Creative Chocolates a unique venture for owner

Nakia Bonvillain
December 22, 2009
Julia Esponge
December 28, 2009
Nakia Bonvillain
December 22, 2009
Julia Esponge
December 28, 2009

Personalizing molds of chocolate with a thin layer of white icing has become a unique business venture for Michelle LeBlanc, owner of Blackie’s Seafood Restaurant in Lockport. She calls it Creative Chocolates, literally.


LeBlanc started her chocolate decorating business nearly two years ago, this coming May.

“I went to a party in Houma for Christmas in 2007. Some of the party favors were decorated chocolates. I thought it was so neat, and I wanted to do it for my grandson’s Hayden’s first birthday in January,” she said. “I inquired about where I could get the chocolates made and found out they had a franchises available.”


The Lockport business owner believed owning her own Creative Chocolate franchise was a sound business move. So from that December until April 2008, she put a plan in motion to open her shop.


LeBlanc opted to use the family’s old restaurant and lounge as the location for Creative Chocolates. She said the building was empty.

Blackie’s had vacated the business years ago when her parents bought the two-story movable structure that lead up to the Monorail train at the World’s Fair in New Orleans. They moved the structure to Lockport to have more space for the restaurant, she said.


To transform the old restaurant into the sweet shop, she had to add shelves, a computer system and the machine that is used to imprint the design on the chocolates.


However, before she could open in May 2008, LeBlanc trained in New York for a week.

“It was amazing seeing how they made the designs. I was truly impressed,” she said. “I knew I had made a great business decision.”


Since opening, business has been steady. “I can tell you it’s a fun business. The best part is I have variety,” LeBlanc said. “Each day there’s something different, a new task for me to conquer. I am really having a lot of fun.”


Chocolate is among a favorite for all ages. The chocolates come in all shapes and sizes in the form of business cards, picture frames, CDs and cases, Christmas ornaments and lollipops.

To make the creations, LeBlanc follows a pattern. First, she configures the printer to ensure that the edible ink is online. Second, she makes the designs for chocolate by uploading an images and artwork from the computer or scanner.

Then, she places the chocolate, which comes with the thin layer of white icing, on a plastic mold to hold it in place. With one click of the mouse, the image is set to the printer and out comes her creation.

“It’s a lot of fun watching the design come out on the chocolate,” she said. “It’s moments that people can cherish or eat.”

The whole process seems time consuming, but LeBlanc said it’s pretty easy. She said the designing and setting up the printer takes about 20 minutes depending on the difficulty of the design. The actually printing process takes about 5 seconds. The lapse in time comes with drying the image.

With Christmas right around the corner and the Saints beings such a dominant force this NFL season, her business is booming, she said.

Every week she makes a different Saints-themed lollipop. Some of her patent creations include “Brees’n thru the Season!” and “No More Who Dat, It’s Who’s Next!” She also does a rendition of Let It Snow chorus that denotes the Saints record to date.

Some of other fun creations are making business card local businesses to use as Christmas gifts or party invitations.

But the idea of selling candy for a living never occurred to LeBlanc. Aside from making sweet treats for her customers at the bar and at home, she didn’t really have a passion for as a full time career.

However, she cherishes her grandson Hayden for being the inspiring behind Creative Chocolates. To show her appreciation to her grandson, she creates a special birthday lollipop for him. Aside from letting him sample some of the delicious chocolates whenever he’s in the shop.

“If it would not have been for me wanting to do something unique and special for his birthday, I might not would have even stumbled upon this business,” she said.

Michelle LeBlanc, owner of Creative Chocolates, assembles her printer and ink accessories to ready an order of chocolate lollipops. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN