Make it Funky

There is a group of people online who call themselves an underground cookie community. They are hundreds of women (and one man) who design cookies and share their recipes and techniques across social media. Jill Wettstein of the Funky Cookie Studio in Sister Bay is one of the best.

“Cookies have been my hobby for the past eight years,” said Wettstein. “I ended up being kind of a mentor to many of the cookie-ers out there. My style was a bit different… more graphic than the classic decorated cookie.”

Nearly 30 years in graphic design gave Wettstein an advantage when she transitioned to cookies eight years ago. Unlike many other cookie artists who use designs from other artists, nearly all of her cookies are original works of art.

But before there was a studio in Sister Bay, there was just a kitchen and a Flickr account.

“I started posting my pictures on Flickr back when Flickr was the big thing,” said Wettstein. “One of the cookie-ers said, ‘Oh, Jill, you have to do a Facebook page.’ I wasn’t even personally on Facebook…that’s for the young ones. She finally convinced me and I put a page up and it went BAM!”

Since then, the Jill FCS Facebook page has gained more than 70,000 likes. The underground cookie community, as she describes it, is constantly sharing ideas, designs and techniques to help each other improve the craft. Wettstein has been asked to speak at cookie conferences around the world, but is content with the creation and her ability to use her skill in benefitting the community around her.

“I just want to make cookies. I just want to make art,” said Wettstein.

“Four years ago, we started noticing all these orange ribbons. We were visitors, we were tourists who came up on weekends. We asked around and then learned our neighbor boy up here was best friends with Bo [Johnson]. We talked to Ernie and he said, ‘Yeah my friend is really sick’ and it was just a sweet boyhood story. They were just buds.”

Wettstein then saw that Sarah of the FlourGirl Patisserie in Sister Bay was holding a bake sale to raise funds for the Go Bo! Foundation. Wettstein offered to make some cookies for the bake sale. She also asked her online community of cookie lovers if they would like to donate.

Today, the bake sale is the largest fundraiser for the Go Bo! Foundation, bringing in nearly $50,000 in the four years since it started. Wettstein receives cookies from artists in every state and 22 countries nationwide.

“They’re just this crazy generous, loving group,” said Wettstein.

John and Jill Wettstein

While the colorful and quirky designs are the hallmark of the studio, Jill and her husband John wanted their cookies to be as tasty as they were fun to look at.

“We worked really hard to perfect our recipes. We worked years on getting the recipe we wanted. They don’t taste like your typical sugar cookie. That was important,” said Jill.

After years of working from home and doing business with only the post office employee, she now looks forward to having a physical shop where she can interact with both visitors and the community she and her husband are now part of.

“It’s nice to be able to come to work. I know people want to do the other thing, to work from home and all, but this has been nice,” said Jill.

“We wanted to get rid of all the stress of the corporate world,” said John, who worked in information technology for 40 years. “Simpler, easier… poorer,” he joked.

With each cookie hand-rolled, hand-cut and individually decorated, the Funky Cookie Studio is constantly working to meet demand since opening on May 22. As the season gets busier, the pair doesn’t know what to expect.

“It’s all a learning experience,” said John Wettstein, who believes production is going to be the biggest challenge as the summer gets busier.

The Funky Cookie Studio is open 10 am – 4 pm on Wednesday through Saturday and 10 am – 1 pm on Sunday. Jill Wettstein’s designs can also be found on her Jill FCS Facebook page.