I am working part time as a counter clerk and recently been learning decor from our (very fast) decorator. I would like to get closer to home and improve my hours, I figured being able to cover a cake would help on the application. I only want part time, I dont mind countering but figure I have more choices and more value if I decorate too. I can handle the c akes fairly well now, and help with alot. I am ready to apply soon, doing roses on stick, piping fast, blah blah....but I just dont have the mileage and speed. Can you commercial people give me some ideas what to focus on and how to make myself valuable? We dont do fondant, its very cut and dried....no pun..
Help with any info regarding what I am getting into and what I should work on. Thanks !!

Sorry i cant help but good luck.

I would love to help you more,the only advice I can suggest is to PRACTICE,practice and more practice...
Don't worry fast and being good comes with time,so the more you frost and do any decoration you'll get better and faster.
I'm sure no-one was fast right from the start when they started,anything you do for the first time gets faster,easier and better after a while.
Just relax,take a deep breath and go to work.
If you have time at home try to cover cakes on styrofoam shaped cake
(you can get that at a decorating/baking needs stores).
I am myself not that experienced only a couple of years all by myself decorating ice cream cakes. But if you have any questions I'll be glad to help.
Good luck. Oritdecor

Yep, just tons of practice...I just started the Wilton class 1 and to day I practiced by making 24 roses for the tops of cupcakes...and lemme tell ya, by the last 5 I was doing really good!

Ok, so there's more than one way to make yourself useful.... What else is the cake dec. responsible for? A gourmet case? Boston Creme cakes? Brownies? Thaw n sell cheesecakes or pies? Cupcakes? Orders? Learn as much as you can... and figure out what she hates. Those are things that I hate and are still part of my job.. but that my co-worker is ok doing them... or so I think.... so I suck it up and do my 70 cakes a day. (usually) we work as a team on weekends, and pretty much opposites during the week.

How are you making your borders? Wilton method shells? IMHO, they take too long for store dec's... so I use a long cursve E motion around the entire edge.... About one loop every two inches or so.

How are your 'boy cakes' the ones that don't have flowers on them? Do you make balloons? Silly string? Striaght edge inside trim, with a white outside? How are you at ABing? We like to use AB color to outline some ballons, then AB them in colors. I like to set up 6-8 of them at a time and AB them all at once.

Well.... that gives you something to think about... if you have any questions, feel free to PM me, or i'll check in on this...

I use to work at several grocery stores. I know how hard they work you!!!!If you aren't using an easy icer tip-learn! Also I stopped icing with a spatula and started using an aluminum paint edger to frost all the cakes. I use to do a ton of full, half and quarter sheets and it makes it so much faster. Also become familiar with the airbrush, it's great to use to fill up space. I still use one for putting a bit of color under my roses and leaves. It shows up like a shadow underneath. I keep the colors soft and muted. Nice effect. And last , practice patterns for your flowers, designs etc. so they are easy to recall . When you are stuck and need some fast designs , they will be second nature to you. Well, good luck and don't work too fast. The more you do , the more they expect. And they will take advantage!

cakenicing4u....whats the " long cursve E motion " ???
Do you have a link or a pic of what/how to do it???
(I'm new with bc, fondant is my gig)

i used to work in chain stores and the speed will come with practice. when you apply they are just wanting to see what you can do, not how fast you can do it. (they will probably have you decorate a cake, do a rose, and write on top to see how you do) once you do these things you should be home-free to practice while you are on the clock!

I don't know how else to explain the e motion. It's just a star tip, and you tilt it at about a 45' angle.... start on the edge, go two inches, loop it like a cursive letter E kinda like ___()____()_____()____ to the other edge. On a quarter sheet, it's like 4 loops on the side and six or seven on the long edge. Maybe I'll splurdge this week with my 20 hrs of OT check and get a digital...

I also like to put out simple 'bud' cakes. I trim the bottom border in a color, say pink. then on the 4 corners, put a rosebud in each corner. Next take a co-ord color like purple and put a bud in the four centers of each side. Next, another color, yellow, and put buds on either side of the purple on the long sides. So on the long side, it's pink, yellow, purple, yellow, pink. On the short side, a purple in between the pinks. Add leaves.... then a simple figue eight with a star tip in between the buds finishes it off. It leaves lots of room for writing on cakes.


good luck understanding all that!

What is ABing?

abing = airbrushing.

When they say ABing, they are refering to AirBrushing.

I also used to work as a store decorator, speed will come with time. I also do not use a spatula to finish icing the cake, I don't use a paint edge either though. I have a bench knife (also called a dough scraper). It is about 4x6" flat piece of metal with a wooden handle on one edge. It is hard to get used to this method, but once you have, you will never want to ice a cake without one, I do use a 12" paint edge for larger cakes.

The cursive e's for the border can be picked up fairly quickly, I do this as well. It is a way of bordering your cake without stopping between strokes. I usually finish a border in one stroke, no breaks between shells. You can also vary this method, with an e-o-e-o stroke to do a reverse shell border to add alittle variety to your case.

If the decorator is like I was, she will be more than happy to have the help and might even show you a few things to help you with your speed...when things are slow, and she is not VERY busy.

I wish I could see those methods being done so I could 'get it' better....do they do those techniques at most stores? I wonder if I hovered around a bakery and tried to see'em do it
Naw, they might think I was a stalker or something

I stand in front of a glass case all day long and much like the monkeys at the zoo, enjoy peanuts and treats being thrown to me... Althought my treats are when their jaws drop and kids have their eyes bugging out.... I'm used to it, and if it helps ya, just try it... mention that you want to learn somethings and maybe get a job there or that you were thinking of taking a class somewhere... chances are that they will chat with you as they decorate... I try to--unless I am swamped with orders.

AHHAA... of course I should have known that.
Thank you for your reply,you always answer quick.

A similiar thread you might be interested in:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-117331-.html

HTH

"Thank you for your reply,you always answer quick."

That's because I have no life and am completely addicted to this site. When I'm not thinking about cakes at work, i'm thinking about cakes I want to make someday and then I think about how to get my life together to open a shop to make cakes, and if I can afford to spend any money this week on cake stuff. It's a disease with no known cure.

I wanted to go to a equipment auction today to see if I could get any more stuff... but got there and decided not to even look. I don't use half of what I have, and space is limited, so I just came home again. so here I am again.... lol

Thanks for all t he info, I am finding commercially it is NOt A wilson type world out there. I am learning very little like what Wilson teaches, and classes are out for me because I just dont know what my schedule will be from one week til the next. I am thinking of quitting to practice cakes for awhile but I cannot loose my benefits (that is the big reason why I am working part time in this union)
Yes, my boarders are very quick, more of a loop method, unless I am doing special stuff like dog bones around a dog theme or sagging breasts on an over 40z. My roses on a stick are getting quicker. What I am having trouble with is actually handling the cakes and knowing what to do first. OUr decorator boarders last, I dont know why I want to do it first. I have not been able to practice with airbrushing but it looks very easy. I do like the look it gives overall. Also, she had an order for a black cake yesturday, and she explained to the client that she sprayed it so it would taste good (too much black in the frosting makes it Yuk ? )
Boy cakes, yes balloons, just squirt out a big blob and add the string.....(like a carrot but fatter)
Last time she let me cover a half sheet, I used the side icer, a great tool. But I admit I felt like it got out of control and was more on me. She said not to make it perfect, you can cover mistakes later. If you fiddle too much it just gets worse....
I want to apply at stores now, and wonder when I can honestly say I can cover a cake, and have had experience. I dont want to lie, but ......