Kate Bolger ’10, a media and communication major and anthropology minor, spent 15 years as a filmmaker. Now, she is opening a candy store, The Village Confectionery, in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and documenting her work on Instagram. Her account, @thevillageconfectionery, gained 53,000 followers in less than three months.
I definitely did not have on my life bingo card that I would be opening a candy store. I knew the moment I stepped through Muhlenberg’s red doors that I wanted to be a filmmaker, so that’s what I did. I worked my way up in the New York production scene, which is no joke. At one point, [Professor of Media and Communication and Film Studies David] Tafler invited me to talk to his senior class about what it was like to work in filmmaking, and I was so disgruntled and tired. I said, “Get ready to have no life!”
It was impossible to ignore what the economy was doing to Hollywood. The industry boomed with the streaming boom, and then it had a huge contraction that we’re in right now. The result of that contraction is that it has become impossible to be creative in that space anymore. One Friday, I was stressed, and I was like, “You know what I wanna do? I want to take my kids to a candy shop and say, ‘Go wild!’ and see them just light up.” I opened up Google Maps, and I couldn’t find what I was looking for. I wasn’t necessarily chasing a product. I was chasing a feeling — that neighborhood shop experience.
I started looking into it before I was let go from my job. I looked at multiple towns and locations and landed on Sleepy Hollow. Of course I should open a candy shop in a Halloween town. It gets tens of thousands of tourists in the fall. My husband, Andrew Porter ’12, said, “Just keep going until you hit a roadblock and it no longer feels worth it.” I haven’t hit that roadblock yet.
I’m not a social media person in my normal life, so I leaned on an old colleague of mine to learn and understand the platforms, algorithms, and what works and doesn’t on the tech side. I spent close to a full year trying to figure out how I could show up authentically in that space. I’m not somebody who can turn the camera on myself easily.
“My husband, Andrew Porter ’12, said, ‘Just keep going until you hit a roadblock and it no longer feels worth it.’ I haven’t hit that roadblock yet.”
I did a lot of trial and error with formats, before I came up with the quirky concept of the first video, a tour of the shop as I found it. It was shot by Carolyn Martin ’09. She’s my best friend, my person. She was there the day I signed the lease and had a panic attack. She deserves a cinematography Oscar. I sent it to a few trusted friends and said, “Please tell me that if I post this, people aren’t going to think I’ve gone off the deep end.”
I started posting on Instagram on February 24 at 7 a.m. with 24 followers, most of whom were Muhlenberg alumni. Within the first hour or two, it was very clear that something was not normal. It had over 2,000 views. I don’t know 2,000 people!
What’s sticky is the emotional hook. Inherently, I’ve got high stakes already set in my story. It goes back to the basics of screenwriting and filmmaking. If the audience isn’t rooting for you, then what are we doing here? I’m bringing them along for the ride. I have gotten messages from all over the world, mostly from women. They’re either women who are ahead of me in the journey, who’ve taken a chance and succeeded, or they’re like, “I’ve had a dream for so long and seeing you do this makes me feel like I can do it too.” I’ve barely shown candy, and that’s my business. I haven’t paid to boost anything; I haven’t done any trends. It’s purely organic.
When you open a candy shop in a Halloween town, the whole town is eager to have your back in this really beautiful way. It’s been a dream to work together with local businesses. I fell into this social media following, so I immediately was like, “Let’s use this for the greater good.” I came up with the idea to make the other business owners characters. They were all part of the story already. What if I just elevated and highlighted each one? People are coming to Sleepy Hollow to meet these shop owners as if they’re characters.
“I am planning to open my doors June 13. The town wants to do a block party. People on Instagram have expressed that they want to fly here for this. I was like, ‘I don’t believe that, but oh my gosh, if they do, I want to make sure they’re having a good time.’”
I have been on a high-speed insanity train since I signed the lease December 1. Entrepreneurship is what a liberal arts education is for. I’m using every corner of my brain. I am planning to open my doors June 13. The town wants to do a block party. People on Instagram have expressed that they want to fly here for this. I was like, “I don’t believe that, but oh my gosh, if they do, I want to make sure they’re having a good time.”
I named this place The Village Confectionery because I wanted to fell like all of ours. What I didn’t realize at the time was that it would quite literally take the whole village to make this happen. The residents in the area are so supportive. They call out to me on the streets. It’s been really eye-opening, just realizing how wonderful and powerful it is to connect in your own community with your own community.
