IT ALL STARTED WHEN…
My son was born with Down syndrome. While thankful that he will not need to live up to the usual expectations that come with growing up in Singapore, I do wonder much about his future. Nearing to his birthday in 2019, my wife started experimenting on a cake to make for his birthday. She always liked the idea of home baking birthday cakes (as opposed to buying a cake outside), because you can decide what to put in it that would suit the children. The prototype cake was a hit with the family, and most importantly, the birthday boy!
Andrew loves to eat, he could easily eat twice the amount of food I can manage! I stumbled unto a realisation, that Andrew might just do well in the thing he loves most:
EAT!
I had an epiphany, what if, I could create a small business, that he would be able, and love to manage? What if, others like him, could be given a vocation, earn their keep and make people happy at the same time? What if I could do something for Andrews future? I have seen how a father, together with his Down syndrome son, started a sock company (John’s Crazy socks), and did really well, even selling socks to the President of the United States. So the journey began…
Together with my missus, we experimented and tweeked the cake to something that we, and Andrew, really enjoy eating! And so, UPCAKES was born! When we were thinking of a brand name, we immediately agreed on ‘UPCAKES’. The ‘UP’ is a contrast to being ‘DOWN’, and the Triangle ‘A’ represents Trisomy-21 (the medical term for Down Syndrome). Our hope is for UPCAKES to be a doorway for people to see those with Down Syndrome in a positive light, and to make people happy with a cake that truly lifts them ‘UP’!
This business, the passion, the hope & joy, is dedicated to my only son, Andrew James Lee.
My son was born with Down syndrome. While thankful that he will not need to live up to the usual expectations that come with growing up in Singapore, I do wonder much about his future. Nearing to his birthday in 2019, my wife started experimenting on a cake to make for his birthday. She always liked the idea of home baking birthday cakes (as opposed to buying a cake outside), because you can decide what to put in it that would suit the children. The prototype cake was a hit with the family, and most importantly, the birthday boy!
Andrew loves to eat, he could easily eat twice the amount of food I can manage! I stumbled unto a realisation, that Andrew might just do well in the thing he loves most:
EAT!
I had an epiphany, what if, I could create a small business, that he would be able, and love to manage? What if, others like him, could be given a vocation, earn their keep and make people happy at the same time? What if I could do something for Andrews future? I have seen how a father, together with his Down syndrome son, started a sock company (John’s Crazy socks), and did really well, even selling socks to the President of the United States. So the journey began…
Together with my missus, we experimented and tweeked the cake to something that we, and Andrew, really enjoy eating! And so, UPCAKES was born! When we were thinking of a brand name, we immediately agreed on ‘UPCAKES’. The ‘UP’ is a contrast to being ‘DOWN’, and the Triangle ‘A’ represents Trisomy-21 (the medical term for Down Syndrome). Our hope is for UPCAKES to be a doorway for people to see those with Down Syndrome in a positive light, and to make people happy with a cake that truly lifts them ‘UP’!
This business, the passion, the hope & joy, is dedicated to my only son, Andrew James Lee.
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