so far I have been going to hobby lobby and area stores for each cake I do and pick up dowel rods, cake boards and boxes, materials etc....but I am realizing its going to be pricy and not convienent if I keep doing it this way...

so...if you do buy all that in bulk...where at? i know some online places for boxes...but for dowel/stacking poles/rods and boards and such...where do I find those?

also...where again can I get the sps stacking system that people have told me about...i went to some of the sites but wasnt for sure where and what I was looking at...if someone could put a link right to the actual thing or post a pic on here so I can see what it looks like...i would so appreciate it!

Thanks,

April

i buy a lot of supplies directly from bakery crafts. you have to have a business and vendors license to order from them. they are the mfg of the SPS items. thats where i get my boards, piping gel, cake drums, and teh SPS 4" dowels (i only use the pre-cut dowels, not the whole system. i hate the plate/dowel system since it almost ruined a wedding cake of mine).

i get boxes and bulk ingredients from Restaurant Depot, a restaurant supply. You could also go to a GFS, Sams, or costco.

here are the links to the SPS stuff at bakery crafts. but i will tell you i severely dislike using the whole system together. but i do love teh 4" pre cut SPS pillars. i use just four in each tier to stack, and i know that all my tiers are 4" tall.


http://www.bakerycrafts.com/Items.aspx?np=10380,10423,10437&PageNumber=0

http://www.bakerycrafts.com/Items.aspx?np=10380,10423,10439&PageNumber=0

It's one of those "in the long run" deals.

I have my cake supply store order cakes boxes for me in bulk. I buy them 100 and 250 at a time from her. By doing that, I pay $0.24 to $0.60 a box (depending on size). One time I ran out, had to buy one at Michael's, paid $1.15 for it and I was REALLY PI$$SED that I had to spend that much! So you can see the diff between spending $24-$60 for 100 boxes vs. spending $115 for 100 boxes, buying them one at a time.

It's also sure easier to have a supply of dowel rods on hand instead of having to make another trip because I forgot to pick some up and I'm one short! (Happened to me last month! Another case of I was really pi$$ed at me!)

It's cheaper to buy 15 dozen eggs than buying 3 dozen eggs, but obviously unless you're going to use 15 dz eggs pretty quick, this wouldn't be a good idea!

But the price of gas alone would be my incentive to keep supplies on hand. How much would depend on how full my calendar is at that point in time.

I buy a lot of the food supplies in bulk. I have everything I need to bake cakes, make buttercream and fondant on hand too. I'm lucky to have a bakery supply place nearby with decent prices.

Other than that I buy stuff per cake, those specialty things that changes with every cake. I have to go to Michael's a lot to buy the right paper and ribbon.

I buy my SPS from bakerycrafts and absoulty love the entire system it is very sturdy. I buy boxes from www.bgpaper.com you can buy 1 or 100, there prices are pretty good and they ship quickly.

how do you get a vendors license?

PLEASE check out http://www.brpboxshop.com/ for boxes and boards at a reasonable rate! They have the quickest turnaround I have seen!! You order and when you click submit the UPS guy is ringing the bell! Ok, that's an exaggeration, but it feels like it! The products are good, affordable, the service is wonderful, and the people are kind and gracious. Plus they have lots of selection, and if you need a size they don't offer, if you tell them about it, they will attempt to add it to their list!! They are constantly creating new items based on what customers request! They are great! Also, you can purchase cases of boxes and boards at Sam's club. Sometimes they want a days notice to be sure they have them, but no worries there. You can save yourself a lot of money by getting these items in bulk!

Another good item to get in bulk (unless you use IMBC) is powdered sugar, because it can stick around for a while, and saes cash! I will only use C&H, so I was paying $1.50 or more per 2 pound bag. I found a place where I can get a 50 lb bag for about $25. (Sam's club, but not my local one, I get it when visiting my sis) So I am saving a minimum of 25 cents per pound! That adds up quickly!

I am a small in home bakery with not much space to store things, I do order my shortening in 50 lb boxes from the local grocery store. I also order boxes from B&G paper, not in 100 ct quantities due to space, but 20-30 at a time. I do shop at Sams so anything like flour, sugar etc that I can buy in larger quantities I do. I do not have cake shops around her just Michaels and Hobby Lobby that have VERY small cake sections, so I have to order most things online. For most of my ingredients I have to buy per cake, but I've heard that mileage to go and get supplies is a tax write-off so I'll have to keep good records!