A Simple Life Homestead
“The gathering does not sit by itself. It connects naturally to the rest of A Simple Life Homestead and gives people a fuller sense of what we are trying to share.”
The Story
A Simple Life Homestead grew from the life Julie Tweedie and her husband were already living in northern Maine, near the New Brunswick border. Baking, gardening, preserving, homemaking, hospitality, and old-fashioned practical skills were part of their home before they became part of a business. Julie began with A Simple Life Homestead Bakery, then gradually expanded the larger mission to include bakery offerings, homestead products, gatherings and experiences, and long-form articles that help people reconnect with practical ways of living.
The Challenge
Before Cottage CMS, the pieces of the homestead’s story were spread across social media and separate tools. Julie wanted a local, personal business that could grow with what the homestead was becoming instead of forcing everything into a bakery-only model. A gathering needed its own explanation, registration and payment path, and a way to connect with the articles, products, and ideas behind it. Writing needed a durable home beyond social media.
- A multi-faceted business was fragmented across social media and separate tools
- Gatherings needed separate explanations, registration, payment, and context
- Visitors could encounter one part of the homestead without seeing how it related to the rest
- Long-form writing needed a lasting home beyond social media
The Turning Point
Cottage CMS gave Julie one place for the whole picture: products, bakery offerings, articles, and gatherings. A visitor may arrive after seeing a new offering or a gathering on social media, read about the experience, and then discover an article about preserving, another gathering, a bakery offering, or another part of the homestead.
“The gathering does not sit by itself. It connects naturally to the rest of A Simple Life Homestead and gives people a fuller sense of what we are trying to share.”
The Results
The website lets each gathering be more than a listing. Julie can share the practical details and story behind an experience, then connect it to articles, other gatherings, bakery offerings, and the wider homestead. Her goal is to help visitors experience a slower, simpler way of living and feel encouraged to bring some part of it home.
“Being here made life feel slower, simpler, and easier for a little while.”
Features That Made the Difference
Connected offerings
One home for bakery offerings, homestead products, gatherings, and long-form articles.
Gathering pages
Pages that explain an experience, share practical details, and connect visitors to the wider homestead.
Long-form articles
A durable home for writing about practical skills beyond social media.
Room to grow
A flexible site that can grow with additional offerings, including digital products.
What They Tell Others
Julie encourages other multi-faceted makers not to force their businesses into a bakery-only template. For her, Cottage CMS has created a place where baking, gardening, preserving, homemaking, teaching, writing, and hospitality can live together — and where visitors can discover how those pieces connect.
Launch the storefront and workflows your local customers can come back to.
Start free and build the operating foundation behind your own story, just like Julie Tweedie did.