On Being Tiny

In 2008, after I got a new computer that could actually do things on the internet, I started blogging on WordPress. I first wrote about my garden, then cooking, baking and how I was teaching folks to do the same. My kitchen was small and while it had a slight updo in 2016, is still small by most standards. I posted under In My Tiny Kitchen, but when it came time for a domain name of my own, most things Tiny Kitchen were already spoken for. My favorite tiny kitchen website (beside my own) is for the very literal tiny kitchens!

The leap to Cottage Bakery in 2021, spotlighted how small my production space was. A Washington State Cottage Bakery must be established in a home kitchen. Flat surfaces are always a premium in a food space, but covering sinks with cutting boards and using the vertical space of sheet pan racks go a long way in freeing up elbow room. Bringing in metal work tables and occasionally employing the dining table give me most of the space I need. Converting the laundry room to ingredient/equipment storage, while also installing a 3-part sink, has taken more pressure off the kitchen proper.

I create a lot of product in my Tiny Kitchen. To get it all done for baking day, my best tools are the freezers. Mixing, shaping then freezing cookie doughs, prepping then freezing dry mixes for scones, having pie or pie dough or filled pop tarts all frozen ahead of time makes those items a reality for markets. I have production notes for each day of the week, not really having any one entire day off, at least not during the summer market season. Some days are more scheduled than others, some days are quite long. Working from home, there can be days full of interruptions, leaving me finishing tasks well after bedtime. On these especially long days, it is nice to have such a tiny commute.

As I write this, there are only three regular season markets left for 2025. The season has been a blur, but one studded with lovely customers, diligent co-vendors, kitchen helpers who have made me successful. We have crunched numbers for becoming larger. A commercial space would require more product to cover new expenses, requiring regular employees to produce that product, attending more markets to sell that product or establishing wholesale accounts. After all of that is done, though, my bottom line would be about the same as it is now. I don’t think that kind of push is what I want to do. I’m lucky for having this business, for getting to do what I’ve wanted for years. I’m lucky for market managers like Christina, for all the folks who order weekly for porch pickups, for Spouse and Junior who work relentlessly each Sunday to get The Tiny set up. Baking is hard work but it’s good work. Thank you for giving me the opportunity.