She’s known as the creator of the cookie bouquet, and she’s from right here in Tulsa.
Her cookie bouquets have been around for 25 years now. FOX23’s Janna Clark goes on the road to meet a mother and daughter team, who may have rescued their own product.
Putting a cookie on a stick is a little tougher than it looks.
While cookie baker Jason does his thing.
Michelle, the decorator, does hers.
But who’s really behind the cookie craze is a mother and daughter.
Renee Willhite owns the Tulsa cookie shop, called Cookies by Design.
But her mom is her boss.
"She motivates me. I need a kick every once in awhile," Renee said.
It was Gwen Gilliam’s dream to bake cookies and make them into a bouquet.
It all started 25 years ago, when Gwen lost her job.
"I just decided it was time to do something on my own," Gwen said.
Gwen started baking cookies out of her kitchen at home.
Just 3 months later, she opened a little shop in Catoosa. Then the next year, she moved the shop to Tulsa.
Now it’s at the Farm Shopping Center.
"I was focused I had my little plan," Gwen said.
But her little plan didn’t include owning a major cookie company with 187 franchises.
"No, but my dream did," she said.
Her daughter Renee helped her company take off.
"I think it’s in my blood," Renee said.
It wasn’t long before people were begging Gwen to be apart of it.
"I had people coming to me asking if I would franchise, and I said when I figured out what I was doing," she said.
Gwen soon traveled the country opening franchises while Renee ran the Tulsa shop.
The company used to be called Cookie Bouquet, but in the 90’s, they changed the name to Cookies By Design.
And at the height the company’s success, Gwen decided since she was in her late 60’s, it was time to retire. She wanted to travel somewhere other than from cookie shop to cookie shop.
So she sold her business in 2007, even though it was hard for her.
"I guess it’s my baby, and I’ve nursed it along a long time," Gwen said.
She didn’t stay idle long.
Almost immediately the company’s profit margin dropped.
Gwen feared the company she’d started would go under.
So just 10 months after Gwen sold it, she bought it back.
She couldn’t stand to see it suffer.
"It was important enough to me to put the money up and come back to work," Gwen said.
She brought Cookies by Design back to life, and her daughter brought the Tulsa shop back to the family standard.
"I saw a challenge and was ready to take it on," Renee said.
Family pride was on the line.
Now everything is as it was – exactly how Gwen likes it.
"I love to make cookies, eat cookies, design cookies," Gwen said.
Gwen and Renee say doing what you love, and doing it right, is what matters.
"No matter how pretty the cookies are, no matter how good they taste, if you don’t treat customers right you don’t have a business," Gwen said.
Renee figures, at this point, her mom will probably never retire. But she’d rather have her mom as her boss anyway.
On the road in South Tulsa, Janna Clark, FOX23 News.
if you'd like to check out some of the cookie bouquets, you can go to the website at www.cookiesbydesign.com
