Carrie Greno, Founder and President of Gramma's Cutters LC - Bio
October 1, 2004
My first memory of Christmas cookies was when my Grandmother, Bunny Pittenger, let me help decorate Santa cookies in my highchair. Every holiday, she would bring out the Merry Xmas Set she bought from Aunt Chick back in 1949, and a beloved family tradition was passed on.
It was in 2001, after my Grandmother passed away, that I decided to bring new life to this cherished tradition. By the time Aunt Chick died in 1982, her cutters had not been produced in decades and bakers began hoarding them for fear they would never be available again. As a result, my family had located and bought a production mold to make the Jolly Santa Cutter. In August of 2001 with my experience as a graphic/web designer, I created a website call www.grammascutters.com, and started selling the Santa Cutter over the Internet.
By early September I stumbled upon a gentleman in Tulsa OK with 18,000 of Aunt Chick's Cookie Cutters in storage. I bought them all and soon my house was packed with cookie cutters from floor to ceiling! I took out a small ad in the Martha Stewart Living December 2001 issue. The response was phenomenal! In just the first few months I was in business, I had made back all of my initial investment.
In 2002 I made a reproduction mold of Aunt Chick's Angel and Cowboy Cutters. After a diligent effort, earlier this year in 2004, I contacted and convinced Aunt Chick's Granddaughter to sell the original production molds of the Merry Xmas Set, Happy Days Set, Special Days Set and Garden Set to Gramma's Cutters. At the 2004 Cookie Cutter Collectors Club Convention in Pittsburgh, PA, I announced the exciting news and received an overwhelming response.
This fall I will be working with students from my Alma Mater, the Columbus College of Art and Design, to come up with new packaging design for the cookie cutter line. It will be a scholarship project for approximately 40 students and it's a great way for them to be able to showcase their talents for their portfolios.
My website is dedicated to all things Aunt Chick including her food columns, recipes and personal history. The original five sets of Aunt Chick's cookie cutters will be available online for Christmas 2004.
My goal is to have this cookie cutter line in retail stores around the country by Christmas 2007. I want to help future generations create the same heart-warming memories that so many others and I have experienced thanks to Aunt Chick. These cutters make more than just cookies; they are a labor of love that brings family and friends together in holiday spirit.
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