Tricia is not your typical artist. She creates masterpieces using cake as canvas and butter cream icing for paint.
Although she has found true passion in her work, decorating and creating specialty cakes wasn’t a life-long dream of hers.
Tricia stumbled into the business in 2005 when she signed up for a cake decorating class at the craft store. At the time, she was a retired Engineer turned stay-at-home mother of 6, (currently 10, with two sets of twins.) “I wanted some adult conversation and honestly, I just needed to get out of the house.” Her journey with cake decorating began a little rocky. At the end of the class, she and the other students were tasked with decorating a cake using the techniques learned over the four weeks. Tricia's cake was by far the worst. “It was just awful. I was definitely the worst student in the class. However, I truly enjoyed myself. I wanted to keep going.”
“It was just awful. I was definitely the worst student in the class. However, I truly enjoyed myself. I wanted to keep going!”
Tricia began to focus on tackling one technique at a time. Slowly but surely, she saw improvement. She taught herself different icing styles, how to work with a variety of sugar mediums to create flowers and figurines and how to manipulate fondant. Some days came easy and others were a struggle. However her passion for her new hobby kept her going. Tricia will be the first to tell you, she has come a long way since signing up for that fateful cake decorating class. “I’ve grown so much but I’m still learning all the time. This industry is ever-evolving and always keeping me on my toes. I’m constantly researching and trying out new techniques and styles. I look for inspiration in fashion, colors, trends or a pattern on a pretty plate".
Surprisingly, Tricia's has found her biggest struggle now seems to be reeling in her bold personality when it comes to decorating. She has the tendency to want to create extravagant, lavish cakes but ultimately, the cake design is up to the client. “No matter what I envision, I have to make my clients happy. “But I’m also an artist with my own personality. It’s been an interesting, yet rewarding challenge finding the right balance of matching my clients' expectations while putting my own spin on things.”
Tricia 's journey has led to television, radio and speaking appearances, magazine features, and as a guest columnist for the Delaware Business Times. However her greatest accomplishments are the hundreds of satisfied customers that she has had the opportunity to create wonderful memories with. Sharing in your special event is her devotion, let Tricia make your dream cake a reality!
