Welcome to Kari's Cube on the Brownie Blog!

Hi there, and welcome to my cube! My name is Kari and I am the Fairytale Brownies Marketing Coordinator, which around here means I do a little bit of everything. My main duties are planning and coordinating marketing efforts, especially catalogs, e-mail specials, Web promotions and our Twitter profile (@ftbrownies).

Most of what I do is behind-the-scenes marketing strategy, but I get to be involved in our brownie photo shoots, new product development of gourmet brownie gifts and other fun outings, too. I'll mostly blog about whatever I'm working on and events I've attended, but you might see me talk about some other things as well.

That's all for now, but I look forward to blogging more soon!

Oscar gourmet brownie success!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 by Kari Gayes
As I posted last week, I used our delicious brownies to make the desserts for my Oscar-watching party on Sunday. I promised a follow-up, so here it is. Unfortunately, my plan for mini cheesecakes with crushed gourmet brownies for a crust did not go as well as I'd hoped (I couldn't get them out of the pan without crushing them!), so I scrapped that plan.

The mini brownie sandwiches, however, were a BIG hit! I started with our Original brownies, cut them into smaller squares, and then cut them in half so I had a top and bottom brownie "crust" for the sandwiches. *Note: because Fairytale Brownies are such fudgy brownies, the best way to cut them is to freeze them first. I filled them with a modification of Alyssa's peanut butter topping from her peanut buster brownies. I wanted it to be a little thinner than hers, so I added whipping cream and some powdered sugar to the peanut butter, cream cheese and brown sugar. Here's what they looked like (that's a veggie/cheese tray in the background if you're wondering):



They were delicious, and our guests loved them. I even heard someone say they were the best brownies they had ever tasted!


Gourmet Brownie Oscar Desserts!

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 by Kari Gayes
As you may know, the Academy Awards are this Sunday, honoring all the best films of 2009. As self-professed movie dorks, my husband and I host an Oscar viewing party each year where we dress up, eat hors d'oeuvres and desserts, drink champagne, and see who can guess the most winners correctly. This year, I'm planning to make all my desserts with our delicious gourmet Fairytale Brownies. I have a couple of great brownie recipes that I thought I would share.

Mini brownie cheesecakes: For these, I will run some of our dark chocolate brownies through a food processor until they become delicious brownie crumbs and press them into a mini muffin tin. I'll just use my favorite cheesecake recipe, bake and top with some brownie pieces or fruit.

Mini brownie sandwiches: For this, I'll use our bite-sized Magic Morsels, which are already the perfect mini brownie size. I'll cut them in half so they're half the thickness as usual and make a delicious creamy filling. Or maybe I'll try brownie ice cream sandwiches...

Do you have a great brownie recipe for a bite-sized dessert? Share it in the comments below, and I just might use it this weekend. I'll also post pictures of my gourmet brownie creations next week so you can see how they turn out! 


Decorating Gourmet Brownies at the Farmers Market!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 by Kari Gayes
A few months ago, the person who coordinates the Kids Korner at the Old Town Farmers Market (OTFM ) in Scottsdale invited us to put together an activity with our gourmet Belgian chocolate brownies for the kids who come to the market with their parents. After getting rained out in January, we packed up trays of big fudgy brownies, icing and decorations to take to the market last Saturday. Here we are setting up:



It rained for an hour or so while we were there, but we still had a great time with all the kids who braved the rain to make their own brownie creation. Here's one who was a little too young to decorate, but old enough to enjoy a delicious brownie sample:



If you didn't know, before selling mail order brownies David and Eileen sold Fairytale Brownies at local farmers markets just like OTFM, so it is always nice to get back and see what it happening at the wonderful markets around the Phoenix area. We hope to come back to the Kids Korner again sometime!

Fairytale Brownies Walks for Hope

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Kari Gayes
For the second year in a row, Fairytale Brownies participated in the Phoenix Walk for Hope to Cure Breast Cancer, which benefits City of Hope. Our team of employees and family members had 8 walkers and one runner. We passed out some rich, fudgy Fairytale Brownies throughout the walk, and found many friends along the way. :) Our team also raised almost $1500 to support City of Hope.


The walkers: Brandie, Alyssa, Mike, Kari, Nick, Steven, Colton and Kevin.



I'd like to congratulate our IT Team Leader, Hunter (above), on running his first ever 5K race in 29 minutes and 48 seconds! He was also our top fundraiser... way to go Hunter! 
~Kari

Fairytale Brownies Tweetup!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009 by Kari Gayes
I'm a little behind on getting this up, but I wanted to share some photos from the first ever Fairytale Brownies Bakery Tour Tweetup. If you don't know, a Tweetup is simply a gathering of people who normally interact on Twitter. It was so nice to get a chance to meet some of our Phoenix Twitter followers in real life last Thursday here at the bakery. We got to chat and eat delicious gourmet brownies while watching the baking team make fresh brownies by hand, and David took all the attendees on a tour of the bakery where we bake, pack and ship brownie gifts.

Tweetup attendees watching a video of Fairytale Brownies on the Food Network:

















A baking team member enrobing brownies in 60% dark chocolate to make Fairytale Truffles:

















Baking team members wrapping White Chocolate Fairytale Sprites:

















Attendees Tweeting about the tour:

















Some even took video:

















Two brave attendees in the freezer. It's 15 degrees in there!

















David talking about the shipping process in the warehouse:

















And finally, people mingling in our retail store (That's me on the right in the black shirt):

















Thanks to all who came! We had a great time showing you around.
~Kari

Fairytale Brownies at Twestival Phoenix!

Thursday, September 10, 2009 by Kari Gayes



Fairytale Brownies is proud to be participating in Twestival Phoenix 2009 tomorrow night, September 11. Our fudgy Magic Morsels mini brownies will be served at the event, and a Fairytale Tower full of Belgian chocolate brownies will be auctioned off to help raise money for St. Mary's Food Bank.

I know what you're thinking... What is a Twestival? Click here for official details, but basically it is a Twitter-organized event that brings people together in real life to help out a great cause.

Currently, 857,349 Arizonans live in poverty. They include parents who must choose between paying rent and buying food; children sent off to school without breakfast, often returning home without hope of dinner; and seniors whose fixed incomes force them to choose between food and necessary medications.

St. Mary’s Food Bank is known worldwide for leadership in addressing the hunger needs hundreds of thousands of Arizonans each year. Last year, the Food Bank distributed enough food to prepare more than 50 million meals to feed the hungry. But it wasn’t enough. More is needed, and that's why the Twestival Phoenix event is supporting St. Mary's Food Bank.

If you're in the Phoenix area, check out Twestival Phoenix and join us if you can. If you're not, visit http://twestival.com to find an event near you.


A Fairytale Photo Shoot!

Friday, May 22, 2009 by Kari Gayes
Erin (our graphic desiger) and I just returned from our annual catalog photo shoot, and I just wanted to share what those photos of our gourmet brownie gifts look like from behind the scenes. We always have a good time with our photographer Rick, food stylist Kim, and their assistants Ken and Jill. Check it out, and keep your eyes open for the actual photos in your upcoming Fairytale Brownies catalogs! 

Here's a refrigerator full of our delicious Belgian chocolate brownies:
    

Kim on set, arranging brownies for a new Valentine's Day brownie gift coming in 2010 (you can see Erin's sketch to Kim's right):


A sneak peek at our updated Custom Fairytale Dozen, coming this fall:


Sneak peek of our new flavor of Fairytale Truffles (dark chocolate-covered Fairytale Brownies) debuting for Christmas:


And finally,
Kim heating up the Truffles right before Rick shoots the photo to give them a little shine:


Hope you enjoyed your look at a Fairytale Brownies photo shoot!
~Kari

And the winners are....

Wednesday, April 22, 2009 by Kari Gayes
First of all, thanks to everyone who participated in our Fairytale Brownies Unwrapped trivia contest yesterday! We loved all your comments and feedback about the show. Now, it's time to announce the winners! Here they are:

Question #1: Jewel
Question #2: Jessica
Question #3: Amy Sanford
Question #4: MJ

Congratulations Jewel, Jessica, Amy and MJ! You will all receive a Fairytale Tower, and we will contact you via email today for the address where you want your brownie gift delivered. To everyone else, thanks so much for playing!

~Kari

FINAL Unwrapped Trivia!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by Kari Gayes
It's time for our final Fairytale Brownies Unwrapped trivia question of the day! Since it's the last one, you'll get up to three chances for the prize on this one (one for each part you get right)!

At what temperature and for how long do we bake Fairytale Brownies? What flavor was prominently featured in the baking portion of our Unwrapped segment?

Please post your answers to any of the four questions of the day by midnight tonight to be eligible for a prize. Winners will be announced tomorrow morning, so be sure to check back for the results! Four lucky winnners (chosen at random from the correct answers for each question) will receive a Fairytale Tower!


Unwrapped Trivia #3

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by Kari Gayes
Thanks for all the participation we've had so far in our trivia contest! Here's question #3 about the Fairytale Brownies segment on Unwrapped last night:

Where did cofounders David & Eileen meet? And for a second chance to win, in what year did they meet?

Comment below for your chance to win a Fairytale Tower

Here's a hint:


Unwrapped Trivia #2

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by Kari Gayes
Here comes question #2 about the Fairytale Brownies appearance on Unwrapped last night!

What brand of dark Belgian chocolate do we use at Fairytale Brownies? Get an extra chance to win if you know how much chocolate goes into each batch of our fudgy gourmet brownies.

Here's some information about the contest: Trivia contest winners will be announced here on the blog tomorrow morning. There will be one winner per question, randomly selected from all correct answers. Each winner will receive a Fairytale Tower, which is a $49.95 value. Please do not worry if your response does not show up immediately, as comments have to be approved by our blog administrator. There may be a short delay.

Unwrapped Trivia #1

Tuesday, April 21, 2009 by Kari Gayes
Good morning! I hope you all saw Fairytale Brownies featured on last night's new episode of Unwrapped! We promised a trivia contest today, so here's the first question of the day.

From whose brownie recipe did Fairytale Brownies gourmet chocolate brownies originate?

Comment with your answer below, and one person with the correct answer will win a Fairytale Tower, a $49.95 value!



Tonight's the night!

Monday, April 20, 2009 by Kari Gayes
I just wanted to pop in and remind everyone to watch Unwrapped tonight on the Food Network, and come back to the blog tomorrow. We're going to have a trivia contest, and you will have several chances throughout the day to win a Fairytale Tower, a $49.95 value. Our episode is called "Get Comfy," and you will see how our delicious gourmet Belgian chocolate brownies are made and how your brownie gifts are shipped worldwide! 

~Kari

Fairytale Brownies Gets Unwrapped on 4/20/09!

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by Kari Gayes
Only 5 more days! 


As I'm sure you know by now, Fairytale Brownies is going to be featured on Monday's new episode of Unwrapped on the Food Network. The episode is called "Get Comfy," and our gourmet Belgian chocolate brownie gifts will be featured with 5 other companies who make comfort foods.

To celebrate our second Food Network appearance (the first was on Food Finds in 2001), we're having a party in our retail store. If you're in the Phoenix area, stop by the store and save 50% all day Monday at the Fairytale Bakery store. You will also be able to watch our baking team make brownies and sample some of our delicious chocolate brownie flavors. If you're not nearby, you can still get FREE SHIPPING on any brownies you order online at brownies.com on 4/20 with the code UNWRAPPED.

Make sure you watch the episode Monday night, and come back to the Brownie Blog on Tuesday to answer trivia questions about our segment for several chances to with a Fairytale Tower, a $49.95 value! Check your local listings for the show's airtime.

~Kari


Fairytale Brownies at ASU Gammage!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009 by Kari Gayes
As you may have seen or heard, Fairytale Brownies is going to be at ASU's Gammage Auditorium this Saturday morning for their big WICKED on-sale event, which starts at 8:00 am.

I am very excited to participate in this event, as I am a huge fan of musical theatre and a Gammage season ticket holder. The auditorium was Frank Lloyd Wright's last design, and it is beautiful. Read more about it here. If you live in the Phoenix area and have never been to a show at Gammage, I highly recommend you take advantage of this opportunity to sample some of our delicious gourmet chocolate brownies and get your tickets to see Wicked. The on-sale event will be a good time for all, and Wicked will be one of the best shows you'll ever see (it comes to town in July).

So come on down to Gammage on Satruday morning and stop at the Fairytale Brownies table. Look for the cute girls with huge smiles handing out decadently fudgy gourmet brownies. 
  • FREE Fairytale Brownies samples
  • ASU Gammage Giveaways
  • Mix 96.9 on location
  • News channel 3 on location
  • Karaoke
  • Games
  • and much more!
Hope to see you Saturday!

~Kari

Here's my tradition. What's yours?

Monday, April 13, 2009 by Kari Gayes
Growing up, I remember getting up ridiculously early on Easter Sunday for the sunrise service at church. But my favorite memories of Easter weekend involve food. Brunch, candy, finger foods, and of course a big dinner. In our house it was always ham, twice-baked potatoes, and corn casserole. Yum!

Now that I am an adult and work here at Fairytale Brownies, Easter (and every other holiday or family event) includes delicious Belgian chocolate gourmet brownies!  I love that I can send brownies to my family back east if we're not getting together, or ship a brownie gift in advance so I don't have to carry it on the plane when we travel home.

So that's my story, and here's a response we got on Twitter this weekend:
@chefgwen: Easter egg hunt in sand dunes followed by cold fried chicken and cantaloupe picnic. Childhood memories.

Sounds like fun Gwen, thanks for sharing. Now readers, what is your favorite Easter, Passover, or Spring tradition? Please comment below. 

~Kari

A Twitter Fairytale!

Monday, February 23, 2009 by Kari Gayes

Last week, I was searching Twitter to see who was talking about Fairytale Brownies and I came across a great story. I discovered two twitterers, Beth and Jewel, who made a real connection talking about tea and our Raspberry Swirl brownie. I couldn't resist sharing with you how our gourmet chocolate brownie gifts helped build a friendship, in their own words.

Jewel (@thetinyjewelbox): I was on twitter and one of my followers, a tea company, tweeted about her “tea of the week,” called Chocolate Rasberry Razzle Dazzle. I told her that with a name like that, I couldn’t resist. Another person (Beth), who I didn’t know, tweeted back to me “wow, we had the same idea. I ordered some too.” 

I asked if she had ever had Fairytale's raspberry brownie. She had never heard of Fairytale. I sent her to the website and she said they looked yummy. Completely on a whim, I asked her for her address and told her I would send her some. She sent it to me, and within 5 minutes I had ordered a dozen brownies online for her. She was in tears that a complete stranger would do something like that and then went on to share that she had been having a terrible day. I assured her that I hadn’t gotten up with a plan to send brownies to a stranger, but it just so happens that it worked out. 

Beth (@teaandthee): A very neat thing happened to me this past week, an act that will never be forgotten. Through my searches on twitter I have found some great tea companies selling all sorts of tea. One of them blends a new flavor of tea every week. This week it was Chocolate Raspberry, which was calling my name. So I decided to order some and I posted on twitter that I did. By chance another person on twitter (Jewel) also ordered the tea and saw my post. She added me as a follower and we started chatting. I was having a rough day and we were talking about it.

Jewel told me about these great raspberry chocolate brownies from a company called
Fairytale Brownies. I told her that they sounded yummy and jokingly said she could buy me some anytime. She told me to send her my address and she would send me some. I sent her my address and on Thursday my brownies arrived. Let me tell you they are YUMMY. I wrote Jewel back that day with tears in my eyes and told her how much I appreciated her generosity and kindness. We have chatted many times since and I feel we have formed a friendship.

Thanks for sharing your story Jewel and Beth! It is great to hear how a gift of Fairytale Brownies helped bring you together.

And to all our other fans who are on Twitter, follow us: @ftbrownies.
~Kari

 

And I thought yesterday was busy!

Tuesday, February 10, 2009 by Kari Gayes
I (and most of the marketing team) just spent half my day packing gifts in the shipping department today. Today will easily be our biggest shipping day of the month, since it's the last day for standard delivery in time for Valentine's Day.

I think I personally just packed (or helped pack) and sent about 300 brownie gift packages out the door and on their way to recipients all over the country for Valentine's Day!

Don't worry if you were still hoping to send some gourmet chocolate brownie gifts to your sweetheart, you can still get it there! Just shop at brownies.com and choose "Arrive by Feb. 13" at checkout. It will select the best shipping method to get your gift there in time.

Have a happy Tuesday! 

~Kari

Busy shipping day!

Monday, February 9, 2009 by Kari Gayes
The warehouse is buzzing today, getting our gourmet chocolate brownie gifts out the door in time for Valentine's Day. I thought it was a good day to give you all a peek into our shipping department.

These gifts are ready to go, just waiting for the FedEx truck to arrive:























And these are on their way to be scanned and added to the pallets above!


































Tomorrow is the last day to ship brownies with standard delivery and guarantee arrival by Friday, so it's definitely not to late to place your order at brownies.com. Tomorrow will be our busiest shipping day of the month, but rest assured the brownie gifts you send will arrive in time!

~Kari