Life Update: things have gotten a little bit sweeter
Updated: Mar 31, 2020
Hey everyone! Its been almost one year since I started my hundred day project! When I started last June I had no idea how much this project was going to change my life (wow that sounds so corny) but its actually really accurate. Here is kind of just an official update/wrap up of whats been happening since! (jump to the bottom if you don't have the patience to read the whole thing)
For those of you who don't know me personally (hi!) heres a little backstory. I went to the Massachusetts College of Art and Design for ceramics, with the goal of becoming a production potter. I learned that production potter was a job when I was in high school, and it became the dream. I was good at pottery, and I loved it; especially the repetition and mastery of shapes (this is important, you'll see.) Amazingly enough, I managed to land a production job right out of college, and began making ceramics for two Boston Designers - Jill Rosenwald and Lawrence McRae. I loved production, but soon found it really hard to to try to make pottery outside of work, so I found other hobbies. I knit, I weave, and more importantly; I cook.
Making pasta is a lot like working with clay. You mix raw materials with water (or sometimes egg), knead the dough (wedge it) then roll and shape it (repetition and shape mastery!) You also make yourself dinner in the meantime. I fell in love with the process and we started making fresh pasta at home more often. When the official 100 day project started up in April, I became inspired by the creatives I was following and decided to do one too. Then it dawned on me that I could do a pasta one, and I didn't look back.
In order to get through my days (FYI 100 days is a LONG time) I started having people over to cook with me. In teaching them, I realized most people want to make pasta but are intimidated by the process. I was also visiting my favorite cooking store Sur la Table pretty frequently at the time and casually inquired about the people they hire to work/teach in their kitchen. Long story short, in Dec 2017, (almost 2 months after finishing my project) I got a job teaching cooking classes at Sur la Table in Boston. It was during this time that I realized I wanted more for myself than to be a production potter and that it was time for me to move on.
As fate would have it, around the time I realized it was time to start looking for full time jobs, a good friend sent me a listing for social media and marketing food job. I decided to just go for it, using my experience running my pasta instagram and blog as well as helping Jill Rosenwald run hers. And as luck would have it, they went for it.
I still hasn't fully sunk in, that the work I put in all last year on a kind of trivial project really did allow me to make a big career change. That letting myself take my project seriously allowed the 100 days of pasta to turn into two jobs. I am really excited about where this new job is going to take me; the company is small but growing, and it should be a really fun (and delicious) journey.
As for my official title and where I am, here it is - I am the Social Media and Marketing Manager for Golden Cannoli Shells Co. - also the inventor of original cannoli chips. I am attempting to overhaul their instagram and website, as well as continue the amazing work they've done promoting their cannoli chips. Its a big intimidating project; but I'm taking it one day at a time. You can follow along on instagram with @goldencannoli or @originalcannolichips. And - If you have any questions for me (or marketing advice) please reach out! This community of people is amazing, and getting to know you has been one of the most valuable things I've gotten from my project! Thank you <3
