We messed up yesterday. We’re sorry, and we’ve learned a lot from it.

The situation:
We had a delivery of cupcakes that was to go out and be in the hands of our client by 10 a.m. With custom Quippies. For a birthday party.

What happened:
The cupcakes didn’t get delivered by 10.

At about 10:08 a.m., the client called and said, “Uh, hi. Where are our cupcakes?”

Panic ensued in the Foiled Cupcakes office.

Why it happened:
It doesn’t matter why it happened. The client didn’t get their cupcakes on time. No excuses. It was totally our bad and due to miscommunication on our end internally.

Another layer of blah:
The Quippies were not like the client wanted. Instead of “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE!” on one Quippie, and “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!” on another Quippie, a single Quippie said “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHN!”

What the client said via e-mail shortly after the havoc:
“… Sorry, guys, but I don’t think that we’ll be able to use you going forward. There is too much competition out there, and this order was mangled, start to finish.”

EPIC FAIL.

What we have done to fix it:
We will double and triple confirm all delivery times with our drivers to make sure there is no gap in communication or confusion.

We will discontinue our relationships with drivers who don’t prioritize the delivery of your cupcakes in a timely manner.

We will get Custom Quippie proofs from our designer, forward them to you, and get e-mail approval before printing. We will correct/perfect the Quippies until you are satisfied with the customization.

We have sent a request into our web developer to get another form field into the Custom Quippies section; we want to get all details possible to make sure we get your Quippies just right.

We can’t promise for sure, but we’re hoping that these measures will help us serve you better.

Lessons reinforced:
If we’re not on time, we can really mess up our valuable clients’ plans.
We really, really value our clients. Losing a client is literally heart-wrenching.
We recognize that people are relying on us to bring them shiny happy goodness, and if we can’t deliver, then people won’t order from us.

We messed up. We’re sorry. We’ll learn from this, and we’ll be better.

Promise.

This past summer, we hosted a cupcake photo shoot to capture still shots of our cupcakes in all their glory. And while this served a functional purpose (getting pictures of our cupcakes on the website), it also served a social purpose: getting together with 20 of our favorite Twitter friends and sharing the shiny happy goodness.

Thanks to all of our cupcake models for being so flexible and fabulous and fun! F(cubed). And VERY special thanks to Chris Vaughn for photographing our cupcakes and models! He is fabulous to work with, so nice, so genuine, so lovely. THANK YOU, CHRIS!

In no particular order, we present the remainder of our 20 cupcake models (see the first batch here):

Iris Chen

Everybody Loves Chocolate | Student at DePaul University | Chicago, IL

What song does the cupcake you’re modeling with remind you of? Why?
‘Everybody Wants You’ by Josh Kelley because everybody wants a scrumptious cupcake

Why we like Iris:
Because she’s so ridiculously bad at comebacks, it’s endearing.

Meka Asonye

Bananarama | Recruiter for the Cleveland Indians | Cleveland, OH

If you could gift Foiled Cupcakes to any celebrity, who would it be? Why?
President Obama. Foiled Cupcakes brings happiness to all that experience them. In the moment you are eating them, all troubles of the world melt away. Obama could use this stress relief.

Why we like Meka:
He works in baseball. Enough said.

Jessica Braun

Choc Full of Cherries | Chicago, IL

Now that you’re a bona fide cupcake model, what are you going to do with your career?
Hopefully move on to NY Fashion Week or serve as a guest judge on America’s Next Top Model. So Fierce.

Why we like Jessica:
Because she tweets things that are relateable. Like seeing a cute boy on a city bus.

Melissa Karlin

Southern Belle | Special Event Sales expert | Evanston, IL

Now that you’re a bona fide cupcake model, what are you going to do with your career?
Eat cupcakes for world peace. And encourage the world to adopt them as currency - that would be magic!

Why we like Melissa:
She likes to go out and dance. She likes to have fun. And she is cute as a button. Seriously.

Sarah McClain

Plain Jane | Morningstar, Inc. | Chicago, IL

What song does the cupcake you’re modeling with remind you of? Why?
‘Don’t Stop Believing’ by Journey. At first, the Plain Jane is a little “plain” on the outside but once you get to know her, all your expectations about what it means to be “plain” and “simple” are out the window. Don’t Stop Believing!

Why we like Sarah:
Sarah’s always on the go and she knows Chicago’s the best city in America.

Kelly Vonebers

Strawberry Short Cupcake| Upshot | Forest Park, IL

Now that you’re a bona fide cupcake model, what are you going to do with your career?
Figure out a way to take my new found cupcake modeling talent and spin it into a full time job. I mean, next step is supermodel stuff, right?! (we say, duh!) Somehow, someway … cupcake modeling will eventually pay my mortgage!

Why we like Kelly:
Because she wants cupcake modeling to pay her mortgage.

Paula Harris

Lime is the New Black | Groove Parlor TV | Chicago, IL

If you could gift Foiled Cupcakes to any celebrity, who would it be? Why?
Jody Watley - 80s pop star. she LOVES red velvet cupcakes and she should try Foiled Cupcakes’ Southern Belle.

Why we like Paula:
Paula has been one of our most ardent supporters since day one. And we absolutely appreciate her for that!

Ryan Zimmerman

Give Me S’Mores | Personal Trainer at Lifetime Fitness in Warrenville | Aurora, IL

Now that you’re a bona fide cupcake model, what are you going to do with your career?
Maybe Sara Lee needs someone to model pies!!

Why we like Ryan:
Ryan barters personal training sessions for cupcakes. It evens out.

Shona Williams

Chai Maintenance | Event Planner at Kamileon Events | Chicago, IL

What song does the cupcake you’re modeling for remind you of? Why?
It reminds me of ‘Material Girl’ by Madonna, for a Chai Maintenance cupcake!

Why we like Shona:
She’s a detail-oriented gal who loves to have fun. And she plans amazing events!

And a big thanks to Stephanie Perrin for editing these photos.

A few months ago, we hosted a cupcake photo shoot to capture still shots of our cupcakes in all of their glory. And while this served a functional purpose (getting pictures of our cupcakes on the website), it also served a social purpose: getting together with 20 of our favorite Twitter friends and sharing the shiny happy goodness.

Part of the deal was that we’d feed them appetizers and cupcakes, and in exchange, they’d hold a cupcake and we’d get to brag about them. So here’s where we get to brag about them.

Thanks to all of our cupcake models for being so flexible and fabulous and fun! F(cubed). And VERY special thanks to Chris Vaughn for photographing our cupcakes and models! He is fabulous to work with, so nice, so genuine, so lovely. THANK YOU, CHRIS!

In no particular order, we present ten of our twenty cupcake models:

Tim McDonald

The Aloha | Owner, Zoom Real Estate | Vernon Hills, IL

If you could gift Foiled cupcakes to any celebrity, who would it be? Why?
I would gift to Matthew McConaughey so Lori could get to meet him when I delivered them.

Why we like Tim:
Not only did he take the train in from the north burbs to start his cupcake modeling career, but he also takes cupcakes back to his girlfriend on the same train. That’s LUV.

Erin Dorr

Minted | Managing Editor, Imagination Publishing | Chicago, IL

Now that you’re a bona fide cupcake model, what are you going to do with your career?
Pursue cupcake modeling full time… IN SPACE. (accompanied by an awesome drawing of a space shuttle.)

Why we like Erin:
She dances like a maven. Seriously.

Chidinma Asonye

The Cinnful Apple | Associate, Prospect Partners, LLC | Chicago, IL

What song does the cupcake you’re modeling remind you of?
“Oops, I Did it Again!” by Britney Spears. It’s delicious in a naughty way!

Why we like Chidinma:
She has amazing fashion sense. So much so we asked her to be our first guest blogger. Stay tuned.

Steve McClellan

Partners in Crime | University of Chicago, Freedman Lab | Chicago, IL

If you could gift Foiled Cupcakes to any celebrity, who would it be?
Sometimes, when I stare deep into Steve Buscemi‘s eyes, I feel like he could really use some cupcakes. Ditto Conor Oberst.

Why we like Steve:
He’s ruggedly handsome. And he loves his mom.

Scott Bishop

Lemonade Stand | Founder, Flash Filler | Chicago, IL and St. Louis, MO

What song does the cupcake you’re modeling remind you of?
“Friends Forever” from Zack Attack. Because SBTB helped shape me as a man so everything reminds me of Friends Forever…

Why we like Scott:
His goal is to be the next Fabio. But with better hair. And he’s almost as funny as Conan and Kimmel combined.

Lauren Reiff

The Pom Pom | Marketing Gal, Upshot | Chicago, IL

First impressions of Foiled Cupcakes, please?
Incredible. I could eat them ALL DAY. And night.

Why we like Lauren:
She’s the first girl who posed with her cupcake in a pensive way. We like that our cupcakes inspire deep thoughts.

Dave Van de Walle

PB No J | Owner, Area 224 | Evanston, IL

First impressions of Foiled Cupcakes, please?
Allow me to call in sick for the next week while I reminisce.

Why we like Dave:
He wants to form a cupcake modeling union. “Cupcake Models of the World UNITE!”

Barbara Maldonado

Pinkalicious So Delicious | Business Development Manager, Marketing Resources, Inc. | Oak Park, IL

Now that you’re a bona fide cupcake model, what are you going to do with your career?
Use it to get me on the Bachelorette. I need a date!

Why we like Barbara:
She’s sassy and she’s got a big mouth. As in she tells a lot of people about us. XO!

Gregg Jaffe

Ooey Gooey | Owner, Big Teeth Productions, Inc. | Chicago, IL

Now that you’re a bona fide cupcake model, what are you going to do with your career?
“I’d like to help out the needy people in, like, such as, the Iraq, and the Minnesota, like…”

Why we like Gregg:
Gregg’s other half is awesome. We like Gregg. We love Elise.

Brandon Zeman

Caffeine Fix | Internet Marketing Coordinator, Lakeshore Branding | Chicago, IL

The first time your taste buds experienced Foiled Cupcakes?
It was about as good as what it’ll be like when the Cubs win the World Series.

Why we like Brandon:
Brandon is a manly man. He’s manly enough that he’s going to let cupcakes into his Man’s club.

10 more to come. Stay tuned!

And big special thanks to Stephanie Perrin for editing these photos.

So our most FAQ is, “What in the world is a Quippie?”

The concept/execution came to us AFTER our initial photo shoot. So that’s why they’re not included in the pictures you see online. (D’Oh!) But most of the people we talked to like the idea, so we implemented it.

Well, it’s a fortune of sorts. A tagline of cupcake humor. A little “haha” before you bite in. (Our copywriter wrote them. They’re funny.) Every cupcake comes with our standard line of Quippies.

“See? Carrots CAN taste good.”
“Any frosting on your nose is just leftovers for later.”
“We’ve been eyeing you too.”

But sometimes, people want something a little more personal.

We got our first custom Quippie order back in May for a 30th birthday party. It was for a nurse who’s originally from Texas. She’s also a mom to Ethan and an eternal sorority sister. So here are some of the Quippies we put into these specially made, individually boxed cupcakes for this Designer Event Chicago soiree:

“Save some for Baby E.”
“Nurse! I need a cupcake STAT!”
“You know you’re from Texas when . . .”
“LML. It’s a sorority thing.”
“Happy 30th to the Hostess with the Mostess!”

So that’s what a Quippie is. Fun, huh?