Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
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111 Now business is booming for the mom of two, and the COVID-19 pandemic provided the push that Terry needed to expand and pivot into offering online classes. "They've been huge for my business," she says, noting that the classes have tripled her business since March. Although she's still taking custom work, the classes have allowed her to be choosier about which projects she takes on, while sharing her skills and techniques with the wider world. Terry's cookies are undeniably magnificent, but there's another reason her classes are so popular : Her teaching style. "I literally just record myself decorating a cookie as I dictate every single step down to the last detail," she says. She narrates everything from the amount of pressure to use when squeezing royal icing out of the piping bag to the proper angle at which to hold your wrist to make the perfect rose petal. Each class is hyper-focused, concentrating on a single technique or design. The pre-recorded classes are posted on a private Facebook group and not only feature the tutorial videos but also detailed supply lists, discount codes for products, and access to Terry herself, who answers student questions directly. "I want it to be as descriptive as possible," she says. That "nitty-gritty" detail approach has made a big impact on students like Danielle Munoz of Stockton, California, who loves Terry's clean and elegant style and immediately wanted to "pick this woman's brain" when she saw her work. "When you see some of her work you think, 'I can't even imagine how this woman did it,'" she says. "A long time ago I had wanted to be a cake decorator. I couldn't do the roses and I gave up." But Terry's detailed instruction and breakdowns of techniques has taught Munoz skills she never thought she'd master. Jessica Clapper of Elkhorn, Wisconsin, agrees. She first took the macrame and watercolor classes earlier in the year and have been "hooked ever since." She's learned fine details, like how color dusting in certain spots can completely change the way a cookie looks, and she appreciates Terry's enthusiasm and knack for translating complicated techniques into doable steps. "It's shocking to be able to see the amount of passion someone can have through a computer screen," Clapper says. "She captures that beautifully." Clapper is also "so excited for Christmas." By late October, Terry had already started contemplating her holiday class, which she anticipates will feature a set of six Christmas cookies and will be posted online by the end of November. When she does post it, her students will certainly be busy decorating incredible cookies for their Christmas tables. "The feedback that I get is that it really helps them achieve [things] that they never thought they could achieve," she says. sweetcheeksbyrenee.com Terry's attention to detail is precise.