Hi! I am relatively new to the business, but have been promoted to head decorator for a VERY busy bakery. I have a lot of experience with fondant, & actually prefer working in fondant rather than buttercream, but today I was setting up a very large wedding cake I had put my heart and soul into. The fondant flowers were quite large, about 4 inches or so, airbrushed and beautiful, in my bakery...& then when placed on the cake, they completely crumbled. I was on the verge of tears, never mind the crowd that had gathered watching me LITERALLY climb on the cake table (I'm quite short, and those tall cakes are tough for me!!), but I held it together, and had to pin the leaves in place and pray. The venue was outside and HUMID! Could this have affected the flowers? I am absolutely heartbroken still, even knowing their reception is well over for the evening. I made the flowers about 3 days ago; should I have done them sooner? I guess I haven't done too many fondant pieces, more so just covering cakes in fondant. I lost it as soon as I left the venue. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to prepare extravagant fondant pieces to keep them steady? It would be one thing if they were placed in top of the cake, but these were to be placed on the sides. Any tips/help would be greatly appreciated- thank you!

Don't know if this helps but I make my flowers from gumpaste not fondant and allow them to dry for about a week, so they are completely dry before using. You poor thing, it can't have been easy having that happen in front of an audience, at least you managed to hold it together until you left the venue.

AI too use gumpaste.

I'm also very short. I always carry a stool & step ladder on the trunk.

AWhere/how do you store your made pieces when made beforehand?

I store all of my pieces on a bakers rack, inside, in the bakery I work in. I'm thinking maybe I should store them completely out in the open, as opposed to covering them at night with a rack cover? I want to be taken seriously in this business, and am finding that quite difficult because I am very young as compared to most other bakers I encounter (I usually hear "did you start decorating cakes when you were a baby?! True story.) so when things like this happen to me I tend to feel pushed back and discouraged. I only ever work with Satin Ice, I'm assuming they make a gumpaste line as well?

AI have a hard time as to where to keep pieces without completely sealing them in a container. Don't want them to collect dust. That is why i asked for suggestions. Thanks for yoy