Sunday, March 10, 2024

Victoria Aveyard: Telling Stories

 While Victoria Aveyard never intended to become an author, much less a New York Times bestselling author, she has become one that many recognize for her Red Queen Series and her recently finished trilogy Realm Breaker.

Book Stack of the Red Queen Series


Born in 1990 and growing up in a small town in Massachusetts, Aveyard decided to attend the University of Southern California for a degree in screenwriting. Film school, while a scary choice for her, allowed her to follow her love for telling stories. This is no surprise, as she grew up in a home surrounded with the classic stories we all know and love. On her social media channels, Aveyard can frequently be seen speaking about her love for J.R.R Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, as well as so many more, including but not limited to: The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Indiana Jones and Star Wars. 


Her dog is named Indiana, but goes by Indy frequently.


Upon graduating college in the spring of 2012, she decided to follow her dream of writing a novel, it had been the first way stories had made their way into her heart. Aveyard chose to move home and spent the next year writing the first draft of Red Queen. She debuted his novel in 2015, and has since continued to write. Now her full time job, she works to maintain a “job-like schedule” with her writing. 





Victoria Aveyard with a copy of the first novel in her Realm Breaker trilogy 


Her creative process for writing differs slightly depending on her mood. However, once she has finished a series, there is always excitement in getting to “play in new sandboxes”. The idea is that it is a brand new story that is free to be molded in any which way. She also frequently uses Wikipedia for research and information. I found her “sandboxes” to be similar to the idea of “seeds” that Rick Rubin talks about in his book  The Creative Act: A Way of Being. The “seeds” grow in different ways from the original idea, and that is something that seems to happen during the sandbox phase. It could be argued that this happens in the editing process too. 


 https://www.harpercollins.com/blogs/authors/victoria-aveyard-2015585332680

https://victoriaaveyard.com/about/

https://www.pageafterpage.org/an-interview-with-victoria-aveyard

https://victoriaaveyard.com/faq/


Scott Cawthon and the Expansive World of Five Nights at Freddy's

 Scott Cawthon - Age, Family, Bio | Famous Birthdays

Scott Cawthon is the creator of one of the largest, most popular indie game franchises known to date. This franchise is Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF). What started as a last-ditch effort from Cawthon eventually became a series of 10 games, over 40 books, and even a movie. The series was initially brought to mainstream attention by YouTubers such as MatPat, Markiplier, and CoryxKensihin, among others. Over time, the fandom grew larger than anyone could imagine, with a large community of fans on social media sites such as X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Reddit. 

Scott was originally a Christian creator, making Christian content in the form of movies and video games for over 12 years. He slowly fell further and further into financial failure and began to question his connection with God, falling into a deep depression and nearly quitting game-making altogether. Cawthon's initial approach to developing games was strictly related to God and Christian messages, but as he lost hope, he knew something needed to change. Another creative who struggled with the notion of God and religion is musician Nick Cave. He used to draw heavily from biblical imagery as a source for his songwriting. His reasoning for drawing from religion for his creative products differed from Cawthon's. While Cawthon questioned why God would keep allowing him to fail despite the toll it was taking on him, Cave questioned if God existed altogether since he was raised in an environment that did not nurture religious ideals. 

 Five Nights at Freddy's

 Rather than continuing on the path he was on, Cawthon decided to channel the emotional toll of his life's events into a horror game. The game, called Five Nights at Freddy's, was released in August 2014. Throughout the game's creation, Cawthon relied on family and friends as beta testers to try out the game. He would take their feedback and work on it some more, eventually reaching a final product. In the game, you play as a nighttime security guard, watching over a pizzeria called Freddy's. While sitting in the office, you are attacked by four animatronics; Freddy, Chica, Bonnie, and Foxy. Using door, light, and camera mechanics, the goal is to live to 6 AM each night, which gets progressively more challenging as you move on.

Screenshots image - Five Nights at Freddy's Game | Five nights at freddy's,  Five night, Night

Fans of the game immediately started to speculate about the lore behind the game, which likely sparked the idea for Cawthon to keep expanding upon it. Cawthon would go on to release 6 more games between 2015 and 2018, creating an entire world surrounding the characters and storylines of the games. However, after his initial blast into fame, Cawthon opted to remain outside the spotlight, letting the games speak for him. He did not like journalists, and so he was hardly ever interviewed. Fans mainly interacted with him through social media; however, he barely posted after getting backlash online for his support of conservative ideologies. Amidst the backlash, he announced his retirement in 2021. He put the franchise's future into the hands of Steel Wool Studios (who had already collaborated with games in 2019 and 2020) but was still present for some creative input. Steel Wool would release 3 games between 2021 and 2023, which many fans refer to as the new era of FNAF as one of the most significant storylines ended with Ultimate Custom Night in 2018.

Cawthon would partially come back into the spotlight during the promotional period for the Five Nights at Freddy's movie, which was loosely based on events from the games as well as the book series. Cawthon worked closely with director Emma Tammi throughout the production of the film. He also began posting more regularly on Reddit again and even attended movie screenings in a disguise to get the same experience as a fan. The movie only continued to expand the FNAF franchise as it entered the cinematic realm, acquiring fans further away from the gaming world. 

Five nights at Freddys movie poster extended edit by fazbear4564 on  DeviantArt

Sources:

https://www.geeksundergrace.com/gaming/developer-spotlight-scott-cawthon/

https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/five-nights-at-freddys-creator-scott-hawthorn-snuck-into-screenings-wearing-a-disguise

https://www.reddit.com/r/fivenightsatfreddys/comments/96h3pn/a_transcript_of_dawkos_interview_with_scott/

https://books.apple.com/us/book/faith-hope-and-carnage/

The Growth of Madeline Miller and her Magical Mythical Masterpieces

Whether it is the face that launched a thousand ships or a hero's journey destined for dramatic trials and epic conclusions, Greek myths prevail, and we return to them over and over. It takes an extraordinary mind to polish them off and gild them anew. Madeline Miller is an author and essayist. Having earned both an undergraduate and master's degree in the Classics at Brown University, the subjects of her works are often Greek myths. Miller breathes life into her characters' creating devastating, insightful, and inspiring arcs that fit into her beautiful recreations of and additions to classical Greek myths. Miller has also attended the Dramaturgy Department at Yale School of Drama and the University of Chicago's Committee on Social Thought. Her works include The Song of Achilles, which was a New York Times Best Seller and was awarded the 2012 Orange Prize for Fiction and was a New York Times Bestseller. Circe, her second major work, was a number 1 New York Times bestseller, winning also the Indies Choice Best Adult Fiction of the Year Award and was shortlisted for the 2019 Women's Prize for Fiction. To say less, Madeline Miller is an extraordinary creative and brilliant author. 

Circe - UK Edition

Absolute dedication - a mythic trial in and of itself - is the cornerstone of creatives Madeline Miller and Faith Ringgold's creative processes. Biographically, the two women share similar steps on the footpath to creative greatness. Miller describes honing her craft early on, much like the legendary artist and author Faith Ringgold, who would sew scraps of fabric into patchwork quilts, which laid the formula for some of her later pieces. Miller writes that she, too, began to show a propensity for creativity early in life, having spent much of her childhood indoors because "that was where the books were." She also describes being entirely dedicated to this task, preferring her reading posture to be "the prone position" rather than the upright one "because it seemed to signal a longer commitment." Writing came next as a natural progression; according to Miller, this "simple extension" of reading just happened; "if you sat long enough if you held still, the story would tell itself." However, like Ringgold, she struggled. Her journey to skill began by patching words together in works less than five pages long and, as she says in her original essay, "usually featured at least one tyrannosaurus." The older she got, the more ambitious her ideas. Much like Ringgold, who learned about texture, style, and form from her college art classes, Miller experimented with  storylines, plots, and characters but lacked the attention span to finish the work, saying her words would "peter out." So, she attempted a new process, experimenting with her creative experimentations to develop a new way to write. To write, Miller ran. Before she sat down at her computer, she usually exercised and found the ideas that came easier afterward. This process at first resulted in a work that had to be thrown away due to confusion, but two years later, Miller crafted The Song of Achilles. She balanced her post-running/walking ideas and drafts that came to her at a million miles an hour with sedentary hours of correction and rewriting. The process was incredibly successful, but trial and error were necessary to get the process done and create the piece. 

New US Paperback cover!

Devout commitment to the craft led Miller to painstakingly write her novels; Faith, too, developed a complete dedication to her work. Faith Ringgold, throughout motherhood, pursued her art. She created her own studios in the homes she lived in, carving out her own space amongst the lives of and spaces for her daughters. She traveled through Europe, viewing and learning about art to hone her own skills. She often took her girls to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She did creative work while being a mother and made it the way she created a living. Ringgold lived her craft just like Miller. Both women have personalities that allow them to live and breathe artistry. 

Both creatives strikingly describe a creative process of maturation. One's work shifts throughout one's lifetime from something novel, clunky, and unrefined to pieces that speak volumes and elicit pride from the artist. Ringgold describes a transition process from her early work. She calls her later art her "mature work," in the style labeled "Super Realism." She wanted to depict art that told stories about black people in Civil Rights Era America, in this movement that was "super-real." These works were a collection of stories or moments told by Ringgold. Some were just mere moments she crafted between two individuals meeting, and others were based on or fueled by stories she collected or experienced herself. Miller, too, found her process and her style of writing through practice. She says her early works were littered (or embellished) with dinosaurs. She describes having to scrap certain pieces but that her ideas developed and became "more ambitious." The creative process is one of change and growth. These women grew with their art and created art that kept progressing. Often, we forget the failure involved in the creative process and only view and praise the works that worked, but there were a lot of dinosaurs roaming unpublished pages before the Trojan retelling could be crafted as beautifully as it was. 

Galatea : A Short Story by Madeline Miller

Failure is paramount to producing a successful piece, and dedication is as an essential ingredient to that end result as inspiration. Both Ringgold and Miller creatives are collectors of stories; they gather then use them like inspirational recipes to create their pieces. These collected stories are either lived experiences, experiences shared by others, or legends told for thousands of years. Ringgold describes her work For Members Only as "recall[ing]" racial hostility she encountered as a child. There was a school field trip that brought students to Tibbetts Brook in Upper New York State. The white men carrying sticks surrounded the children and told them to get out and go back to their bus. Ringgold's collection based on her style of "Super Realism" all hold a piece of reality, communicating the black experience during the Civil Rights Era, portraying stories collected by Ringgold from members of her community. Miller's work is based on myths she collected throughout her time at university learning the Classics. These myths have been shared thousands if not millions of times in countless ways, and yet she uses them and their retellings to create round, real, and relatable characters, experiencing mythical moments in a fluid storyline. It's extraordinary what these artists have done with these short snippets of memory or myth, shaping them into influential and vast pieces that span time and speak their own message. 

Processes change, but to be great, one must dedicate themselves, they must fail, and they must grow. Ringgold and Miller's creative development has manifested magnificent masterpieces. 

References: 

https://madelinemiller.com/writing-at-six-miles-an-hour/

https://www.powells.com/post/original-essays/writing-at-six-miles-an-hour

Images: 

circe-us.jpg

SongAchilles-pb-c-2.jpg

0063280515.jpg



Ariana Grande

 

Ariana Grande has been a creative performer since she was a young child. Television shows on Nickelodeon, a handful of movies, Broadway shows, and now seven hit albums, she has truly done it all. Being in the spotlight for practically her entire life, Grande has been awarded a great deal of praise, but the same amount of criticism. Her music career was halted from starting production of her role as Glinda in the upcoming film “Wicked”. Fans speculated if the pause in songwriting was from a busy schedule or her falling victim to negative press about her relationships, her personal image, or past drama. The loss of Mac Miller, with whom she had a romantic relationship and friendship, or dealing with inappropriate harassment from Dan Schneider, a top producer from the Nickelodeon network are examples of traumas that would block any motivation to continue creativity. Extrinsic motivation to be more specific, which are motivating factors based on outside sources, peer approval, a high rating, etc. In the readings from week 7, Amabile notes that “The extrinsically motivated state is detrimental” … “In short, extrinsic motivators and extrinsic constraints in the social environment could alter the motivational state from intrinsic to extrinsic and thus, undermine creative behavior”. To overcome the extrinsic constraints on Grande’s creativity and career, she has leaned into the intrinsic motivators that remind her of why she loves songwriting and self-expression through music, and her passion to tell a story. 


Eternal Sunshine, Grande’s newest album since 2020, is an inside look into her personal life. She writes about her previous failed marriage and a new relationship with Ethan Slater, her co-star in “Wicked”. She talks through the process of creating the album in an interview in which she opened up that “It all just kind of started pouring out, and after our first week together, I kept coming to the studio every day by myself, and it just kinda kept organically happening that way, so I just decided to react and listen to that”. A huge part of her creative process is independently working through the lyrics and music, tuning into what she felt was right. Grande fully immerses herself in her creative process, putting her mind in a vulnerable place to be transformed. She also admitted in that “I kind of healed a lot of parts of myself alongside and through [Glinda], and it actually helped me heal a lot of my own personal weird stuff that I had with my relationship to music and to being an artist,” she said. “It all happened absolutely how it was meant to be.”. Opening herself up to such change is the best way Grande can refocus on the intrinsic motivators that allow her to continue to create and heal. Rick Ruben in The Creative Act: A Way of Being puts it perfectly: “To the best of my ability, I’ve followed my intuition to make career turns, and been recommended against doing so every time. It helps to realize that it’s better to follow the universe than those around you. It isn’t popularity, money, or critical esteem. Success occurs in the privacy of the soul”. Ariana Grande’s new album is testimony to that, focusing on the intrinsic factors of why a creative loves what they create and producing the next hit album. 

Amabile, T.M., Hennessy, B.A. & Grossman, B.S. (1986). Social influences on creativity: The effects of contracted-for reward. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 14-23 
Tinoco, Armando. “Ariana Grande Says Hollywood Strikes Led Her to Create New Music & Release ‘Eternal Sunshine.’” Deadline, Deadline, 28 Feb. 2024, deadline.com/2024/02/ariana-grande-hollywood-strikes-eternal-sunshine-1235839258/. 
Ariana Grande - Songs, Age & Facts, www.biography.com/musicians/ariana-grande. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024.

J.R.R. Tolkien- Innovator of Fantasy

 

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, better known as J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, was born on January 3rd, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. After his father's death on February 15th, 1896, he and his family returned to the West Midlands of England. Growing up, his childhood was a mix of rural England's beautiful hills and industrial Birmingham's smog. Once he reached school age, he was sent to King Edward's School, and his family moved to King's Hearth and into a house backed onto a rail line. From his home, Tolkien's fascination with languages began from coal train destinations such as "Nantyglo" Penrhiwceiber" and "Senghenydd". 

Eventually, the family moved to the more pleasant area of Edgbaston, where his mother and aunt were baptized into the Roman Catholic Church and estranged from both sides of the family. In 1904, Tolkien's mother was diagnosed with diabetes, which was fatal before the creation of insulin. After her death on November 14th, 1904, Tolkien and his brother were taken in by Father Francis, the local parish priest. During this time, his linguistic abilities began to show through his mastery of Latin and Greek and his competency in modern and ancient languages, such as Finnish, while creating his languages for fun. The summer before he went to college, Tolkien joined a party on a walking holiday in Switzerland. At Exeter College, Oxford, he became immersed in Germanic languages, classics, old English, Welsh, and Finnish. Although he initially began as a Classics major, he switched to English Language and Literature after a disappointing second-class degree in Classics. 


Although World War 1 broke out on July 28th, 1914, Tolkien returned to Oxford to achieve a first-class degree, which he obtained in June 1915. He began many poetic attempts throughout this time while working on his invented languages. Eventually, Tolkien enlisted as a second lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers while working on his story of Earendel the Mariner and his journeys. Finally, he was sent to depart for France, so he married his childhood love Edith on March 22nd, 1916, before he was sent to the front lines. There, Tolkien fought during the Somme Offensive and spent four months in and out of the trenches before he got "trench fever." In early November, he was sent back to England, where he stayed a month to recover before returning to Edith by Christmas.

His illness continued throughout 1917 and 1918, but he continued to develop his stories. Once the war had ended, Tolkien was appointed assistant lexicographer for the New English Dictionary, later known as the Oxford English Dictionary. While working on the dictionary, he presented one of his lost tales, which he had begun constructing, and his bouts of illness. In the summer of 1928, he became an associate professor in the English language at the University of Leeds, where he collaborated with E.V. Gordon on the famous edition of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight while refining The Book of Lost Tales and his invented languages.

During his professorship and grading exam papers, Tolkien discovered a student had left one page of the answer book blank. Yet on the page, he wrote, "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit." Thus began the investigation into the character of the Hobbit. Where it lived, what it did, why it lived in a hole, what sort of hole it was, all became questions ingrained in the tales Tolkien told his children before bed. Eventually, this tale morphed beyond the bedroom and into an incomplete typescript in 1936 when it was discovered and presented to Stanley Unwin, the chairman of a publishing firm. Thus, The Hobbit was published in 1937 and met with immediate success. 


After the decision that his completed works were not commercially publishable, Tolkien began the arduous task of creating a sequel for The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings was born. Stanley's son Rayner, who was now involved with the company, had to manage Tolkien during this time, along with the author's many delays and temperamental moments. However, the book was eventually published in three parts during 1954 and 1955, and its publication was met with immediate public praise. By 1965, The Lord of the Rings was put in a pirated paperback version, where a massive copyright dispute gave the book a substantial American audience that wanted something new but relatable to their experiences. However, the book's success led Tolkien to feel both honored and wealthy, but also overwhelmed by the obnoxious nature of some of his fans who would call him in the middle of the night or show up at his home. So, Tolkien changed addresses, moved to a South Coast resort with his wife, and made his phone ex-directory. Tolkien continued to write and publish articles, which continued after his death through the work of his sons. Eventually, Tolkien's incomplete writings were published in Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, and after a monumental investigation into the study of Middle-earth, History of Middle-earth was published.  



Tolkien's creative process was long and complicated. He had to picture, sketch, and perfect the many objects and places he included in his works. After he had set the foundation for his world, he constructed his drafts. He looked at these with harsh criticism and often changed places, people, characters, and names and would draw them out with the knowledge that they would likely be revised later if he did not like them. Tolkien created his works by telling stories to his children and allowing them to develop and unravel themselves as he spoke. In a way, Tolkien was improvising his stories and rewriting the things he did not like. This method is much like the one Nick Cave uses as he sits in the studio with Warren writing his songs, which he details in Faith, Hope and Carnage. Both improvise as they go, yet their many improvisations are edited and narrowed down to a product they are happy with. 

https://www.tolkiensociety.org/author/biography/

https://community.thriveglobal.com/j-r-r-tolkien-s-writing-process-on-creating-good-work/#:~:text=As%20for%20his%20writing%20process,Or%20till%20it%20writes%20itself.”

Denis Villeneuve - Dune




    Denis Villeneuve, born on October 3, 1967, in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, is a visionary filmmaker renowned for his distinctive approach to storytelling and his visually stunning cinematic style. Villeneuve's journey into filmmaking began at a young age, fueled by a deep passion for storytelling and a fascination with the human condition. After studying film at the UniversitĂ© du QuĂ©bec Ă  MontrĂ©al, he embarked on his career, initially directing short films and documentaries.

    Villeneuve's ascent to international acclaim came with films like "Incendies" (2010), a gripping exploration of family secrets and war-torn legacies, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. He further solidified his reputation with "Prisoners" (2013), a haunting thriller exploring morality and justice, and "Sicario" (2015), a gritty portrayal of the drug war on the US-Mexico border.

    Known for his meticulous attention to detail and his ability to evoke powerful emotions from audiences, Villeneuve's creative process is marked by a profound dedication to his craft. He collaborates closely with his team, including cinematographers, production designers, and composers, to meticulously craft each frame and evoke the desired atmosphere. Villeneuve's films are characterized by their atmospheric tension, complex characters, and thought-provoking narratives, often exploring themes of identity, morality, and the nature of humanity.

    In recent years, Villeneuve has continued to push the boundaries of filmmaking with ambitious projects like "Arrival" (2016), a thought-provoking science fiction film exploring communication and understanding, and "Blade Runner 2049" (2017), a visually stunning sequel to Ridley Scott's classic, which earned him widespread acclaim. With his upcoming adaptation of Frank Herbert's "Dune," Villeneuve demonstrates his ability to tackle epic narratives while staying true to the essence of the source material. 

   Ringgold's artwork, with its vibrant colors, dynamic composition, and evocative narrative, embodies the essence of creativity as a means of exploring and expressing complex ideas and emotions. Like Villeneuve, who approaches filmmaking as a medium for storytelling and exploration of human experiences, Ringgold's art serves as a vehicle for conveying historical and social narratives, shedding light on important issues of race, identity, and social justice.

    In Villeneuve's creative process, there is a profound respect for the power of storytelling to provoke thought and evoke emotion. He values authenticity and depth in his narratives, seeking to engage audiences on intellectual and emotional levels. Similarly, Ringgold's art invites viewers to contemplate the struggles and triumphs of marginalized communities, fostering empathy and understanding.

    Through their respective works, both Villeneuve and Ringgold demonstrate that creativity is not limited to a specific medium or genre but rather encompasses a diverse range of expressions that have the potential to inspire, challenge, and unite audiences. Whether through film or visual art, their creations serve as a testament to the transformative power of creativity in illuminating the human experience and shaping collective consciousness.

 


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denis_Villeneuve

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0898288/

Candace Nelson: Innovator of Cupcakes

    Have you ever had the craving for a cupcake in the middle of the night? Or really anytime during the day? Well, Candace Nelson has, and that craving is one of the reasons why there are currently 50 cupcake ATMs across the United States. Nelson is the co-founder of Sprinkles Cupcakes which came to be in April of 2005 with the opening of the first Sprinkles bakery in Beverly Hills, California. Within a matter of hours, the bakery sold out of all their cupcakes on opening day and the business is still going strong. Yet, while Nelson’s cupcake career started with founding one of the world’s first cupcake bakeries, she has since channeled her creativity into multiple avenues. These creative innovations include setting up the first cupcake truck, the “Sprinklesmobile,” establishing the first cupcake ATM, and writing her book Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit.


Photo of Candace Nelson from Inc. Magazine

    While Nelson’s career with sprinkles is flourishing, she was not always a baker. She started off as an investment banker in San Francisco, but after losing her job she turned to her passion for baking as a new pursuit. Nelson attended Tante Marie’s Cooking School in San Francisco and graduated in 2002 from their professional pastry program. Three years later, Sprinkles Cupcakes was born.

 

 

    As Sprinkles was the first cupcake-only bakery to make it big, Nelson knew that she would need to find a way for her cupcakes to stand out as potential imitators emerged. This is what lead to the creation of the distinct branding that makes a Sprinkles cupcake recognizable. There are three consistent elements that distinguish Sprinkles cupcakes from the rest: (1) the chocolate-brown cupcake wrapper; (2) the “Sprinkles swirl”; and (3) the “modern dot.” First, the chocolate-brown cupcake wrapper, this one is self-explanatory, each Sprinkles cupcake is wrapped in a chocolate-brown cupcake wrapper. This in itself may not have given Sprinkles cupcakes their signature look, but when combined with the other two key elements, it helps to really make the icon that is a Sprinkles cupcake. Next is the “Sprinkles swirl.” This is the swirl of frosting that is created by hand on each Sprinkles cupcake. Instead of the traditional method of frosting a cupcake, using frosting in a piping bag, Nelson decided to use an offset spatula to frost her cupcakes and achieve the signature “Sprinkles swirl.” I believe that this swirl adds a nice touch to the cupcakes, giving them a more personal feel, while still maintaining a cohesive look. The last element of most Sprinkles cupcakes is the “modern dot.” The modern dot is the singular sprinkle that is present on most non-specialty Sprinkles cupcakes and is a feature of the cupcakes that has trademark protection. Thus, as Sprinkles grew to be what it is today, imitators cannot get too close to the signature look of a Sprinkles cupcake, making them so recognizable today. The signature look of a Sprinkles cupcake can be seen all over their Instagram page, which I have linked below.

 

https://www.instagram.com/sprinklescupcakes/?hl=en

 

    Besides creating the first cupcake-only bakery, Nelson created the first cupcake ATMs and cupcake truck, nicknamed the “Sprinklesmobile.” The first of these creations, the cupcake ATM, was launched in 2012, but the idea came to be about two years prior. In an interview with Laurel Mintz from Inc. Magazine in 2018, Nelson describes that the idea for the cupcake ATM came to be when she was pregnant with her second son and had the craving for a cupcake. It was during a time at night when the Sprinkles bakery was long past being closed for the day, so Nelson and her husband, Charles Nelson, the other co-founder of Sprinkles, started brainstorming ideas for how to make cupcakes available at any time. Thus, two years after the hunt began for a way to make this thought come to life, the first cupcake ATM launched in March of 2012 at the Beverly Hills Sprinkles location. Since then, 50 cupcake ATMs have been introduced to cities nationwide and serve as a way to get a Sprinkles cupcake at any time. The video linked below features Nelson herself showing off the very first Sprinkles cupcake ATM.

 


    These cupcake ATMs and the Sprinkles stores are not the only ways to procure a Sprinkles cupcake though. The Sprinklesmobile is yet another invention of the co-founders of Sprinkles that has made Sprinkles into the brand it is today. The Sprinklesmobile is a custom-made Mercedes-Benz Sprinter that can house 1,500 cupcakes on the go. First on the move in 2014, the Sprinklesmobile has made its way to many cities across the country, including a visit to Chicago that is highlighted in the video linked below.

 


    The ways in which Nelson’s original idea for Sprinkles has sparked so much innovation into different avenues reminds me much of the way that Rick Rubin describes the development of creative ideas in his book The Creative Act: A Way of Being. In the chapter “Experimentation,” Rubin describes starting off with “seeds” of a creative idea and experimenting with different paths to see where these “seeds” take root and flourish. This is reminiscent of how Nelson came to create some of her innovations, such as the cupcake ATM. The “seed” for this creative product came with her craving a cupcake in the middle of the night when none of the stores were open. It then took root and flourished with the idea to create a 24/7 cupcake ATM. Rubin mentions that an artist’s work starts with a question that guides them to discover solutions to that question. This is exactly what Nelson did with her invention of the cupcake ATM; she started with a question and that question guided her to the creation of the cupcake ATM.

    While Nelson’s cupcake empire started nearly 20 years ago, she is still going strong as a businesswoman and pastry chef. She has appeared on several television shows, such as on the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars and Netflix’s Sugar Rush, both of which she served as a judge on. Nelson also expanded her Sprinkles locations to start serving cookies and ice cream in addition to the signature cupcakes. In 2017, she also helped to create Pizzana, a franchise of pizza restaurants, thus adding pizza to the list of her delicious creations. In 2022, she released her book, Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit, which details how she got her brand to where it is today. The cover art of her book even depicts the signature Sprinkles red velvet cupcake with its chocolate-brown wrapper, the signature swirl, and the modern dot: the cupcake where it all started.

 

Sources: 

https://www.fastcompany.com/3033984/one-sweet-ride

https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/small-business/sprinkles-cupcakes-candace-nelson.shtml

https://candace-nelson.com/about-candace/

https://sprinkles.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIx5LCmPzkhAMVwl5HAR2w5QIcEAAYASAAEgLlLvD_BwE

https://www.inc.com/laurel-mintz/from-investment-banking-to-worlds-first-cupcake-bakery-interview-with-candace-nelson-founder-of-sprinkles.html