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60 JULY 2018 VOGUE.COMRunning a modern, upstart business is rarely a recipe forslow living, but baker and chef Lori Stern has found a way.Though she cut her culinary teeth in professional kitchens,the pastry technique that made her an Instagram sensationarrived through less traditional means: YouTube tutorials.“It happened overnight,” says Stern from her bucolic cottagein Montecito, California, recalling those first shortbreadcookies topped with delicate pressed pansies and geraniums.Even as her embellished treats have begun shippingnationwide, Stern maintains the garden-to-table lifestylethat drew her to baking in the first place. Backyard beds oforganic roses, bachelor’s buttons, and violas command dailytending, as do the vegetables and herbs that she grows for``````cheeks and lips imparts “a bright, happy tone.” Building aroutine of plant-driven products offers her the same assuranceshe gets from buying food at the farmers’ market or, betteryet, growing her own. “It’s more rewarding for me,” saysStern. No matter how many cookies or breads she makes,“honestly, I remember each flower that I pick, bake, and putin a box. There’s something magical about that.” COOKIES: COURTESY OF INSTAGRAM/ © LORIASTERN. STERN: ARNA BAJRAKTAREVIĆ. PRODUCTS: COURTESY OF BRANDS.STATE of NATUR EPETAL PUSHERCLOCKWISE FROM BELOW LEFT: LORI STERN IN``````LORI STERN: BAKER AND CHEF