Hello! My name is Holly Baker and I am local here in Big Lake! My Husband Alex and our two sons moved here in 2019. We were in a large city and felt like it wasn’t the right place to raise our kids. Big Lake has everything we wanted, awesome nature to hike, lakes to fish and kayak, and amazing opportunities for our kids. I grew up in large cities and have a passion for the outdoors! Louis is 5 and starting kindergarten this year and Leo is almost 4. Alex and I worked for corporate positions when we moved here and early last year we had taken time to reflect on what we wanted in life. At that point, we felt like we were living in Big Lake; but, not really living IN Big Lake. We never had been to a restaurant or visited any of the small businesses. Alex’s Mother passed away and it made us realize how important relationships are and making memories with others. After reflecting on what was important to us and the life we wanted for our kids, we wanted to embrace our community that we hadn’t yet lived in yet. That’s when we decided to take a look around our community to see what was missing. Both of us have experience in the pet industry and I have now been grooming professionally for 18 years. Naturally, we noticed there was no grooming salons in the city of Big Lake. So, we made the decision over a weekend to launch a salon with us running it together. I designed our logo and put lilies in it to represent Alex’s Mother’s favorite flower. She loved flowers and it was inspired to take this leap of faith. Since last year, we have opened a second location for cats and exotics in Big Lake and now are launching our third location in Elk River. We now have 12 full time employees and are continuing to grow! I can honestly say I am totally invested in Big Lake now! I volunteer in Children’s Ministry at our church, am Head Coach for a T-Ball team here in Big Lake, belong to the board of The Youth Wave Center, belong to the board for Green Acres Animal Rescue, and volunteer as Vice President of a business networking chapter. I strive to keep my money in our community by supporting as many of the local small businesses as I can! I have gotten the pleasure of meeting so many people in our community by grooming their pets and it’s such a blessing to get connected with our incredible neighbors and generous community!
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Trail’s! I eat there so often, some of them know us by name. Ember’s incredible ice cream and coffee. Big Lake Cafe of course. I want to try more of them for sure.
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
Lived 3 years, worked only 1 year here.
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Paul Feris! He and his wife own Jellyfish Graphics here in Big Lake. Paul is a Veteran and volunteers with Support the Troops, MN and has gotten us involved in some of their fundraisers. He is a dog lover! They started their business nearly at the same time and I have loved watching their business expand and grow!
Q: Do you have any pets? If so, what are they and what are their names?
Oh man, I plead the 5th on this one. I will just say we have dogs, cats, rabbits, and chickens!
Q: What advice would you give to people living in Big Lake?
LIVE IN Big Lake! Too often we look to our neighboring communities for certain needs, but most of them can be met through our local small businesses! You will meet so amazing people by shopping small and hanging out at some local places to eat or drink here!
Q: What is something on your bucket list?
I am a Scuba Diver, so to dive the Great Barrier Reef is a must for me!
Q: What is your favorite current or former business in our community?
To order from is Jellyfish Graphics, to shop is Two-Cute Boutique! I have young kids that Ashley Johnson makes look cute with all her adorable items!
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
How supportive our small businesses are to each other! When I needed flowers for Mother’s Day for Fur-Mamas, Big Lake Floral helped me out! When I needed items to gift on short noticed to kids birthday parties, Two-Cute Boutique hooked us up! When we threw our first Trunk or Treat Event, we had food trucks and other local small businesses help! We have the most giving community!
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Big Lake for sure! We want to continue to grow our business here and want to add additional services to our business!
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I am terrified of sea weed. I know it sounds silly, but if I am swimming and it touches me….I lose it.
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My Husband Alex. I have a ton of energy and I literally never stop moving. He never cuts me down for never being able to relax and helps encourage me to utilize my gifts for good. He aids me every day and is the best partner for this crazy journey of life.
Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of Big Lake?
Big Hearted! Big Supporters! Big Uplifters!
