Cloudy Kitchen’s sunny future What began as a fun thing to do has evolved into a thriving business showcasing recipes to her more than 300,000 social media followers. Adrienne Matthews speaks to Nelsonian Erin Clarkson about her rapid rise in the food game.
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rin Clarkson counts her lucky stars that as a child growing up in Nelson she was encouraged by her parents to “make a mess in the kitchen” from an early age. An early photo taken by her father shows her in a bright red pinny taking pikelets from a pan to a baking tray. “We were a classic New Zealand family who made everything from scratch,” she says. Long holidays spent with her grandparents meant endless baking. “I got to learn all the good biscuit tin recipes like shortbread, tan squares, chocolate chip cookies and louise cake.” Meeting husband-to-be Richard was a defining moment. The couple met two months before he moved to New York to undertake a Master’s degree in Product Design at the School of Visual Arts. Two years later Erin was on the plane and starting a brand-new life in the Big Apple. For the first two years in the city the couple worked at establishing Richard Clarkson Studio, Richard’s avenue for designing and selling his intriguing hand-crafted lamps with their nod to all things sky, stars and celestial. Erin found herself homesick for New Zealand and began baking in the mornings for morning tea and lunch. “We were working our butts off,” she says, “and it was comforting to get my hands back in the flour and butter and making familiar recipes.”
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July 2022
