I got me another wedding cake order!
Yayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It's for the end of April.
The bottom tier is a fruit cake, so I'll get soaking the fruit for that tomorrow and will bake the cake during the week.
I'm still a bit rubbish at charging, though. She asked if I could make a bride and groom cake topper... and I told her I wouldn't charge her for it. Oops!
Saturday 23 February 2008
And another one!
Hubby is just delivering a cake for me. Another number 1 with Winnie & Friends picnic! Aaaand, I've just had an order for another one :oD Remember the castle cake with Cinderalla and Prince Charming that I did at the beginnig of January, followed by 70 cupcakes 2 days later? Well, the customer phoned me directly a couple of days ago (the previous order was through a party planner) to ask if I'd make a cake for her son's 1st birthday in April. She said all she knows is that she wants Winnie-the-Pooh. So I described the cake.... a large number one, on top of which is Winnie, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet sitting on a blanket having a picnic of cake, jam tarts and sandwiches. She said "I want it!" LOL!!
I've also had quite a few other enquiries. So things are looking fairly good right now.
Suzanne x
Saturday 16 February 2008
Christening Cake and photos...
The cake came out well in the end. I think so, anyway. She got a LOT of cake for her money! To give you an idea, it's on a 18"x14" cake drum. The cake is approximately 14"x9". So most certainly more than the 18-20 portions she needs.
I'm getting really frustrated with taking photos. I can't get the lighting right. Often, I can compensate for that using brightness or colour adjustments on my photo editing software. But it's frustrating that I have to do it all the time. And a lot of my cakes aren't shown off to their fullest, because of my limited photography skills and equipment.
Steve spoke to a photographer yesterday (ok, so it was a police photographer at a post mortem) and he said the best light to take photos in is natural day light. He reckons that if you look at a lot of good food photography nowadays, it's done in a natural light. But I don't always have the luxury of that. I often finish cakes at stupid o'clock and then they're picked up first thing the next day.
Anyway, customer will be here soon to collect the cake, so better finish up now.
Suzanne x
I'm getting really frustrated with taking photos. I can't get the lighting right. Often, I can compensate for that using brightness or colour adjustments on my photo editing software. But it's frustrating that I have to do it all the time. And a lot of my cakes aren't shown off to their fullest, because of my limited photography skills and equipment.
Steve spoke to a photographer yesterday (ok, so it was a police photographer at a post mortem) and he said the best light to take photos in is natural day light. He reckons that if you look at a lot of good food photography nowadays, it's done in a natural light. But I don't always have the luxury of that. I often finish cakes at stupid o'clock and then they're picked up first thing the next day.
Anyway, customer will be here soon to collect the cake, so better finish up now.
Suzanne x
Friday 15 February 2008
Christening Cake and Other Stuff
I'm currently working on a christening cake which is being picked up tomorrow morning. So, in actual fact, I shouldn't be on the computer, I should be doing something. Anything. But not on the computer.
Anyway, it's a book cake - the same as the one I have on my website, but in pink.
It was a last minute order... I only got the order yesterday and the christening is on Sunday. How can you leave it 3 days before an event to order a cake???? And then she had the cheek to try and get me down on price. But I stood my ground. That was my price and she could take it or leave it. Luckily for me, she took it! :o)
Anyway, rather than the 20 minute drive to Romford to hire a book shape tin I decided to just use a small roasting tin I have and then carve it. After all, the extra bit of cake mix is a lot less than the time, petrol, tin hire charge, then return trip to return the tin when I've finished! So I baked two cakes in small roasting tins, then very lightly carved them. It's looking fine. Not quite as deep as the cakes I usually make. But good.
The three cake enquiries I mentioned in my previous posting didn't come to anything... I now think they were from other cake makers, wanting to know how much I charge?
Oh, and the person who used my photo on her site.... I must admit the email I sent her was a little on the sarcastic side:
Dear XX
I have just been visiting your very impressive website, imagicakes. I was particularly impressed with the single tier fairy castle cake pictured second in on the bottom row of your homepage. In fact I am amazed that it is identical to a single tier fairy cake that I made for a client. Yes, identical, and I have copyright of the image you are using to promote your business, as that is my cake and my picture.
And whilst I am very flattered that you admire my work, I would be very grateful if you would remove it from your advertising material forthwith.
This is the ridiculous long, waffly reply I got from her:
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks so much for your lovely comments about our website.
Sincere apologies if you thought I was plagiarising your cakes. When we were first setting up the website, we did a Google image search for some cake pictures to use as a collage background and yours was just a random choice as a generic example. I had no idea that it was a unique or special cake and, as there was no circle C mark or Copyright Registration Number beside it, I assumed the image was in the public domain and not subject to assurities.That withstanding I apologise for using your image without your knowledge.
It was always our intention to update the home page collage with live bakes as our portfolio expanded but the rapid growth of our business and increased volume over Christmas stretched us almost beyond capacity. We therefore took the decision to shelve website updates and assign all our resources to order delivery.
The email that I received from you today and your friend Chris has prompted me to address the website issues and I can confirm that an immediate fix has been implemented replacing all P.D. / generic catalogue with bespoke images. Any outsourced adverts containing same will be changed as soon as is practical.
It has never been our intention to pass off other companies' products as our own and although I don't believe our website has done this, your comments have identified an area of improvement for us and for that we are grateful.
The success that imagicakes has enjoyed has been greatly enhanced by our fantastic relationships with
other organizations within and outside sugarcraft (similar to the links on your website) and to this end we proactivley seek and support businesses that offer a reciprocal arrangement.
Imagicakes offers a totally bespoke cake making and decorating service so we rarely make the same cake twice.
Please feel free to replicate any of the cakes on our website.
Once again we apologise for using your images without your consent.
If you have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me personally.
Cheeky bloody cow! "Please feel free to replicate any of the cakes on our website" Grrrrrr!! I don't know why, but I just have a feeling in my water that she didn't word that reply to me.
Anyway. Better get on with the cake.
Suzanne x
Anyway, it's a book cake - the same as the one I have on my website, but in pink.
It was a last minute order... I only got the order yesterday and the christening is on Sunday. How can you leave it 3 days before an event to order a cake???? And then she had the cheek to try and get me down on price. But I stood my ground. That was my price and she could take it or leave it. Luckily for me, she took it! :o)
Anyway, rather than the 20 minute drive to Romford to hire a book shape tin I decided to just use a small roasting tin I have and then carve it. After all, the extra bit of cake mix is a lot less than the time, petrol, tin hire charge, then return trip to return the tin when I've finished! So I baked two cakes in small roasting tins, then very lightly carved them. It's looking fine. Not quite as deep as the cakes I usually make. But good.
The three cake enquiries I mentioned in my previous posting didn't come to anything... I now think they were from other cake makers, wanting to know how much I charge?
Oh, and the person who used my photo on her site.... I must admit the email I sent her was a little on the sarcastic side:
Dear XX
I have just been visiting your very impressive website, imagicakes. I was particularly impressed with the single tier fairy castle cake pictured second in on the bottom row of your homepage. In fact I am amazed that it is identical to a single tier fairy cake that I made for a client. Yes, identical, and I have copyright of the image you are using to promote your business, as that is my cake and my picture.
And whilst I am very flattered that you admire my work, I would be very grateful if you would remove it from your advertising material forthwith.
This is the ridiculous long, waffly reply I got from her:
Hi Suzanne,
Thanks so much for your lovely comments about our website.
Sincere apologies if you thought I was plagiarising your cakes. When we were first setting up the website, we did a Google image search for some cake pictures to use as a collage background and yours was just a random choice as a generic example. I had no idea that it was a unique or special cake and, as there was no circle C mark or Copyright Registration Number beside it, I assumed the image was in the public domain and not subject to assurities.That withstanding I apologise for using your image without your knowledge.
It was always our intention to update the home page collage with live bakes as our portfolio expanded but the rapid growth of our business and increased volume over Christmas stretched us almost beyond capacity. We therefore took the decision to shelve website updates and assign all our resources to order delivery.
The email that I received from you today and your friend Chris has prompted me to address the website issues and I can confirm that an immediate fix has been implemented replacing all P.D. / generic catalogue with bespoke images. Any outsourced adverts containing same will be changed as soon as is practical.
It has never been our intention to pass off other companies' products as our own and although I don't believe our website has done this, your comments have identified an area of improvement for us and for that we are grateful.
The success that imagicakes has enjoyed has been greatly enhanced by our fantastic relationships with
other organizations within and outside sugarcraft (similar to the links on your website) and to this end we proactivley seek and support businesses that offer a reciprocal arrangement.
Imagicakes offers a totally bespoke cake making and decorating service so we rarely make the same cake twice.
Please feel free to replicate any of the cakes on our website.
Once again we apologise for using your images without your consent.
If you have any other concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me personally.
Cheeky bloody cow! "Please feel free to replicate any of the cakes on our website" Grrrrrr!! I don't know why, but I just have a feeling in my water that she didn't word that reply to me.
Anyway. Better get on with the cake.
Suzanne x
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