UMATILLA, Ore.-Carrie’s Custom Confections, a bakery specializing in custom cakes, cupcakes and other sweet treats, is now open in Umatilla.
After two years as an online business, Carrie and Jenny Stamm held a soft opening for their bakery inside the new Umatilla Business Center on June 1, followed by a grand opening June 13.
“That was the longest Saturday of our lives,” said Carrie, of the grand opening, which coincided with the Umatilla Saturday Market. “We sold out of everything and had to close early.”
Carrie started the business two years ago after making a birthday cake for her sister. Her sister posted pictures of the cake on social media, and requests and cake orders began pouring in.
“If not for my sister, I never would have started the business,” said Carrie. “I’ve just always loved baking. I love decorating cakes and cookies.”
Carrie worked at Head Start for five years, until the amount of custom cake and cookie orders she was receiving through Facebook reached the point where she was able to bake full time.
“I wasn’t looking to do this full-time, then orders started coming in,” said Carrie. “I thought, ‘why not jump in and do it now?’”
The Stamms began talking with the City about the possibility of a space in Umatilla’s new Business Center in November 2025.
The Umatilla Business Center, which opened in May, offers incubator spaces to small businesses with below-market value leases for terms of one to three years.
For the first year, rent is 30 percent of market value, then 50 percent for the second year, and 70 percent for the third year.
“It sounded perfect for us, even though they initially said no food service would be allowed,” said Jenny.
As a home-based business, the Stamms worked their way through an arduous licensing process, including having their home inspected and acquiring business, domestic kitchen, and retail licenses, before opening
“There was so much more licensing,” said Jenny. “Our retail license was finally approved June 1, the day of our soft opening.”
The Stamms bake and package all the cakes, cookies, pastries, and other goodies they sell at home, before bringing them to the shop to sell every day.
“We’re usually up until about midnight or one in the morning baking and preparing,” said Carrie. “Then we open at nine and by noon we’re usually out of baking supplies.”
Custom cakes designed and created by Carrie for birthdays, celebrations, and other events are intricate works of edible art that can take hours to make.
While Carrie handles the custom cakes, the couple work together to make the shop’s other confections, including its most popular items, such as cheesecake cups, and especially caramel apples.
The Umatilla community has kept the Stamms busy with baking and selling, and the couple enjoy being a part of the community with their bakery.
Carrie’s Custom Confections has worked with the Umatilla School District on cupcake decorating events and baked for book clubs and other community meetings.
“We’ve enjoyed the overwhelming support of the community,” said Jenny.
On Sundays, the Stamms donate baked goods from Carrie’s Custom Confections to Stepping Stones Alliance in Hermiston.
Carrie’s Custom Confections also have a mobile cake cart that is available to rent for events in the community, allowing customers to choose ingredients and create personal, custom cakes.
The Stamms are waiting for official signage from the City for their shop to help more people know where they are, and they hope to add more racks for baked goods, post their menus, and create a wedding cake that can be displayed as an example of their work in the future.
“We’ve got lots of plans and ideas, but no time to do them yet,” said Carrie.
Carries Custom Confections, located in the Umatilla Business Center at 820 6th Street in Umatilla is open Wednesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.
More information about Carrie’s Custom Confections, including Cake Cart rental details, is available through Facebook or by calling 458.318.6668.
