Cakes, cookies and beyond

After more than a decade in the baking industry working in other bakeries and out of her home, Fern and Flour Owner Stephanie Fulton has decided it’s time to open her own storefront.

“I started my baking career back in high school actually, so I’ve been in the industry for well over 10 years now,” she said. “I’ve worked with other bakeries before starting my own, learning the basics of baking, decorating and that kind of stuff. I started my home bakery in 2023 in Manitowoc and then found the space that I’m in now.”

While Fulton said she enjoyed her time working in various bakeries throughout the state, she was limited to doing the type of baking and decorating those businesses were looking for.

“I spent a really long time at a bakery in Milwaukee as their head decorator,” Fulton said. “I did all of the really big, extravagant wedding cakes and I absolutely loved what I did — same with the bakeries I worked at up north here. I loved what I did, but I felt like I was limited on what I was able to do just because it wasn’t my own space and it wasn’t my own business. I was limited on what the owner wanted for their business and I had a lot of ideas and things that I wanted to try.”

To be able to explore more of those ideas, Fulton opened her home bakery in 2023.

“It started off with just friends and family wanting stuff for the holidays or for their kids and I didn’t think anything would really come of it,” she said. “It was kind of an on-the-side thing I was doing as a hobby. Then word kind of got out from friends of friends or friends of my siblings and it just took off from there, so I decided to make it official.”

“I specialize in custom orders like cakes and cookies — all the decorated types of stuff,” Fulton said. “That’s my specialty, but with my storefront, I’m opening up new ideas like breakfast pastries, muffins, cupcakes and cookies… If I want to try a new recipe, I can try a new recipe and see how it works out. Or if I have customers that are maybe looking for something a little more specific, I can make that for them and I don’t have to ask anybody or make sure it’s okay… It gives me a lot of freedom.”

Fulton will celebrate the opening of Fern and Flour’s first brick-and-mortar location in Suamico’s Vickery Village this Saturday, Dec. 13, where she said she is looking forward to becoming a part of the community.

“This whole area is new to me, so I’m excited to get to know everybody…” Fulton said. “Where I’m at in Vickery Village, you get this kind of small town feeling where everybody supports everybody and everybody kind of gets to know everybody. I love being a part of people’s celebrations — I’ve had a lot of customers where I’ve done their gender reveal cake, then their first birthday cake and second birthday cakes… It almost feels like I’m growing with these customers and with these families and celebrating with them. [I’m looking forward to] having that close-knit community where I get to be a part of people’s lives in some little way.”

Learn more about Fern and Flour at on Facebook (Fern & Flour Bakery) or Instagram (@fernandflourbakerywi).