Alumni
Grad is the Founder of Sweet Petite Confections
After graduating from FIDM in 1987 with a degree in Fashion Design, Michelle Lomelin spent 15 years working in the garment industry as a clothing designer, merchandiser, and graphic artist. Today, she’s the owner and chocolatier of Sweet Petite Confections, an artisan confectionery specializing in gourmet, custom, and amenity chocolate. Located in San Diego, Michelle’s space includes a retail store and a pink-floored kitchen where she offers monthly chocolate classes and custom chocolate services. We recently caught up with the FIDM Graduate to learn about her journey from fashion to gourmet chocolates, what inspires her creative designs, and how she uses her design background to separate herself from the competition.
In what ways has your experience in the fashion industry helped you in your chocolate business? It has given me experience in producing a creative, ever-evolving product. Through my experience in fashion, I have created my own niche in the chocolate business since I design chocolate exactly the same way one designs a line of clothing.
What motivates and inspires you? I’m happy to say that I am constantly inspired by the world around me. It’s a flow that never ends. I may try a savory dish and discover a new ingredient to try in chocolate, or see a beautiful painting that inspires me to create the next season’s bonbon collection. I would say the strongest inspiration for me is through color. You can create a feeling or a memory or an inspiration through color. So, a lot of times, I start with color.
How do you come up with new ideas? I think the process is pretty similar regardless of the medium. You need to constantly be an observer. My life is so busy that I have to write everything down. Thus, I have tons of notes, clips or photos saved. I can then gather them from different places and tweak them to form something comprehensive for a future collection.
To what do you attribute your success? My mission is to bring joy in a creative way. I focus on my customers. I want them to leave our store feeling better and happier than when they came in. When we aren’t experiencing a worldwide pandemic, we conduct chocolate making classes. They are designed to be a fun, bonding experience versus becoming a knowledgeable chocolate maker. People come in as strangers and leave friends. They are truly wonderful and we all miss them. I am also collaborative. Though I definitely have my own vision, I do listen to the suggestions of my customers and employees. I want them to feel empowered.
What sets you apart from your competition? I design my chocolate collections as one designs a line of clothing. We offer seasonal collections as well as holiday collections. The trifecta in the artisan chocolate business is Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Valentine’s Day, with Easter pulling in close after that. I observe trends, pick color palettes and patterns, create inspiration boards, and pick paper and packaging to further enhance my vision. Chocolate isn’t done that way. A chocolatier may create a new flavor bonbon and it will look the same year in and year out. Or they put their creativity into the packaging. All of our chocolate is packaged in clear packaging to show the beauty of the chocolate. The real star of the show. It also has to be as delicious on the inside as it is beautiful on the outside. I have created my own niche in the chocolate business due to my unique background as a clothing designer.
How do you feel FIDM prepared you for a creative career? Well, I will say that I really felt that FIDM prepared me for the fashion business. Surprisingly, it also helped to prepare me for a career in chocolate! I majored in Fashion Design so I learned structure, organization, working to a deadline, and cost effectiveness. More importantly, I also learned how to take my creativity and structure it into a saleable product.
Any advice for current FIDM Students? I would say respect the past to build something amazing for the future. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. Be highly motivated, helpful, and willing to learn. Be open to moving out of your comfort zone and try new things. When I am hiring a new person, I am more interested in getting to know a person’s personality and attitude and assessing if they will be a good fit with my team versus a resume full of experience. Your attitude is really important.
What is your biggest goal right now? I set goals for each year and work to accomplish those specific things and usually do, but in the long term, I am more fluid and pay attention to what is presented in my life and flow from there. In the next five years, I would like to expand Sweet Petite to a full café as well as a store, open another location in Little Italy, and expand our wholesale business even further. We’ll see how that plays out.
Learn more at sweetpetiteconfections.com and on Instagram @sweetpetiteconf.
Categories: Fashion Design Alumni
