There are times when elegance far surpasses words.  Starz Cupcakes looked far and wide for a tower that would put our customers into the “WOW” factor for any occasion for weddings, anniversaries, corporate events or whatever that event might be, when the ordinary is not good enough. 

When the tower was impossible to find throughout the United States and Europe we went out of our way to design it ourselves.  We spent two years watching Platinum Weddings and Weddings of the Rich and Famous and frankly we were not impressed with any of them, nothing was even close to what we had in mind so we set down with pencil and paper and designed it ourselves.  This one of a kind light-up tower takes elegance to a whole new level at a surprisingly affordable rental price, nothing but the best for our customers.

Our four tier crystal tower can be placed with clear stones or mixed with colors for your event.  We have mixed them with a red, pink and purple with an amethyst look that again is beyond what words can describe when mixed with the two and you add our unique wrappers and our delicious outstanding cupcakes you have one heck of a “WOW” factor of an event, that will be talked about for years after the event is over.  So come on by and see if there is a fit for your next event

Our Crystal Tower holds 10 dozen (120) cupcakes and more can be placed around the base of the tower.  Yes we do have other towers which you can choose from (see below) but as you might note this one is the one we have entitled our King of Royalty and as we stated above is one of a kind.  So we believe it needs to be highlighted in its’ well deserved royal position.  This tower does have four levels but each level can be as a standalone so if you want only the top two tiers and you want to serve only 12 to 24 this tower can also bring that to your look and feel to your event without the tower looking incomplete. When your event is ready for that cut above and that elegance that you can bring from the dessert display, to the desserts, to the ultimate taste, we are here to serve you.

My grandmother Mable born in 1909 and died in 1993; was hired and worked at the exclusive Valley Hunt Club in Altadena where she was taught special catering techniques and was recruited within this special catering group of the Valley Hunt Club that was sent to the Casino on Catalina Island where she worked the night away with the likes of Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, Fred Astair, Dick Haymes and other specialty entertainers that were exclusively for the wealthy, powerful and elite in the era of the early 1930's through the mid 1940's.

After the war they moved to Fortuna, California and bought a restaurant called the "Students Inn Cafe", which was a very popular hang-out.  She was able to take generations of her families recipes and combined this with her newly aquired event talents.

Eventually they moved to Felton, California where one day she peddled her bicycle down to Costella's Chalet, which was a new restaurant being built in the downtown area, at that time she put in her application as a waitress.  She was hired and was soon put in charge of the other waitresses.  She worked there for the next 26 years and was very popular with the customers she waited on.

My mother Alice at 17 in front of my Grandparents restaurant called the "Students Inn Cafe" in Fortuna, California.  They had this restaurant for several years.

My mother Alice married my father Bob in 1947. She worked at the Headliner Coffee Shop and at the Piccolo Restaurant in Pasadena, California.

They had three children, I being the youngest, and it was during this time that we (my mother and I, Lisa) lived with my great grandmother, Hazel. She immediately pulled me into the kitchen.  I baked my first peach cobbler at the age of 4.  My great grandmother would have me push a chair up to the spice cabinet and get out the appropriate spices which were placed in alphabetical order; this is how I began learning my alphabet.  Allspice, Basil, Bay Leaves...




In May 1965 my mother re-married a local Real Estate man, Ed Hansmann.  We moved right next door to his brother (John) and his wife (Ione) and their 6 kids. We immediately went into massive birthdays and holiday blow-outs.  Our new Aunt Ione was an incredible baker, she baked the most amazing cinnamon rolls, cookies, "goodie" treats and cakes imaginable.

We had a combined 9 kids and with Aunt Ione's inspiring mid-west cooking and my mother's generations of 100 + years of cooking recipes we believe we have enough to launch some of the most "Awww" inspiring cupcakes you will ever taste.

Five years after getting married Walter and Lisa Brighton had their first daughter Stephanie (pictured here to the left), this was taken in 1983 at 5 years old. 



Connie follows 6 1/2 years after that.  Their girls... as in generations past took early on into working their way in and around the kitchen. 
Pictured here to the right in 1988 is Connie at 3 years old. Little did we realize at that time that she would be the Executive Baker at Sparkles Cupcakes.

The year now is 2009 and Walter and Lisa's grandsons (Stephanie's two boys) Robbie Christopher, age 6, and Michael Edward, age 3, are already volunteering to be the official "tasters" of Starz Cupcakes.

Uncle John and Aunt Ione Hansmann were our next door neighbors and were the parents of 6 children Mike, Ann, Tommy, Joe, Steve, & Jimmy. Aunt Ione came from Minnesota and she had that old fashion midwest baking up-bringing.  You would never walk thru the backdoor into their kitchen without her baking something some days it was her awe-inspiring cinnamon rolls, and other days it were her cookies and yet others it were other goodies and other days her fabulous cakes.

What makes us different that any other cucpake shop you might run across?  We have taken a combination of 7 generation of cake receipes and put them into cupcakes and serve them to you, our customers; each and every day.  We are taking you back to a time when backing was a true art.