When Snoop Dogg came to town last year, a local baker had a close encounter with the rapper that turned into a promotional opportunity for her New West bakery.
Sheila Comer made personalized cupcakes for the hip-hop legend, including a tough-looking bulldog, a pot leaf, a gold chain, West Coast signage, a basketball, Rasta colours, and even one with a flashy ’70s-style fedora.
They were so dead-on that the ganja-activist rapper told Comer she “captured Snoop Dogg in cupcakes.”
Comer wound up at the Snoop gig because her friend was DJing and had an extra ticket for her.
After the concert, she ended up backstage, and after showing one of Snoop’s people her creations (“Dope!” was his response), she was led to the hip-hop icon.
She recalls the meeting on her blog:
“Next thing I knew I was in a room with Snoop, his uncle, Junebug, his son, Spanky, and a security guard who looked exactly like Jesse James,” she wrote.
Snoop was grateful for the gesture, thanked Comer profusely and talked with her for about 15 minutes.
“He made sure he knew my name, and he took three business cards, one for every pocket so he wouldn’t lose them. He was so nice and so polite, and, honestly, a true gentleman. I couldn’t have been happier,” she blogged.
The next morning, Snoop posted pics of her cupcakes on his social media sites. The picture made it to the “popular page” and the likes ticked away, Comer says on her blog.
The run-in makes for a great story, but reaching out to celebrities has also proven good for business. Along with Snoop, Matt Damon, Megadeth, Kat Von D and the Deftones have all bitten into Comer’s yummy cakes. She made an outerspace-themed cake for Damon’s 41st birthday when he was in town filming Elysium.
“I was told he absolutely loved it,” says Comer, who stumbled into the cupcake business by accident.
She discovered her passion for cake baking and decorating when she made a cake for her dad’s 50th birthday party in 2010. Two years later, she opened Pink Ribbon Bakery on Sixth Street.
As much as she’s focused on promoting her business, Comer also gives to charity, including this month’s annual Movember cause.
The campaign involves men growing moustaches to raise awareness for men's health causes, including prostate and testicular cancer.
To mark the month, Comer’s selling moustache cupcakes – at $3 a pop, and half of the proceeds go to the cause. It’s just one of several cancer charities Pink Ribbon supports.
“All year long, we’re dedicated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, and then we donate the huge sum in October during the Run for the Cure and then the next month, which is November, is just for the boys,” she says.
This is the third year Comer has participated in the Movember fundraiser.
Along with her fundraising, marketing and running a busy business, Comer has a cupcake of her own in the oven. The Queensborough resident and her husband are expecting a little girl next month.
The business will close for a couple of weeks over the holidays, from Dec. 22 to Jan. 7, but will carry on with the help of Comer’s assistant once the baby is born.
The upcoming addition to her family will likely be her cutest creation so far – and for someone with Comer’s talent, that’s saying a lot.
Check out Pink Ribbon bakery at 103-306 Sixth St. Or visit the website and scroll through the cake gallery for some serious eye candy.
