About

A one-woman cottage bakery, built around the people we feed.

Erinn Gibson is the designer, baker, and creative force behind Designs By Erinn. Every cake, tier, and tray that goes out the door is finished by her hands.

A proud Black woman entrepreneur, Erinn draws on heritage, personal journey, and the quiet power of a well-made dessert to connect a room. Her culinary roots trace back to her grandmother’s kitchen, where she learned early that food is a language of love, tradition, and care. That lesson still shapes the work: every order starts with a conversation about what you’re celebrating, who you’re feeding, and what would make the moment feel like yours.

Designs By Erinn operates as a Virginia cottage bakery, which means what arrives at your event was made in a home kitchen — not a factory line, not a back-of-house team. That is the whole point. You get a baker who knows your order, your date, and your story. Erinn holds a ServSafe Manager certification — the same credential required of commercial kitchen managers — because the people you’re celebrating deserve that level of care regardless of the kitchen’s square footage.

Made by hand, not by team

Every order is designed, baked, and finished by Erinn. No production line, no rotating bakers — your cake is the cake she built for you.

Your event, your design

We start with what you’re celebrating before we talk about flavor or color. The dessert serves the moment, not the other way around.

Honest about what we are

We operate under Virginia Cottage Food Law, which means a home kitchen — not a commercial bakery. Allergens are present. Lead times are real. Erinn is ServSafe Manager certified. We tell you what we can and cannot do up front, so the day-of has no surprises.

Intro: We deliver and set up across Hampton Roads. Custom cakes and dessert party packs can be picked up or delivered (mileage-based fee, $20 minimum); sweet tables and candy tables include on-site setup and teardown in the package.

Cities list (2-column desktop, 1-column mobile):

Newport News	Virginia Beach
Hampton	Chesapeake
Norfolk	Williamsburg
York County	Poquoson

Below grid: Outside this area? Send us a note — we consider larger events case-by-case.

HOW AN ORDER COMES TOGETHER

1. Brief. You tell us what you’re celebrating, when, and roughly how many people. Standard items check out directly; custom designs start with a quote.
2. Build. Erinn confirms the design, ingredients, and date. A 50% deposit locks your slot; the balance is due seven days before your event.
3. Day-of. Pickup or delivery for baked goods and dessert packs; full on-site setup and teardown for sweet tables and candy tables.

CTA below: See the full process

SEO METADATA

• Meta title (55 chars): About Erinn Gibson | Designs By Erinn Bakery VA
• Meta description (153 chars): Meet Erinn Gibson — designer and baker behind Designs By Erinn, a Hampton Roads cottage bakery building celebration cakes and dessert tables by hand.
• Focus keyphrase (RankMath): erinn gibson bakery
• Secondary keyphrases: newport news baker, cottage bakery hampton roads, black woman owned bakery virginia, designs by erinn about
• Canonical: https://designsbyerinn.com/about/

OPEN GRAPH

• OG title: About Erinn Gibson — Designs By Erinn, Hampton Roads
• OG description: Designer, baker, and the only set of hands behind every order at Designs By Erinn.
• OG image: 1200×630 portrait of Erinn at work (Luma deliverable)
• OG type: profile

SCHEMA MARKUP

“json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "AboutPage", "name": "About Designs By Erinn", "url": "https://designsbyerinn.com/about/", "mainEntity": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erinn Gibson", "jobTitle": "Owner, Designer, Baker", "worksFor": { "@type": "Bakery", "name": "Designs By Erinn", "url": "https://designsbyerinn.com" }, "description": "Designer, baker, and owner of Designs By Erinn, a Hampton Roads cottage bakery building celebration cakes and dessert tables since 2019.", "hasCredential": { "@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential", "name": "ServSafe Manager Certification", "credentialCategory": "Food Safety", "recognizedBy": { "@type": "Organization", "name": "National Restaurant Association" } } } } “

INTERNAL LINKING MAP

Target	Anchor	Placement
/allergen-information/	(allergens are present link)	Value 3
/contact/	Send us a note	Service area outro
/faq/#ordering-quotes	See the full process	Below How An Order Comes Together
/shop/	Start Your Order	CTA banner primary
/shop/custom-cakes/	Request a Quote	CTA banner secondary

FINAL VERIFICATION CHECKLIST (Erinn / Angel)

1. Founding year — Confirmed 2019. “Since 2019” added to sub-headline and schema description. Add foundingDate: "2019" to the LocalBusiness schema on the homepage at publish time (Sage note below).
2. Erinn portrait or in-kitchen photo — Luma to deliver for hero
3. ServSafe Manager certification — Confirmed 2026-05-26. Added to Meet Erinn section, Value 3, and schema hasCredential. Ask Erinn for the certification expiration date for schema validUntil field if desired.
4. Optional expansion content — milestones, competitions, signature flavors, community work. Hold for Phase 2 if not ready