Stella Buckley’s foray into ice cream began in 2023 when her fiance gifted her an ice cream maker. She started making ice cream treats to share with her coworkers and quickly developed a knack for making any flavor they requested. Word of mouth spread and, eventually, Buckley was handing out ice cream at birthday parties for kids whose families she didn’t even know.
Then a friend suggested she vend at the Dane County Farmers’ Market. She bought an ice cream cart and started selling ice cream — originally under the name Dairy Godmother — every Saturday near the Square. Buckley also started vending at community events like the Madison Night Market, where she’d often sell out.
When she couldn’t meet demand on a blustery, snowy day in April 2024, she knew this was becoming more than just a side hustle. She decided to quit her day job in the biotechnology industry and grow her ice cream business by hiring staff and developing a wholesale plan, eventually moving Stellie’s Ice Cream to a brick-and-mortar location in the ground floor of an apartment building on East Washington Avenue in June 2025…