Michelle Lomelin

Michelle Lomelin, founder of Sweet Petite Confections and a long-time resident of San Diego, may be the only chocolatier in San Diego who brings a background in fashion design to the world of gourmet chocolate making.

After graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles in the mid 80s, Michelle entered the fashion industry and for almost two decades she handled designing and merchandising for Mens and Juniors surfwear lines, Misses, Childrens and Tween ready-to-wear lines – even spending two years as a Halloween costume designer.

The need for a change drew Michelle away from the style scene and propelled her – aided by the encouragement of her mother, Nancy, who had initially introduced her to making chocolate – to pursue a new career as a chocolatier.

Today, Michelle is perhaps the only chocolatier around who designs chocolates as one might design a clothing line. She chooses colors, prints, packaging and flavor profiles for each season and holiday, and uses traditional fashion design processes including a merchandising calendar, a marketing calendar and inspiration boards.

Michelle considers her biggest triumph the actualization of a company created purely from her own imagination.