Strawberries, a shipping container and some sparkle: The sweet story of Punkin’s Pies – IndyStar

Joanna Wilsonbeamedwhen she lookedat her hot pink shipping container with black and white checkered flooring and a mini chandelier.

When she received it, it was a plain-old, dusty, drab, big, nondescript metal box made to carry stuff transatlantic and transcontinental.

"There was nothing, just the container," Wilson said."No floor, no nothing."

But like many of Joanna Wilsons neighbors in the Artisan Marketplace at 16 Tech food hall, she had a vision for and a dream of the business she wanted and how it should look.

Punkins Pies Sweet Treats took months of work and years of dreaming.

It began with her love for baking pies and a day in the kitchen with her daughter experimenting with chocolate covered strawberries. It grew into a dessert catering business named after the childhoodnickname she never grew out of: Punkin. When it came time to expand, AMP food hall seemed to show up at the perfect time, and Punkins was their ideal tenant as a startup with potential.

There were long nights. There were moments when Wilsons imposter syndrome and fear of failure threatened to swallow the project whole.

And then there were moments of joy as the ribbon was cut and Wilson introduced herself and her husband as the official owners of Punkins.

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In the food hall, Punkins stands testament to what can be done when a woman has a vision, family comes together, risks are taken, and a little sparkle is thrown in for good measure.

At Punkins, chocolate covered strawberries and pineapples coated with everything from sparkles to Oreo crumbs fill one case, while caramel apples, truffles and cheesecake fruit bowls fill another. People peer through the glass, carefully making their decisions.

She always hung around the kitchen, cooking or baking, said Jaunice Lee, Wilsons mother and inspiration.

Growing up, Wilsons mom would make at least 20 sweet potato pies at Thanksgiving to feed her large family. Wilson quickly learned to make them as her mother aged and started selling them to other families at the holidays.

She liked making people smile with her pies. When she began making decorated strawberries, she felt the same satisfaction. Wilson had no formal training and mostly taught herself.

People started sending me, Can you do this? Can you make these? Can you make this? she said, gesturing to the case of sweets behind her on a recent morning at AMP. I didnt come up with all these flavors.

Every time someone would request a new flavor or coating, she found a way to make it. She taught herself through YouTube tutorials and spread the word of her home business on social media and word of mouth. She spent long nights in the kitchen preparing orders for weddings and parties. She once went to bed as her husband was waking for work. And there was the challenge of working out of her own home.

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"It was hard with the family, trying to stay sanitized, trying to stay clean," she said."And I'd need my scissors, and myscissors are missing out of my cabinet."

It was worth it though. Someday, Wilson wanted to get a shop where she could sell her desserts, but she wasnt sure where or how or when it would happen, until she learned about AMP.

AMP food hallwas developed by Craig Baker to bean incubatorfor businesses wanting to take the leap of having a retail location without the risk and high rent of having a standalone storefront. Each business is given a shipping container or booth and the freedom to make it their own.

When Wilson decided to move Punkins from her kitchen to AMP, it was all hands on deck.

With handiwork from her husband, Mark Wilson, and help from friends and family, she installed a sink, counters, display cases, signs anddecals. Joanna Wilson received one $5,000 grant, but they spent much more on preparations. Even though she and her husband paid mostly out of their own pocket, she wanted it to look just as good as everyone elses shipping container turned restaurant shop inside AMP.

Meanwhile, friends and family members asked if they could be Joanna Wilson's employees. Michelle Sanders, wife to Joanna Wilsons nephew, told Wilsonshe wanted to work for her before Wilsoneven heard about AMP. Sanders said Wilson'sdrive and vision made it obvious that someday shed have a store.

We always believe that everything happens in Gods timing, Sanders said. So I knew it was bound to happen.I just didnt know when.

Even with all the support, a bit of self-doubt ate at Joanna Wilsonwhen she saw other business owners in AMP who already had owned businesses and restaurants before coming to the food hall. She admittedly was intimidated.

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Im scared, she told Mark Wilsonin the weeks leading up to opening. I dont want to do this anymore.

Youre doing this, he told her.

So she did.

On June 3, Joanna Wilson filled AMP hall with nearly 200 family members, friends, customers and Facebook followers she had never met.

Everything matched Punkins colors: She wore a black-and-white stripped dress and pink necklace. She made milk and white chocolate dipped strawberries to go along with pink fizzy drinks. She cut a black-and-white ribbon with a giant pink bowon it to celebrate the opening of Punkins.

Even though she hasnt started officially selling her pies at AMP yet, she sold them on her opening night and dedicated the first slice of sweet potato pie to her 83-year-old mom. Leetook the piece, lifted it over her head and smiled proudly.

A pastor prayed over Punkins and the rest of AMPs businesses and read Psalm 65, a prayer of prosperity.

We want everyone here to prosper, all of us, Joanna Wilson said.

Now acquainted with several of the other business owners in the hall, Joanna Wilson doesnt feel intimidated anymore. Andre Louissaint, owner of Andres BBQ and Seafood, told her that she can use his oven to bake pies. Cindy Hawkins, owner of Circle City Sweets, catered macarons for her sons wedding reception.

I love it, Joanna Wilson said. Im hardly ever home anymore. Im here from morning to night every day.

A lover of all things bling, Joannais an admirer of Gwendolyn Rogers, owner of the Cake Bake Shop. They both love beautiful sweets, edible sparkles, the color pink.

Someday, Joanna Wilsonwants to have a place that has the same magical allure as Cake Bake and more room.

For now, shell bump hips with her employees in her little pink shipping container and laugh about it. For now, she will sigh with relief as she thinks about everything that got her to this point. For now, this is hard work paying off.

Contact IndyStar Pulliam Fellow Lilly St. Angelo atLStAngelo@gannett.com.

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Strawberries, a shipping container and some sparkle: The sweet story of Punkin's Pies - IndyStar