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Local business breaks mold with popular, tasty confections

As flowers continue to bloom and temperatures slowly rise, things are heating up inside Sweet Inspirations and Classic Chocolates.

For many, spring is the time to shake off their rugs and get back outside, but for brother and sister business partners, Christal and James Miller, it's time to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

And their business, as the name might suggest, is a rather sweet one as wedding season and Easter near.

"Our biggest pull is definitely our wedding cakes," said Christal, who has owned Sweet Inspirations for eight years. "That is our biggest focus. We also focus a lot on chocolates for the different holidays, especially Easter coming up."

During a wedding season, Christal fills about 75 orders for cake and has a reach as far as Baltimore.

But one thing the Martinsburg native prides herself on is being self-taught.

"I've always been an artist," she said with a plethora of wedding cake samples behind her. "I did 4-H and took a cake decorating project, and it's something that kind of came natural."

She did go to school, but not for the culinary arts.

Wanting to be a band teacher, she attended Shepherd University and left with a regent's Bachelor of Arts degree after starting a business.

Despite not having the full training, the award-winning cake designer credits her success to not fitting a mold taught in the kitchens of culinary schools.

"With not having that culinary school background, I actually feel that I'm less restricted," she said about designing wedding cakes. "I don't have these rules that say I have to do it this way. I go, 'How can I create this?' and I come up with new ways to do things. So it allows me to be more creative by not having gone to culinary school."

Having been in the cake business for quite sometime, Christal says she has seen a change from the traditional cake designs to extravagant designs or even smaller ideas.

Popular television shows, such as "Ace of Cakes" and "Cupcake Wars," have seen her clientele sometimes asking for something else, she said, with some customers asking for "bigger, more elaborate things they've seen on TV" for their birthday cakes.

But, she added, not too many people have the money to pursue such complex desires.

"Another thing I've seen a huge influx of are cupcakes," she said. "Cupcakes are so popular on TV and all that. We sell a lot of those every day, but then we have cupcake weddings and cupcake birthdays."

She said 25 percent of her booked weddings are cupcakes and not wedding cakes this season.

About three years ago, James was about to graduate from Shepherd University with a degree in accounting.

He wasn't too sure what he wanted to do and had already been using his acquired skills to help his sister manage her business.

Then Classic Chocolates, which was a couple doors down at Sweet Inspirations' old location on King Street, went up for sale, and he, like his sister, took the plunge into owning a business.

Did he ever envision growing up to become a chocolatier?

"Absolutely not," he said with a laugh.

It's been a learn-as-he-goes process, but the previous owner taught him everything he needed to know, and the business, in joint operation with Sweet Inspirations, has a steady flow of foot traffic.

"I've learned a lot in the couple years I've been doing this," he said. "You learn through messing up and things not turning out the way they're supposed to and learn what to do next time."

Martinsburg local Krysten Beal was in the shop on Wednesday getting strawberry birthday cake for her son.

"I usually only come here," she said. "They have the best tasting cakes."

She said she buys a lot of chocolates from the shop as well, especially for Mother's Day.

James was busy putting the Easter candy on display in the shop Wednesday, already boasting a supply of Easter eggs.