Where it all began...

One of the first things I did on my trip (after having a much needed nap) was to return back to the flower class that started it all...

When I was living in England in 2008/2009, I was originally working at a little shop called Passion Fish. We sold handmade gifts, cards, and novelty items. It was a nice enough place to work, but the recession- in combination with its location- meant that the store was no longer able to stay open. My mum's cousin and his wife (Dave and Joan) were kind enough to take me in, but being unemployed meant I didn't have very much money to do anything. Every Tuesday evening, Joan would attend this flower class, where everyone would make these awesome floral creations using a medium called cold water porcelain. (Cold water porcelain is not edible, but is an excellent material to learn how to make sugar flowers as it is much stronger and more resiliant than gumpaste.) Because I had nothing going on, and my days were mostly filled with antique related shows (my favourite was Dickinson's Real Deal), Joan suggested I come along with her to class.

After my first class, I was immediately hooked. I borrowed some materials from Joan, and from the teacher, Sue; the ladies who attended the class were so lovely and welcoming. When Sue first started the classes, everyone would learn the same flower every week. She soon realized that since everyone had a different learning curve, it would be better if everyone worked on their own projects and she would just teach or help out where needed. It was so interesting to come in each week and see what everyone was working on.

Because I knew that my time was limited with the classes, I tried to learn as much as humanly possible. Every week I was making something new, and sometimes I'd attend more than one class a week. The flowers we made were mostly used as gifts and display pieces, but they would also be used for cakes. Initially, I didn't have much of an interest for the cake decorating side of it; I can't explain why - maybe it was because I was already trying to learn so much of one art, that trying to take in anything else seemed impossible. It didn't take long to win me over, though...

Joan was making a cake for her neighbour Eileen across the road - I think she was turning 80. We took this opportunity for me to try my hand at cake decorating for the first time. It went relatively smoothly; all I specifically remember was frantically taking photos of each step just in case I forgot something.

Shortly after this first experience, Sue's daughters were taking her to the Squires Kitchen cake exhibition in Farnham for mother's day. She was kind enough to invite me along, and I was more than happy to go with. I marvelled at the size of the place, and couldn't believe how much stuff there was! That's when Sue said, "This is nothing... You should see the other show I go to!" Of course, she was referring to the mecca of all cake shows - the one I just attended. (For the record, she was right.) To be perfectly honest, when I went through the cake show at Farnham, I had no idea what half of the stuff was for. It all looked so foreign to me, that I was a little intimidated by it all. However, it also motivated me to get more involved in the cake side of it, as opposed to just creating sugar (or cold porcelain) flowers.

When it was finally time to head back home to Canada, it was a sad goodbye to have to part with the ladies that I'd spent every week with for a few months. It was bittersweet, though - because as much as I had wanted to stay and learn more, I was equally excited to get home and show to my friends and family what I had learned. Funny how life works... I had originally gone to England to pursue a career in animal conservation, and ended up coming home with the cake decorating bug. Hmm...

Anyway, every time I go back to England (which has been twice now since I moved home), I always make sure I set aside time to stop by and say hi to the people that have taught me so much. Without them, I wouldn't be here today, and it is safe to say that I would not have discovered the joy of cake decorating at all. So thank you, Joan, Sue, and all the ladies, for your encouragement and support!