LADY FORTUNE’S SMILE

Los Angeles, CA – From debilitating childhood allergies to owning a successful gourmet gift company, Lady Fortunes Inc founder, Daria Artem has always maintained a perpetually sweet outlook. As a child growing up with severe allergies, her diet was extremely limited. “Kids would tease me about not being able to eat cake and ‘real food’ at parties and I would always say that it was OK…because one day I would own my own cookie company!” says Artem.

Daria  used to help her mother create special recipes for muffins, cookies, breads and other sweets since traditional items were off limits due to her allergies. She also created a Cookie Shop for her dolls and teddy bears. She and her younger sister spent hours running a “kooky klay” bakery where they made miniature treats from flour and water and poster paints for the dolls to enjoy.

Fortunately, Daria outgrew her allergies, but not her passion for culinary creativity.

In 2000, while still in college earning her Bachelor’s Degree, Artem formed a successful

Public Relations firm -ArtemPR- with several colleagues in Los Angeles. Her trademark

became home-made giant fortune cookies with her personalized messages inside to

bestow on potential clients after meetings. “I made these cookies at home using a recipe

from Better Homes. I elaborated on them and added chocolates mimicking cookies I had

seen at a restaurant in New York City that were decorated and had ice cream inside...only

my cookies contained self-promotional messages geared at getting accounts!”

But the reaction Daria’s cookies received proved a successful idea in the making: Her

prospective clients began requesting cookies for birthdays, anniversaries, new babies, and

even weddings! Pretty soon, the over-worked young entrepreneur had to decide on which path to take: continue with her growing Public Relations Firm, or scrap it in favor of a Gourmet Fortune Cookie Company.  

Daria never expected that her childhood fantasies of owning a gourmet cookie shop would come true: but they did! In 2003, Lady Fortunes Inc. was officially opened, “My cookie business essentially “ate up’ the other!” Artem laughs. The decision to name the company “Lady Fortunes” came from Artem always joking that “Lady Fortune” smiles on her every time she encounters good fortune in her life.

Today, Daria Artem is “Chief Confectionary Officer” of a successful gourmet cookie company. Having landed several key accounts, including Bloomingdale’s, Costco, and Wal-Mart, the company’s first official year in business has placed them in the top as the nation’s premiere manufacturer of gourmet fortune cookies. With other innovative unique products like their Chocolate-Dipped Picture Cookies, Lady Fortunes® products have been featured in places

like the White House, the Library of Congress, the Emmy Awards, Oscars® After-Parties, on television and magazines, and even on covers of Holiday Gift Catalogs like Soft Surroundings Catalog.

You will see Daria’s beautiful work at the upcoming North Ranch Pro Am Charity Tennis Tournament Dinner in Westlake Village.  The proceeds from this event will assist FOOD Share, Ventura County’s food bank.

When asked whether she indulges in the products, Artem –who has since outgrown most of her childhood food allergies—nods her head vigorously in assent, claiming to be the company’s “#1 Fan”. “If you don’t love your products first hand, you can’t expect other people to.”

For more information, or to place an order, visit www.LadyFortunes.com or contact Alex Emeira.

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