Meet Local Mom, Sandi Tullo has been baking up a storm since 2020!
Name Sandi Tullo
Company name Scotch Plains/Fanwood Public Schools & my small business The Loaf Lady
Contact Info sanditullo@gmail.com / 646-201-2043
Family (names/ages) Rich/ husband, Tobey / son 16 years old
Pets Herky & Bailey – our adorable pups
Job Title Instructional Aide
How long have you lived here and what brought you to town?
My husband Rich and I moved to Cranford in May 2007 when I was pregnant with our son, Tobey, who was born in August 2007. We moved here because we had close friends who lived in Westfield, and we fell in love with the area. Our friends told us that Cranford was “up and coming”, so we looked in both towns and found a great home on the border of Cranford and Westfield-so we would have the best of both!! We never imagined the amazing growth to Cranford over the 16 years here – retaining the small town charm but with fabulous restaurants, shops and a wonderful community with events all year long.
What are your favorite family activities?
We love to eat out together as a family, playing tennis, apple picking in the fall, attending the US Open tennis tournament, and hanging out at home with our pups. My son and I love going to the beach in the summer too; my husband does not so much!
What’s your favorite restaurant and/or place to shop?
Our favorite restaurant in Cranford is Mr Bins. We always go for birthdays and love the amazing food and special treatment we receive from Mr Bin personally and his staff. We also love Oasis, Old City, Thirsty Turtle and Ambelli. For shopping, I love Augusta Mae, Cougar Headquarters and Hickory & Hill. Hard to pick a favorite as they are all wonderful and I love how each store has unique Cranford items – our town amazes me with its pride and spirit. Anywhere you go, someone has Cranford gear from one of the many shops in town.
What was the best advice on motherhood that you ever received?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help or feel like you should have all the answers. Nobody is quite ready or fully prepared for parenthood, but once you have your child, the immediate love you feel takes over and helps guide you.
Tell us about your passion, The Loaf Lady!
So honestly, baking has never been an actual passion of mine. The Loaf Lady was a happy accident that came about during Covid/ December 2020. I had a career for over 20 years in the fashion industry in NYC and really didn’t cook much. When I left that behind in 2014 to spend more time with my then almost 7-year-old son, I decided I needed to figure out how to cook! I started saving all kinds of recipes, experimenting etc. since I finally had the time. I started a part-time job in the Cranford school district in 2015 until leaving there for a full-time instructional aide position in 2019 with the Scotch Plains/ Fanwood school district. When schools closed in 2020 due to Covid, I started cooking and baking even more. In December, I made an exceptional Pumpkin Chocolate Chip loaf and posted it on the Cranford Cooks FB page making a “joke” that it looked so good I could probably sell it! To my complete surprise, strangers in town asked to order it and so completely out of character for myself, I spontaneously decided to take a few orders. My first three customers started raving. I decided to give a few influential women in town one of my loaves – and soon enough I realized this was actually becoming a reality. By early January 2021, I chose a name for my business, made pages on social media, the Cranford Moms FB page blew up with reviews and I have been consistently booked with orders ever since! This is not something I could have ever imagined for myself because I never learned how to cook or bake from anyone while growing up. I also never saw myself as someone who would have their own business, especially while also working full time in a school.
What inspired you to follow this career?
My inspiration for The Loaf Lady is my customers! They are the reason I continue to do this and why I have expanded to offer muffins, seasonal flavors and Loaf of the Month subscriptions. I never expected to bring people so much joy just by delivering a warm loaf to them. I’ve had so many people tell me that a loaf reminded them of something a family member had made them ,bringing them warm memories. I also have so many young fans who get so excited when their mom orders them a loaf. People have told me I’m magical or talented, and have used all kinds of other amazing adjectives to describe me, but really I’m just a mom who loves making people happy through her baking. I love challenges and had a local Girl Scout request for loaves made with Girl Scout cookies, so we collaborated, and I was able to offer three limited edition flavors. I have also collaborated with a few other local women small business owners, and with some local food bloggers/ digital content creators to highlight my business.
For my job as an instructional aide, my inspiration is the students. This is a second career I definitely never expected to have, but it’s extremely rewarding. Working in a school and assisting students and teachers every day isn’t always easy, but it’s a wonderful feeling when you can connect and feel like you are making a difference in children’s lives.
Anything we missed?
I feel a tremendous amount of support from Cranford and other surrounding communities for my baking business, so I try to give back as often as possible. I truly did not expect this level of support, and I’m very grateful and blown away by the generosity of others I have seen.