In 2009, Cathy and I were chatting on the internet about online games (PetSoc days!) and some other random stuffs when she told me that she was bored of bumming around the house when she has no classes to attend to, and wondered about how she could earn money. ....and then...
Baking happy thoughts
by Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza
Nov 21, 2011
There was a time in my life when I used to bake and sell Christmas brownies to earn extra money to buy gifts for my friends and family. I would look around the metro for cheap yet good quality ingredients for baking, bake and put the brownies in boxes which are sold and personally delivered to customers.
Not only did I earn enough money for my Christmas shopping, I was also able to put a smile on the face of those who taste my baked goodies. I believe that the secret ingredient to baking yummy goodies is the kind of emotion that goes into baking activity. The happiness inside my heart made my brownies taste luscious.
One person who bakes with happy thoughts and happy feelings is Cathy Cansino.
Graduating from high school, when all her other classmates were about to go to different colleges, Cathy was already a young mom and wife to my cousin, Mark, and the mother of my godchild, Timmy.
But that didn’t mean that her dream to pursue a career and have a better life was completely set aside. Her situation then didn’t stop her from moving forward and fulfilling her dream, for herself, for Mark, and for Timmy.
After patiently searching for a job, Cathy was hired by a chain of restaurants that specializes in breads and pastries. Although her employment was short-lived, the good result was that she grew to love baking and the smell of freshly baked pastries.
So when a free vocational course and workshop in baking and pastry making, and TESDA accredited, was offered in her municipality, without second thoughts, she grabbed the opportunity and enrolled herself in it.
In 2009, just before the Christmas season, Cathy tried making her own brownies and asked her close friends and relatives taste them and comment. After the improvements and our endless daydreaming of how the business would be like, the baking and selling were ready to go. Even after Christmas that year, Cathy baked a lot more pastries as days went by.
Later, she learned the techniques on how to make her baked goodies more personalized and not just rely on recipe books. She wished to have an oven of her own that is why she is saving money in order to buy one. It won’t be anytime soon so her in-law, my aunt Tita Yam, let Cathy use her oven for the time being instead.
Unexpectedly, they were able to purchase an oven from a linoleum store. Yes, you read it right, an oven in a linoleum store. That was just pure coincidence since the owner was also planning to dispose of the oven, which is still in good working condition.
They were able to buy it for around R2,000, very cheap indeed. It was an answered prayer.
From the name iSweets, which Cathy randomly thought of, her business was officially named Timmy’s Oven, named after her son, her first taste tester in everything she bakes and the reason behind her business. She wants to give Timmy a wonderful and better life. From pastries like bars, cookies, cupcakes, cheesecakes, chiffon cakes, fondant cakes and even chocolates, Cathy also personalizes the packaging.
I admire Cathy, although she is only 20 years old, I can say that she accomplished a lot of things already. She has set up a registered business and does all the baking, decorating, even the delivery and meet-ups, plus she takes care of her son and also attends to her husband and other household chores from time to time.
Even her husband had been inspired by Cathy’s hard work that he started his own business of printing personalized tumblers, shirts, mouse pad, mugs, and other souvenir items.
I find the story of Timmy’s Oven really inspiring that’s why whenever I get a chance to talk to someone about hard work and perseverance, I would always share this story. For yummy goodies that will make your tummies happy, check out the website of Timmy’s Oven at http://www.facebook.com/timmysoven123.
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