Queer Chocolatier to Host Grand Opening!!

Cheri and I are unspeakably thrilled to invite you to our Grand Opening for our new retail space! You can find us at 405 S. Walnut St. #204 in Downtown Muncie.

If you are local and want to pick up your online orders throughout the week, you now have an option to come visit us! Also, if a sudden chocolate craving hits you (and, let's be honest, it has happened to each and every one of us), come on up and cure that craving right away with fresh truffles we will have in stock!

Come celebrate our Grand Opening with us on Muncie's First Thursday and YART--A Yard Sale for Art! Thursday, October 5th from 5pm-9pm!

One Month Down, Countless Chocolate-y Months To Go!

I've learned so much in the last month of opening my business and lots of exciting things have happened! Catch up with all the goings on of Queer Chocolatier as I try to catch my breath!

Three-Word-Thoughts

After surviving and thriving my first month as a queer small business owner, here are a few words on what my favorite experiences have been so far on this adventure!

Values | Community | Extroversion

I've tremendously enjoyed sharing what the values of Queer Chocolatier are with folx who come to our market booth. The community that seems to be starting to form around the business has bolstered my notion that creating the business as Queer Chocolatier was undoubtedly the right decision. And, due to my extroverted nature, I am delighted to hear all of the stories that come to me, simply for my being a visible, queer, businesswoman who is a purveyor of chocolate truffles!

S-O-S Gets an Overhaul for All: Truffle Box of the Month Subscriptions Now Available!

As I've mentioned repeatedly, I am surrounded by wonderful people with fantastic ideas. And I steal unapologetically from them.

I wanted to make something special for my newsletter subscribers and my first iteration of that was to create for you a special flavor of truffle that you can access through a link-only store on my website. My friend Matt is clever and he suggested to create something slightly different: a monthly subscription to a box of truffles! Clever Matt is Clever!

Queer Chocolatier Truffle Box Subscriptions will be available in a range of choices:

• 3-months,
• 6-months, or
• 12-months.

And they will be available in either:

• A box of 4 truffles or
• A box of 8 truffles

You can purchase a subscription in either of those subscription periods and, for the subsequent months, receive a box of truffles for that month's flavor. For example:

• You purchase a 6-month subscription in October 2017.
• For November through April 2018, you will receive a box of truffles in the mail (or for pickup if you are local).
• You do not have to do any additional work on your part, it's automatic!

You'll receive notice of the flavor of the upcoming month during the last week of the current month. If you like that flavor, great! Nothing is needed from you and you can expect to receive your truffles in the upcoming month! If you want to pass on that flavor, you have two options: skip that month or gift that month's box to someone else you think would enjoy that flavor. Continuing our example:

• You purchase a 6-month subscription for a 4-piece box in October 2017.
• During the last week of October, you'll receive an email that announces the flavor of the month for November. Upon reading the email, you either:
  • Love the flavor! You'll receive your 4-piece box in the second week of November.
  • Aren't intrigued by the flavor. You can skip November and have an extra month tacked on to the end of your subscription period, meaning you're subscription would extend to May 2018 instead of ending in April 2018.
  • Aren't intrigued by the flavor but know someone who would be. You can reply to my email announcing the flavor and provide me the name and shipping address of the person you're thinking would really appreciate the gift of chocolate. Your subscription will still end on April 2018.

During the last week of the final month of your subscription, I'll send you an email inviting you to renew your subscription and include the upcoming flavor of the month to help you make your decision!

Queer Chocolatier Truffle Box Subscriptions would make for a thoughtful gift to someone you unapologetically love!

Homo Decor Is Here!

Check out some of the Homo Decor pieces I have available to warm your homes! Each piece can be made either as a print or on canvas or wood. New pieces will be added regularly as, you know, inspiration is nothing if not scheduled easily! If you have any custom pieces you would like to request be made for your unique space, please feel free to ask! I will work with you to make your very own personalized piece of Homo Decor!

News Bites:

Cocoa/Queer/Trans*

Tidbits of news, books, blogs, and podcasts featuring current trends, deeper knowledge, and new-to-you conversations!

News Bites: October

News: NPR

A recent piece from The Salt features Maria Fernanda Di Giacobbe--a renown chef who is teaching women in Venezuela how to make chocolate and earn money. Topics ranging from the superior genetics of Venezuelan cacao to economic and government unrest all tie together in the creative and sophisticated approach Di Giacobbe takes in enacting change in her country and community. Her model also provides a positive financial impact on cacao producers in the country as she pays growers a higher price than the price set by the government. Read the following excerpt below that touches on those points:

"She held a few chocolate workshops, and in 2004 she opened Kakao Bombones Venezolanos, a school that trains women to make chocolate and bonbons, using beans purchased from local farmers blended with flavors from the country: mango, guava, guanabana and passion fruit. With lectures on gender equality, competitiveness, fair-trade practices and economic independence, the education guided the women from home cook to micro-entrepreneur. After Di Giacobbe began buying cocoa from farmers, she spied a second need: to teach farmers the value of their crops and help them learn the best ways to oversee their cacao production. Cacao de Origen La Trinidad, the school, became official in 2013. It focused on teaching farming skills — including crucial fermentation and drying techniques — plus the historical importance of chocolate."

Queer Chocolatier uses chocolate that comes from Venezuela. While chocolate made from the students at Di Giacobbe's school is not yet available in the United States, I will be keeping an eye on her work and will be open to incorporating their chocolate among Queer Chocolatier's source chocolate.

News: NewNowNext

"No Man's Land", the title of a recent art exhibit, featured Gwen Shockey's collection of repurposed remnants of NYCs defunct lesbian bars. Queer bars serve as a community space that online dating sites and apps cannot recreate. Through extensive interviews with women who frequented such bars from the 1970s through the early 2000s, Shockey was able to acquire various pieces of art, memorabilia, party invitations, and bathroom wall-graffiti that spoke as much about a lost time as it did lost places. Even as LGBTQIA2+ folx are, in varying degrees, becoming more incorporated into the mainstream (whatever that may mean), we still require spaces that are our own in order to connect, learn, grow, share, and uplift. Perhaps art can help pave the way for a new iteration of these spaces in the near future.

News: NBC News

Trans* youth face significant challenges and educational institutions are (slowly) beginning to reconsider many policies that address the needs of trans* folx. NBC News features the story of Spelman College--a historically black women's college--revisiting their admissions policies regarding consideration of trans women applicants. After commissioning a task force to examine the merits and challenges of admitting trans women into the single-gender institution, Spelman College has amended its policies to recognize that trans women are women and also to allow for the matriculation of students who transition MTF during their studies; however, there will be no admittance to applications who identify as trans men due to the college being a single-gender institution.

This is part of an important conversation and policy revision process that educational institutions must undergo, and not only at the college level. Trans* youth need to be protected from violence, discrimination, and bias in order to thrive in an education environment. Here, Spelman College is highlighted as taking a positive approach but it is crucial to remember that there are many other institutions that are much less hospitable to students who are not cisgender. Higher educational institutions can lead the way, but K-12 schools may need to take up the charge as trans* students are coming out at younger ages and are repeatedly subjected to bullying while finding little solace in the institutions which should be providing a modicum of protection and safety.