PHOTO/J. HILL

Sisters Mia LaBoo (left) and Tori LaBoo-Fabergas are owners of Harrisburg-based Cake Makin’ Sisters.

HARRISBURG – Destiny chose the Cake Makin’ Sisters.

Zamia (Mia) LaBoo and Toriahana (Tori) LaBoo-Fabregas started experimenting with cupcakes and have since launched a baking empire in Harrisburg. It’s also gained the sisters national attention with an April appearance on the syndicated “Steve Harvey Show.”

“Cake Makin’ Sisters is kind of a destiny kind of situation,” Tori said. “We did not prepare to be Cake Makin’ Sisters, it kind of just happened. We kind of just landed into this great and awesome space.”

Said Mia: “It wasn’t planned, but I guess it all was in the plan that we just weren’t aware of.”

Tori found inspiration in a trip to a craft store, which marked the beginning of their journey into the land of sweets.

“About 10 years ago, I saw a magazine in a Michaels Crafts store with some really cute cupcakes on it,” Tori said. “I said ‘Zamia, let’s try to make these cupcakes,’ and it kind of happened from there. Within the period of a few years we kind of pretended to be owners until it became a reality.”

Throughout the experience, the Cake Makin’ Sisters developed a mentality to fuel their success.

“We were kind of messing around and having fun with it and grew a philosophy of ‘the best way to work is to love what you do’” Tori said. “Even though it’s a lot of work and it started off kind of [as] imagination, it’s been a great experience. Every chapter is a new beginning for us, like we always say ‘this is the beginning of everything.’ Every time we reach a new plateau we kind of raise the bar to get a little higher.”   

Said Mia: “We’re having fun. We definitely love what we do. The sky is the limit for Cake Makin Sisters—just having fun and growing and moving in the way we’re supposed to move.”

Initially, the duo set out to strictly bake cupcakes, but demand for decorative cakes took them in a different direction.

“We’re relatively known for our specialty cakes,” Tori said. “Having a storefront allowed us to introduce some other items.”

Tori and Mia do not consider working with a sibling to be a challenge, but rather a blessing. They share roles, so there’s no room for rivalry.

“Working with my sister—I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Mia said. “We’re like peas and carrots. I would say growing up we weren’t allowed to fuss and fight, because that’s your sibling and you treat each other with respect. That’s the same thing that we do in here. I’m the little sister, so she’s bossy, but that’s the big sister role. For 99.9 percent of it, it’s all love. I wouldn’t pick anybody else to work with, to grow with, to make our mom and dad happy, and show the kids and everybody that you can work with your sister.”

Said Tori: “It’s not a thought—it’s second nature that we behave the way that we behave. I think it’s an innate thing for us to work back-to-back. Where I need her to be my feet and I’m the hands or if she needs me to be the feet and she’s the hands, we kind of fall into that place, and it’s just an unspoken way of being.”  

On the Net:
www.cakemakinsisters.com

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