Students at the University of Montevallo are highly encouraged to flex their creative muscles through the medium of their choice. Sophomore Bella Macomb’s chosen medium is flour, sugar, frosting and fondant, which she uses to produce intricately decorated cakes for her flourishing baking business, Izzy B’s Sweets & More.
“I’ve been baking forever, but I started the business in 2020 during the pandemic,” the Montevallo native said. “When everything was shut down, I’d make stuff for people who were closed in — mainly neighbors and friends. But when everything opened back up, it got bigger, and now I have close to 1,000 followers on Facebook.”
Izzy B’s Sweets & More specializes in decorative cakes and cupcakes. Macomb especially enjoys crafting hyperrealistic cakes, completely edible creations made to look like everyday objects, animals or even people with great attention to detail. Macomb’s imaginative designs are a mix of original concepts, inspiration from other decorators and ideas from her clients. Some of her favorites include a Canon camera, a kiddie pool full of water and a lifelike pug for a girl celebrating memories with her dog.
“It looked so realistic,” she said. “By the time I had to give it to the customer, I almost didn’t want to let it go because I was like, ‘I love him!’”
While Macomb does sell her cakes for weddings, birthdays, graduations and other occasions, she also does a good amount of volunteer work with her business, free of charge. For instance, she made GV and PV decorative cupcakes for this year’s College Night receptions.
“I don’t accept payment if I’m helping a school or my high school — I made the senior banquet cakes for 300 people,” she said. “My time and my supplies, I donated all of it. I like to still give when I can. I’m just so grateful for all the love and support I’ve gotten from the community. It’s great to be part of a community that gets behind the dreams and aspirations of young people.”
In the age of college decision videos and posts, Macomb made her announcement on the Izzy B’s Sweets & More Facebook page with a unique twist — she decorated a cake with logos of various Alabama colleges and recorded herself slicing it open to reveal Montevallo’s colors on the inside, along with a Montevallo T-shirt under her high school graduation gown.
“I just thought that was a super fun way to do it because cakes are my thing,” she said.
Growing up in Montevallo, Macomb was drawn to the University for many reasons — the chance to live at home, the friendly environment on campus and the financial aid opportunities. She is a recipient of the Presidential Honors Scholarship.
“Having a scholarship that covers almost all of my tuition really does help so much,” Macomb said. “But I also loved the community feel. I noticed that anybody I asked when I was looking for colleges only had good things to say about Montevallo.”
Macomb started at UM as a biology major but has transitioned to the Pre-licensure BSN track in UM’s new Nursing Program, a field she has wanted to go into since she was little. She plans to continue her education post-graduation and hopes to become a nurse anesthetist in the future.
“I’ve always loved doctors and medical stuff, so I was really excited when Montevallo was opening the program,” she said. “The opportunity to go to a brand-new program and be the first group of students to go through is really cool and an opportunity not many people get to have.”
Outside of her studies and her baking business, Macomb is a member of Phi Mu, the Honors program, the Montevallo Mavens, the Montevallo Masters and Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society. She is also an Orientation Leader and was a Gold Side cheerleader this past College Night. Having started her second year at UM, she is thankful to be a part of a school with a welcoming and accepting community atmosphere.
“When I’m giving tours to students, I always tell them, ‘I know you belong at Montevallo’” she said. “It may sound like a catchy tagline, but honestly, it is so true. And I hope that everyone that I give tours to and anybody who goes on campus can really feel that — I know that I did for sure, and I still feel that.”