‘Having this space has been a blessing’

When you're churning out a few thousand elaborately decorated cookies a week, you'd best invest in the right kitchen to work from. That's what Lindsey Gazel of Toronto's Lindsey Bakes prioritized as her business took off. Lindsey is sometimes in the kitchen from 8am to 12pm. ‘The hours are insane, I know. You've got to love what you do,’ she says. 

Lindsey's space, within a coffee roastery in the Junction area of Toronto, functions as the hospitality version of a co-working arrangement, which she shares with her friend and coffee roaster Sam James. 

‘Having this space has been a blessing – there's so much room,’ she says. ‘Plus, there are people to interact with, and coffee.’ There's also a basketball hoop for when Lindsey needs a break from designing her biscuits, which she has previously decorated to look like bowls of ramen, sushi, sneakers and jeans, as well as those inspired by celebrities, such as rapper Drake and reality TV star Kim Kardashian. 

Launched a decade ago, Lindsey Bakes takes orders from six up to 2,000 cookies and sells direct to individuals, as well as companies like TV channel the Food Network. The venture spread chiefly through word of mouth, but social media also played a part, with images of her cookies often going viral.

For our ‘25 big lessons from small business’ series, we scoured the world to find inspiring people to share the lessons they've learned from running their own companies. Click here to read the other stories.

This special feature was first published in Courier issue 45, February/March 2022. To purchase the issue or become a subscriber, head to our webshop.