little house next door to him that he arranged for us to rent for a few days. Darien has a waterfront with beautiful and colorful shrimp boats lined up and down it, and a downtown that is walker friendly with a path, restaurants, and cute little shops. The area we stayed was Historic Vernon Square with several churches, a fountain, and large magnolias and live oaks covered with Spanish moss. The Methodist church’s bells chimed every hour and half hour in this quiet little area and the only other thing to be heard was the sound of the fountain in the center of the square. It truly is a peaceful, idyllic, novel little town filled with friendly people and charm galore!

Across the street from Zach’s B & B is a beautiful old home that is a chocolate shop called Sugar Marsh Cottage. We were told by the locals we must visit before we left town! The houses’s historic architecture with a modern day color scheme was enticement enough for me! That chartreuse door……

We walked in and were greeted by a friendly sales lady who showed us around and encouraged us to try some samples of their delicious cookies and chocolates. Being a lover of architecture and all things interior design, my eye went straight to the beautiful furnishings, fabrics, and house details first, and then to Sugar Marsh Cottage’s impeccable style in packaging their products. 

Feeling inspired, I asked the shop’s owner, Dale Potts, if she might be interested in doing an interview that would encourage and inspire small business owners and my blog readers. She was nice enough to agree! Dale is a former Atlantan who shares the Georgia Tech graduate title with my husband and is also a fellow Weimaraner lover, to boot. She and her husband used to own two of the beauties when they lived in Atlanta, and she showed me photos of them in her office.  I knew I liked her from the get go! Let’s get started and learn a little more about this hard-working business owner and how Sugar Marsh Cottage came to be.

TPC: Hi, Dale, thank you for joining us today. Can you tell us a little about your college background and what you studied at Georgia Tech?

SMC: I studied Architecture and Building Construction and earned a Bachelor of Science in both.

TPC: You mentioned you had lived in Atlanta previously. What was the reason for your relocation to Darien? 

SMC: About 25 years ago my husband and I purchased a small home in Darien as a getaway from Atlanta.  When I started my business, Darien was the inspiration for Sugar Marsh Cottage, with all of our seashell shaped items, and I knew it eventually needed to land here. After being in Atlanta for several years we moved the business to Darien in 2010.

TPC: What prompted the idea of a candy business and what year was Sugar Marsh Cottage established? 

SMC: I had been making seashell shaped shortbread and a small variety of sweets for friends and family for a number of years. I had the idea in the back of my mind and with the encouragement of my husband, circumstances led to my being able to start this business officially in 2006. We incorporated in 2004 and took time to perfect recipes and develop our packaging.  We made our business “debut” at the Atlanta Gourmet Market in 2006.

TPC: That’s so exciting! Did you have any prior business background prior to Sugar Marsh Cottage?

SMC: I was a construction manager for large commercial general contractor after having previously worked for a real estate developer.

TPC: I love the idea of a small business in an old home with great architecture. What style of home is Sugar Marsh Cottage in historic Darien and what year was it built?

SMC: Southern Vernacular Georgian Colonial Revival.  It was built in 1935.

TPC: I can tell you have a love of color and design based on the exterior front door that carries on with details throughout the shop, including the upstairs porches! What was your inspiration for your color choices for Sugar Marsh Cottage?

SMC: I have always been drawn to the color Chartreuse and thought it would be a striking color for our candy and cookie boxes. Other colors pair well with it also and we like to identify seasonal change incorporating various ribbon colors depending upon the time of year or  holiday.  For example we are getting ready to change to hot pink and green for Mother’s Day. For Summer we will be back to our turquoise and green. 

I designed our stylized seashell logo originally in black.  Several years ago we decided to soften it up and now it is turquoise.  Turquoise and green are clean, crisp beautiful colors together.  Obviously I have a love of seashells and sea life.    Several of our interior fabrics for chairs and other décor in our retail area have come from Lewis and Sheron and Forsyth Fabrics. Always favorite stops for me when visiting Atlanta!

TPC: I love the white, black, and chartreuse exterior. Do you mind sharing your front door paint color?

SMC: It is Sherwin Williams “Verdant”.  That was the first change made to the house after purchasing it.  Sugar Marsh Cottage had to have a green door!

TPC: What has been the hardest part of being a small business owner?

SMC: Trying to anticipate the unknown.  Balancing labor and materials with existing and anticipated orders and making it all work to deliver on time, keep customers happy and be profitable.  

TPC: What has been the most exciting thing about being a business owner? 

Having people recognize and enjoy our products.  We have become known for beautiful packaging and delicious confections.  I particularly appreciate it when customers come into the shop and tell me they have recently stayed at The Breakers Hotel and enjoyed our cookies or white chocolates for their “turndown” service while they were there. We are one of the “turndown” vendors for the Breakers and also provide gift boxes containing a special assortment of items for their VIP customers upon check in. We custom designed our packaging specifically for them although we are able to use our own branding.  This has led to several orders from Breakers customers as well.

TPC: That’s an amazing success story. Your chocolates and cookies are not only beautiful, but also delicious! Tell us a little about your products and what makes them special?

SMC: Our shortbread cookies are seashell shaped and we call them “coquilles” which is French for seashell.  We dip them in a variety of coatings: White Chocolate Coconut, Sweet Key Lime, Dark Chocolate, Meyer Lemon Buttermint and Royal Summer Raspberry to name a few.

Our molded chocolates come in a variety of seashell shapes: sea stars, cockle shells and baby sea turtles.  We infuse our milk chocolate and dark chocolate with fine bits of our sea salt toffee.  These same shapes come in a white chocolate buttermint and orange blossom buttermint as well. All are available in cellophane bags or boxes.

We make 2 toffees: Sweet Almond  Toffee and Fleur de Sel Toffee

We also have Sugar Rum Tea Cakes, Coastal Plantation Roasted Salted Pecans and new to our collection, Artisan Sea Salted Caramels, a buttery soft caramel with a hint of sea salt.

We continue to develop new products including our sea shell shaped bon bons containing a variety of delectable ganaches.  Dark Chocolate Rosemary Olive Oil or White Chocolate Lemon Basil for example.  We produce these in very small batches. 

 

TPC: Where can my readers order your products?

SMC: www.sugarmarshcottage.com. Not everything I have described is shown on our website but please feel free to email me dsp@sugarmarshcottage.com and we should be able to accommodate your request. We have just recently started posting items on Sugar Marsh Cottage Specialty Confections facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/Sugar-Marsh-Cottage-Specialty-Confections-526588794103608/.

TPC: If you could give a small business owner just starting out some advice about running a creative business, what would it be?

SMC : Keep in mind that you can’t be everything to everyone.  People will want to pull you and your business in a lot of directions and will offer many encouraging ideas. Stay with your core concept and keep it fresh, adding, deleting as needed but always in keeping with your corporate culture and identity.

TPC: What great information for creatives and small business owners alike. Thank you so much for being with us today, Dale! I know we have all been motivated and inspired by your beautiful shop and products, as well as a glimpse into your creative background and business know-how! 

I hope y’all enjoyed learning more about this small business owner and her successful business! These little confections make lovely all occasion gifts, as well as wedding party favors, etc. Not only are they delicious, but the beautiful custom packaging is the “icing on the cake.”

Today, I am hosting a giveaway from Sugar Marsh Cottage! Enter below and follow all details of the giveaway to win The Island Box Petite from Sugar Marsh Cottage! Contest ends this Saturday, April 30. 

“The Island Box Petite is a wonderful gift box from Sugar Marsh Cottage containing an award winning selection of gourmet shortbread, artisan toffee and whimsical luxury chocolates with a coastal elegance. This exceptional gift contains the following luscious items: a box containing Sweet Key Lime Dipped Coquilles (seashell shaped shortbread cookies), ¼ lb. Fleur de Sel Toffee, Bittersweet Chocolate seashells, Pink Peppermint Shrimp and a Dark Chocolate Oyster with pearls.” – Sugar Marsh Cottage

 

The Island Box Petite Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck & thanks for stopping by today! 😉

* Photos not watermarked The Painted Chandelier are property of Sugar Marsh Cottage’s Facebook page.