Baking up a new business: Metro Detroit women find a sweet spot in the sugar arts
By Cassandra Spratling, Detroit Free Press | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
She followed a recipe she found on a cone-shaped pan she discovered at a baking supply store.
"Two scoops for my 2-year-old," she recalls. She got an order for another cake that same day.
That was the start of a side business that became her main business after she was laid off in 2013 from her job as a senior secretary at
Ross is one of many people, especially women, finding happiness, and extra income, baking and decorating amazing cakes, cupcakes, and cake pops. Their creations replicate characters, products and other objects down to the tiniest detail.
Sugar art, once the domain of older women, has broadened its reach. Younger women have become sweet on it too, enticed largely by the popularity of televised cake show competitions and deliciously-attractive images on sites like Pinterest and Instagram.
"Baking and decorating have never been more popular," says
It's difficult to track exact numbers because many cake bakers work from home-based businesses that do not require licensing, experts say. But anecdotal evidence suggests growing interest.
"Every year we're seeing more and more people shopping for supplies," says
A record number of people, registered for the Michigan ICES (International Cake Exploration Societe) held earlier this month. There were 200 registered, up from the 120 entrants when it was last held in 2012, says
"When we started baking and decorating cakes, it was not cool," says
"Now people can sit in the living room and see the talent and technique and skill and how cool it can be," says
The Cake Girls, now based in
Read on and meet three metro
A quick study
As
With only two weeks to decorate a cake, she decided to enter. The competition required a participant to decorate a cake with a steam punk theme -- something that imagines science fiction in the Victorian Age.
"I thought, 'No way!' " recalls her husband,
When her name was called as the grand prize winner, tears welled in her eyes.
"It just makes me so happy. I started making cakes just for my kids," says Fernando, 36, of
She estimates she spent between
Research into the Victorian era inspired her idea.
"Since Steampunk represents the Victorian era and steam engines were inventions from that era I wanted to create a story line using those elements," Fernando says. "So I used the traveling suitcase, corset and the top hat to represent the Victorian era and made it into a three-story building. Then on top of the building is the launch pad for the steam-powered airship which represents Steampunk."
Formerly, an interior designer, Fernando began decorating cakes after her children were born.
She named her business Sweet Delights Cakery in honor of her children. She calls Savannah sweet and she calls Dylan a delight.
She started with memories of watching her mother, trial and error and watching online videos.
"I always like new challenges," Fernando says. Her biggest challenge besides her winning steamship-topped cake was a three-dimensional cake that looks like the
Fernando got a hint that she was in line for something big two years ago.
She took a family vacation to her native Sri Lanka. Before leaving, they sought the blessings of a relative who also is a pastor. "After he prayed for us, he told me I was going to start a new business and it's going to grow into something amazing.
"I didn't know what he was talking about," she says. "but it's all coming together."
A boost from
Establishing a family tradition. That's what Angie Claxon thought she was doing when she decided to make and decorate a birthday cake for her oldest child when she turned a year old.
Then a couple years ago, someone asked Claxon to do a bridal shower cake.
"I was so nervous because it was my first time branching out beyond my family," Claxon recalls. "And it was the first tiered cake I'd ever done."
Her sister-in-law thought the three-tiered cake with purple icing and silver accents was so beautiful, she posted it on social media.
"She posted it on
The steady stream of orders led Claxon to establish a home-based business in 2012. She instantly knew she'd call it Sweetypants.
"That's what my husband has called me since high school," said Claxon, referring to her husband, Gary Claxon. "So when I started this business there was just no other name to be considered."
And though it is a business, baking and decorating cakes is far more than that for Claxon and others.
"It's therapeutic. I'm able to stay in one spot and just get lost in my creativity," Claxon says. "It puts me at ease. I don't feel stressed when I'm creating something."
Claxon taught herself, but, like others, she occasionally consults online videos or cake shows for ideas or techniques.
"I have no idea where this talent comes from," Claxon says. "I just see something and I can pretty much figure out how to do it. My parents say I never even played with Play-Doh."
Working from home gives her flexibility in caring for
Claxon says her transportation cakes are among her most popular. Among them are cakes that look like school buses, pickups and hot rods.
Her trolley car cake, complete with working headlights, recently won a cake contest in
The work also brings her joy and a sense of purpose.
"Every cake I do, I picture the person or the event I'm making it for and I picture myself giving it to them, and making them very happy."
A big change
Instead of fretting about being laid off from work last year,
It was a difficult decision. In addition to themselves, she and her husband, Thomas, had two young children to care for: Roman, 7, and Riley, 4.
"My job had provided the main health insurance," recalls
But her husband encouraged her to make her passion a profession.
"I'm amazed at the cakes she makes, and she's always happy when she's doing it," says Ross, who works for
The Affordable Health Care Act (also known as Obamacare) came just in time to cover health insurance.
Thus, Sweet Couture Cakes By Kenyetta was born in 2013.To help spur business, she offered to make a birthday cake for free for the reality TV contestant Deelishis (a.k.a.
The actress responded.
Ross made a three-tiered cake with flashing lights featuring images of the
After Deelishis posted the cake on her social media sites, cake orders that had been trickling in started to pour in.
Her most frequently requested cake looks like a MAC makeup display with an assortment of lipsticks, eye shadows, nail polish, and powders, mostly made from fondant.
She learned to create and decorate with fondant from watching online videos. Photos on her cell phone often guide her work.
"The details can be time-consuming, but I don't mind," she says. "I'd rather take my time than be sloppy. I want my cakes to look precise."
Now her husband jokingly complains: "This business has taken over our house," he says. "There's something in every room. We had to buy two new refrigerators. In another three to four months, we won't have room for anything else. And we eat a lot of cake, so I'm putting on the pounds."
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