Sydney Lynn Carlson Combines Her Love of Retro Fashion and Food with 'Bold' New Cookware Brand Lynnee (Exclusive)

Sydney Lynn Carlson never wanted to be a chef — or a businesswoman, for that matter. Actually, "I wanted to be in the circus," she tells PEOPLE with a laugh.

“I was a dancer for like 14 years and then I did this thing called aerial silks. It's kind of a little circusy type of thing," the influencer adds. "And I fell in love with that."

Sydney’s life took a very different shape when, with a little push from Miley Cyrus, she and sister Devon Lee Carlson founded their accessory brand, Wildflower Cases. (Cyrus encouraged the siblings to start a business after complimenting their phone cases in a restaurant bathroom.)

The company is a Carlson family operation, and Sydney, 27, can’t imagine doing things any other way. Without Wildflower, she says, “I don't even know what I would be doing, where I would be.”

Now, she’s flying the coop with the launch of her cookware line, Lynnee, a solo venture three years in the making — and a daunting one at that.

“It's scary because with Wildflower, that is a family business,” Sydney tells PEOPLE. “We have the four of us to always lean on and get second opinions and third and fourth opinions. We always have had each other. Lynnee is just me.”

But Sydney — who has carved out a vintage fashion-meets-food niche for herself online — is bringing a whole lot of wisdom with her, thanks to dad Dave Carlson.

“My sister and I say we went to Wildflower College, and he was our teacher,” she says of her dad, who worked in graphic design and marketing. “There's just so much in etiquette, and everything I've learned from him I totally am gonna take with me.”

Dave is also the only other Carlson who likes to cook, Sydney says. Still, she is the no. 1 foodie in the family.

“I've always been a big fan of food in general. I just have always had a sweet tooth. I've always loved ordering a million things on the menu,” she says. “In COVID times and stuff, I was cooking for my family and that's when I really just started to fall in love with the cooking part of it.”

“I think that’s my love language now,” she adds. “I just wanna cook for people and have them enjoy it.”

That’s how “Cooking with Sydney" — her social media series characterized by quick cuts, nostalgic graphics and retro clothes — came to be.

Lynnee was a natural next step. When she moved out her parents' house, she quickly realized, "I didn't have any cookware to my name,” Sydney recalls. “I was a young girl in my 20s who loves fashion and dressing up and everything, so I wanted cookware that was fun and bold and literally hot pink. That's what I wanted, was a hot pink pan — and I couldn't find it anywhere.”

So she made it herself.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Whether she’s preparing garlic chicken or smash burgers, the 11-inch pan ($150) has been Sydney’s trusty sidekick in the kitchen for months. Now, it's available along with a matching spatula and leopard-print kitchen accessories.

Sydney teases that "maybe" her own cookbook could be next. Fans are quick to spot the handwritten one she often flashes in “Cooking with Sydney” episodes.

"Anytime I make something, I write it in there before I cook and as I'm doing it, it has spills and stains all over it,” she says. “But I love it.”

“I think my top comment right now with Lynnee is like, ‘We need a recipe book.’ People really want that,” she adds. “So maybe that'll happen.”

In the meantime, Sydney can’t wait to see pink frying pans in kitchens everywhere — a far cry from her childhood circus dreams, but one she thinks would leave her younger self “mind blown” nonetheless.

"I feel like the little girl inside me is kicking and screaming and so excited,” she says.

The first Lynnee launch is available to shop now at lynnee.com.