We recently connected with Kristine Ling and have shared our conversation below.
Kristine, thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
Having grown up in a household where generosity was scarce – both emotionally and materially, I knew from a young age that I didn’t want to follow that same path. It fills me up to give and share, whether it’s my time, my energy, a beautiful meal, or a thoughtful gift. My donut business only came to be because I was giving away so many of them for a couple of years – hundreds of donuts to whoever I thought would appreciate or enjoy them, just because.
Working through what generosity really means has been a healing process, since the desire for it sprouted from childhood trauma (doesn’t everything?). The lesson is that true generosity doesn’t expect anything in return. You can’t give and expect to receive in kind, because you’ll nearly always be disappointed. But when your heart is in the right place and the motivation behind your generosity is genuine, it can come back to you in the most unexpected ways.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Born and raised in L.A., I’m an Emmy-award winning Executive Producer in advertising, producing campaigns for big brands like Apple, Expedia and Squarespace. It’s a fulfilling career that’s taken me around the world and shown me parts of culture that I otherwise would never have experienced, but I’m always happy to come back to my hometown.
I love entertaining and being in the kitchen. Cooking big meals and hosting friends and family has always been a big part of my life. When all of that went away during lockdown, I started baking these apple donuts on weekends as a healthier sweets option for my neighborhood pod. I tweaked a few recipes to get them just right. In 2022, I drew a logo featuring my dog-son, Archie, and boxed them up as gifts, calling them “Archie’s Sometimes Sunday Donuts”. My work and travel schedule wouldn’t always allow for these weekend treats – or so I thought.
In March of 2023, this baked donut hobby turned into an official business when a dear friend asked if she could buy twenty boxes for client gifts at her production company. Archie’s Sunday Donuts™ was born. We’re a permitted cottage home kitchen and have sold over four thousand donuts since that first order. We’ve recently been doing more pop-ups and catered events, and just
launched our first line of merch. We’ll also be offering dog-friendly donuts soon.
A lot of donuts, while delicious and satisfying in the moment, can often be too sweet and leave you with a bit of a bellyache. Our donuts are baked, not fried, with just the right amount of sweetness. We use only the best quality ingredients and have gluten-free and vegan options – this is L.A., after all. We always make them per order so they’re as fresh as possible. I haven’t seen a product like it in the larger donut market. All info can be found at our website: www.archiessundaydonuts.com
I’m still producing ads and have a potential docu-series in the works, while simultaneously being the head donut baker/boxer/accountant/delivery person, which has been challenging but completely worth it. It’s brought a lot of joy to so many people, myself included. Archie’s Sunday Donuts is also an homage to my late husband, Cory. Archie was our only ‘child’, so this is carrying on his legacy. He would have loved this so much.
I’m so proud of what Archie and I have created in a short time. We’re excited for the future and can’t wait for you to try our donuts.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Three qualities/skills that I think have been most impactful in my unique journey: resilience, problem-solving, and trusting my instincts. These have
carried me through a successful producing career, this donut business adventure, and life in general.
You can’t predict the future and you can’t change the past. Stressing out or worrying about something that is out of your hands won’t help. Assess the issue, come up with solutions, and put them into action. Maybe it goes sideways, but you can try again. Have faith that it’s all going to work out as it’s meant to, and that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Everyone’s journey is different, but always trust your gut, because it will often give you the answers you’re looking for.
Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?
I never expected to be building a baked donut business at this point in my life. I’m used to working at advertising agencies, being on set, and producing marketing campaigns. It’s been a learning curve, to say the least. I’ve been asked a lot over the last year if I’ve left the production world for donuts, but why do I have to be just one thing? I’ve learned to become comfortable with saying that I’m not only a producer, but also “the donut lady”. I never thought I’d be getting up at 4:45am to make donuts (not every day, thank goodness) but here I am. We’re all capable of so much more than we think, and I’ve learned to not only embrace that, but be proud of it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.archiessundaydonuts.com
www.kristineling.com - Instagram: @archies.sunday.donuts
Image Credits
Photo Credits (photos of Kristine and Archie): Shane Liem Photography Donut / merch photos by me (Kristine Ling)
