Before and Afters -Part 2
Leveling up to creating a commercial lab!
In order to really appreciate just how far the Sprinkk lab has come…keep in mind that we started in a Rubbermaid tub in a Church kitchen and progressed to an apartment bedroom. Read about that in Part 1 HERE.
While working near the church quilting ladies had its charm, scaling into a commercial location is so dang GLORIOUS! So much space. So many projects. …A little less nosey curiosity.
With that being said, we sometimes miss the company. If you are in Omaha, please let me know if you’d like to stop by and check things out. We’ve currently got some top-secret, fun flavor development going on that can use additional input.
This space is still intended to be temporary. We are currently in the process of fundraising for the full Sprinkk location to come by 2024!
Ok…to the photos. I’m pretty terrible at capturing photos in the moment, so this post will never get me featured on HGTV. But, it should still capture the general transformation.
Things started here:
This unit was previously connected to the neighbor unit, and housed an auto stereo company of some sort. A wall was put up to separate the units, but somehow the freaking light switches were still on the other side of the wall! …So is the water shutoff.
I won’t touch the drama of that publicly, as I’d like to stay here at least through the next year…but if you own a building, pleeeease do the BASIC things correctly. I still have to call the neighbors if I need to shut off my water for some reason, and although we worked out some of the electrical, I still don’t know how to turn the hallway light on or off. It just sometimes is on…sometimes off. Fun game.
But to the truly fun stuff! I had a lot of fun SPRINKK’ing this place out!
I also taught myself how to build a pony wall in the process! Finding a desk that I wanted to serve as a privacy barrier, and also seat two people, was proving to be crazy expensive to find pre-made…we’re talking like $5,000+ that would still need modification! No deal. So, with a few 2x4s, mdf shelving, paneling, and a couple of drawer units from Target…we now have a pretty dang spacious 2-person desk and reception counter for about $350. Some call it cheap, others call it creative. Take yo’ pick! :)
TADAAAAA!
And finally…the lab!
There is one additional room not shown…but that is where the true gummy magic happens! You’ll have to stop by sometime to see that. :)
Things that I learned during this transformation:
You can paint floors to make them look 100x better and easier to clean.
When a wall doesn’t have insulation, you can hear EVERYTHING on the other side, including the neighbor construction crew whistling while they work. Charming. But I wonder if they have to listen to my Beyonce now during the day?
You cannot have too many outlets. You can definitely have too few!
You can buy a fridge off of Facebook marketplace and convince them to deliver…but they might drop it on the sidewalk on the way in, and it will never quite shut right again. Being cheap doesn’t always pay off.
Sweet Fact #7:
Titanium dioxide in candy has just hit the news as controversial. Why is it used in the first place?? TiO2 is used to make candy brilliantly white, or add opacity to candy. This is what makes panned candies (such as Skittles or jelly beans) so vibrantly colored. It also makes some gummies opaque. This creates a really bright canvas for color…such as in neon sour worms!
Now I don’t have a voice for or against TiO2 at this exact point in time. I haven’t spent the time weighing the pros and cons, or researching the newly published negative health impacts that it could potentially have. It is used in relatively low amounts and has previously been considered “natural” since it is “technically” mineral derived. Luckily, there has already been extensive natural color development over the past decade to create replacements for TiO2 in panning and gummies. But chances are that cost will be impacted. (isn’t it always!?)
Which presents the questions:
Would you be willing to pay more for Skittles or jelly beans if they used a natural alternative to TiO2?
Would you care if they were slightly less vivid or vibrant?
My Candy preference is all about quality of taste. However I do realize looks are important however if it is a bit less attractive but taste is fabulous than that is good for me!
Cool! Nice facility!