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Charging Family Members for Sculpted Cakes? - Page 3

Poll Results: Do you charge family members anything for very expensive labor intensive cakes (sculpted or multi-tiered)?

Poll expired: Oct 19, 2012  
  • 50% (17)
    Just supplies
  • 26% (9)
    Full cost of cake
  • 23% (8)
    Nothing at all
34 Total Votes  
post #31 of 37
10/25/12 at 11:24am
My sister wouldn't hesistate to pay me for any cake I make her or her husband. I won't let her, but that's because I love baking and decorating. My brother knows how much time and effort is involved and went out and bought a cake from the store because he knew I was busy. (I wanted to make his son's cake).

I think that if you volunteer it's free, but for them to ask you to take 12-15 hours to make them a castle cake without paying anything is ridiculous.

Family or not, they want something (or everything) for nothing. That is not cool. thumbsdown.gif
Anne-E-Cakes
anne_e_cakes@hotmail.ca
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Anne-E-Cakes
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post #32 of 37
10/25/12 at 11:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by carmijok

Quote:
Originally Posted by salokin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugar_Art_Cakery





No offense to yourself or any others on the forum that use these....but I wouldn't use a licensed character topper on one of my cakes if you offered to pay off my entire business and every bill I have. My cakes are custom, one-of-a-kind cakes....not Walmart cakes. Someone wants their Walmart cake with the Mickey topper...go 4 miles down the road and take a right and look for the pick-up trucks.

I'm a professionally trained cake designer. I didn't pay $20,000 for school to put some cheesy topper on one of my cakes.

As far as offering to do a simpler cake, I won't do that. I'm known in the area for the particular skill I have and that is sculpted cakes and/or theme cakes. I don't do simple cakes. You can go to Walmart for simple cakes or even hit Carvel if you want a whale shaped Ice Cream cake. That's not me and that's not what I do. My simplest cakes start at $250 and go from there. If you aren't willing to pay for my skill and effort, go someplace else....especially if I've offered to donate my time as long as you pay for supplies. I have bills to pay just like everyone else.



This comes off really bitchy.



So?



yeah, so what? But I have to add that I went to culinary school too, but if someone wanted to pay off my business and every bill I had I'd jam as many plastic tchotchkes as they wanted on top of a cake. I just wouldn't put the pictures on my website thumbs_up.gif
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post #33 of 37
10/25/12 at 1:08pm
Tchotchkes is one of my all-time favorite words.

I've done cakes so ugly I won't put pics on my website. Said cakes are always 'designed' by the client.

I myself have good taste and a great eye for detail and color, and cakes I design are always gorgeous.

Hero of the month:   Amina Tyler

 

 

The Christian right is neither.

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Hero of the month:   Amina Tyler

 

 

The Christian right is neither.

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post #34 of 37
10/25/12 at 6:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Godot

Tchotchkes is one of my all-time favorite words.

I've done cakes so ugly I won't put pics on my website. Said cakes are always 'designed' by the client.

I myself have good taste and a great eye for detail and color, and cakes I design are always gorgeous.



I have made a few that were totally butt-ugly, all client-designed. My favorite was one that the bride's mother made a topper for. The cake was pretty basic, I think it had lilac-colored piping on it, but the topper was about 16" tall with two giant birds sitting on a giant styrofoam stump with pearls wrapped around it and an arch over them. It was almost taller than the cake and super fugly.
http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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post #35 of 37
10/25/12 at 7:35pm
Did we ever see that Kara? For some reason I remember it, but maybe I'm thinking of something else.
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post #36 of 37
10/25/12 at 8:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZCouture

Did we ever see that Kara? For some reason I remember it, but maybe I'm thinking of something else.



I think i did post a picture of it at some point. I don't know where i would have found it though, i thought i destroyed all copies.

The competition for the fugly crown was the one with the 5 disney statue toppers and the yellow icing roses with foil leaves, staircases and yellow ribbons. The scary thing about both those cakes was that the clients LOVED them. Different strokes...but neither one is on my website, we'll just put it that way.
http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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http://www.acaketorememberva.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/acaketoremember
http://www.youtube.com/karabuntin
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post #37 of 37
10/27/12 at 12:16am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by costumeczar

Quote:
Originally Posted by carmijok

Quote:
Originally Posted by salokin

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sugar_Art_Cakery




No offense to yourself or any others on the forum that use these....but I wouldn't use a licensed character topper on one of my cakes if you offered to pay off my entire business and every bill I have. My cakes are custom, one-of-a-kind cakes....not Walmart cakes. Someone wants their Walmart cake with the Mickey topper...go 4 miles down the road and take a right and look for the pick-up trucks.

I'm a professionally trained cake designer. I didn't pay $20,000 for school to put some cheesy topper on one of my cakes.

As far as offering to do a simpler cake, I won't do that. I'm known in the area for the particular skill I have and that is sculpted cakes and/or theme cakes. I don't do simple cakes. You can go to Walmart for simple cakes or even hit Carvel if you want a whale shaped Ice Cream cake. That's not me and that's not what I do. My simplest cakes start at $250 and go from there. If you aren't willing to pay for my skill and effort, go someplace else....especially if I've offered to donate my time as long as you pay for supplies. I have bills to pay just like everyone else.



This comes off really bitchy.



So?



yeah, so what? But I have to add that I went to culinary school too, but if someone wanted to pay off my business and every bill I had I'd jam as many plastic tchotchkes as they wanted on top of a cake. I just wouldn't put the pictures on my website thumbs_up.gif



After I had a chance to cool off, I took another look and saw how my post may have come across....lol Since I'm a guy (and an former 17 year Police Officer), being called bitchy was a new one for me...lmao

I do apologize for anyone that may have been offended by certain parts of my post. It was an enormous build-up of frustration from family members trying to take advantage of me with guilt trips....being Irish AND Catholic I probably shouldn't be all that surprised at the guilt trips though icon_lol.gif

As for what you said costumeczar, I totally agree with you. I was just venting that day icon_biggrin.gif
"This is the captain. We have a...little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode."

"C'mon....we're talking about cake here, not murder....lol....can we get back to the cake?"
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"This is the captain. We have a...little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then...explode."

"C'mon....we're talking about cake here, not murder....lol....can we get back to the cake?"
Reply
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