Gourmet chocolate is the canvas of choice for a Texas entrepreneur who creates artful goodies that make gifting both glamorous and delicious.
As fictional character Forrest Gump so famously told us, life is like a box of chocolates—you never know what you’re going to get. This adage rings true for Maggie Louise Callahan, a Harvard-trained lawyer turned chocolatier and founder of Maggie Louise Confections. She started a corporate finance law career in New York City, but nearly a decade later, a move to Austin, Texas, for her husband’s job inspired Maggie to put her mark on an untapped passion: sweets.
“As the daughter of a lawyer and a fine artist, I’ve always been a mix of creative and analytical,” Maggie explains. “In my younger years, I felt more confident in my analytical skills and decided to pursue a career in law. When we moved to Austin, I instantly fell in love with the vibrancy of the city and wanted to be a part of its creative energy.”
Maggie had her “fancy chocolate aha moment,” as she calls it, after enrolling at Le Cordon Bleu, where she developed a fascination in experimenting with a broad spectrum of shapes and shades. “Fine chocolate is a delicacy, and it is also a sculptural medium,” Maggie says. “It can be shaped, molded, and colored without changing the integrity of the chocolate itself—a world of possibilities.”
Now with a charming boutique on Austin’s East 6th Street and a thriving online business, as well as products sold in stores like Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom, her company offers an expansive rotation of themed collections filled with chocolates that double as works of art. “I looked at the marketplace and discovered that most premium boxed chocolates looked the same and had a very dated style,” she says. “I knew I was on to something with my colorful, fun designs.”
Her handcrafted gourmet treats have become known for their elevated yet classic flavors and anything-but-ordinary looks. Imaginative silhouettes with striking detail come alive in bold hues with themes that span seasons, holidays, hobbies, and more. “We like to begin with a story,” Maggie says of the design process. “If you are celebrating fall, this may be a story about changing leaves, crisp autumn days, and apple pie. If we want to capture a fashion moment, it may be a collection of lipsticks, lips, high heels, and handbags.”
The company’s best seller remains a simple set of three sleek milk chocolate lipsticks, but more intricate collections center around a trip to the beauty counter, brunch with loved ones, and an afternoon in the garden—all made with nostalgic flavors like peanut butter candy and salted caramel. Many boxes include one piece that bears a message to suit the occasion, making for a sweet complement to thank you notes and other tokens of appreciation.
A variety of collections are dedicated to iconic cities as well as numerous tributes to the Lone Star State—such as Texas Y’all and Keep Austin Sweet—complete with shapes like cowboy boots, cactus flowers, and tacos. Each individual chocolate is hand-painted in Austin, and Maggie is proud of the roots that initially served as her muse. “It was a long journey to get here,” says the entrepreneur, who moved several times between the East and West Coasts before settling in the South, “but Austin is our forever home. My work is absolutely influenced by the Southern emphasis on quality, kindness, and indulgence.”
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