I've got a customer contacting me wanting a garden themed cake. I sent some sketches of some flowers and insects etc. She has seen a small cake on my web-site which is brown with ivy and ladbirds, snails etc, and she wants something similar - but three tiered. The original cake is a diddy 4" thing. The more I think about it the more horrid I think it's going to look. A great big brown fondant poo. I've just been brave and emailed her with my concerns. I was worrying about it all night - do I do this horrid cake just for the cash knowing it will look awful? Do I stick my heels in and insist on doing something different or not at all? I couldn't be at all happy making and presenting a cake that I thought looked bad.

Have any of you ever found yourself in this situation? What did you do?

Oooh, that's a toughie. Hmm, I have not been in that situation and it's not like you can say it would be too difficult for you because well...let's just face it, you're too talented to say that. LOL! Sooo, just trust your instincts as an artist and tell her the truth, say I don't think it will look good in brown, but then don't throw away good $$ and lose her business over it because it's all green in the end!

When someone asks me for something that I don't think would look right, first I try to steer them towards something a little different. In fact I just had this same thing happen with a wedding cake. She wanted 3 tiers, pink icing with white scrolls, pearls around the layers, pink flowers, pink fabric for underneath & a silver monogram with a white topper. I had to gently tell her that I wasn't sure all that would look good together. So I told her what I had in mind & she agreed. But if she insisted, I would have made what she wanted.

You don't have to add it to your website or photos if you don't want, but if thats what she asked for I would do it. I figure they will have someone else make it, it may as well be me getting the order.

By the way, I just checked your photos...you do beautiful work.

No, but theres a few I should have!!

When I made my first wedding cake, I lovingly called it The Big Blue Monster. It was delphinium blue, with different designs in white on each tier. I knew it was going to be ugly, but couldn't get a change of mind. I did it, and it really didn't turn out as bad as I thought it was going to! I was actually proud of myself for turning it into something that many people at the wedding complimented instead of throwing up on like I thought they would want to do! That's what the bride wanted, I did my best to accomodat her! If I were you, I would try to get it changed a little, but in the end, she's paying SOMEONE to make it so why not you? You may be surprised at how it turns out!

How about putting a white lattice or picket fence aroung the brown sides before applying the ivy leaves/vine. This would take away from the sides all being brown.

I just looked at your website, WOW , beautiful cakes, you are very talented.

Your cakes are beautiful!!! This is why she asked you to make the cake. If she questions why hers is not so gorgeous explain to her that you had artistic input into the rest of your cakes, something she is not allowing you to have with her cake - or try to explain this to her first. I do not do nearly the same quality cake you do but have had a similar experience. I was asked to do an Irish Dancer cake for a girl's 8th B-day. Well, I am picturing green and white - wrong!!! Black - all Black with a little design on the top. I explained that the black might not look so good on the whole cake and about the funny mouth colors after eating it, but the mom was insistent. So I made the cake as requested, did not even take a picture of the hideous thing, and they loved it!!! Different strokes for different folks I guess. So go ahead and make the cake. You may just surprise yourself about how it will look. If not, fine - you can then move on to more beautiful creations more suited to your wonderful style and forget the horrible thing!!

Hello, by the looks of your cakes you could take any idea and make it look good. Think of it as your challenge.

It will probably be fine anyway.....I've seen a beautiful tiered chocolate brown cake with teal/tan and other color accents. If she doesn't take your advice, do it anyway....you warned her!

I looked at the picture of the cake on your website (I guess that you are talking about the brown one with ivy and a snail on it), and I loved it. I think that the ivy makes it pretty. I bet it would look good if on the bottom tier you did some tall spiky blades of grass or leaves covering the cake.

I love it! I think it will look great...it has lots of green to off set the brown.

wow, your cakes are absolutely beautiful. quite frankly, i think you could make anything and make it look great (i've never seen a snail on cake, let alone a snail on a cake that looks as good as yours). however, that being said, if you're not comfortable making the cake because you don't think it is something you want to attach your name to, then i suggest sticking to your guns and don't do the requested cake.

keep us posted as to what happens...

Yes, I have turned down "THEIR" ideas and I have also turned down many orders, because I didn't care to work with the specific person or their venue also.

But I can afford to be a snob because:

1. I am not doing this for a living.
2. I am not trying to build a business.
3. Most people really don't know what good design looks like in the long run and state that I am the expert even though I have made less than 50 cakes. "I believe if they feel they are the expert then they can make their own cake and have told them so."
4. I have actually turned down a handful of weddings so far, because nobody has intrigued me enough to go through that stress and I have been offered oodles for incentive to consider it. "I know - I am a total SNOB."
5. Finally, and what it really boils down to in the long run is that I don't really care if I make any money from my ART.

I create art for art sake.

emmascakes: Your designs are absolutely and fantastically beautiful!!!!!! You are the expert. Educate your client!

I had the same feeling about the turqouise and brown cake that I did. I just couldn't imagine how a matte brown fondant ribbon was going to look good. I had to syke myself up to make it but I worried for nothing, it actually turn out pretty good. It was the first fondant bow I've ever made. After that I even had an order for another brown bow and ribbon on a white cake.
If you are worried about making the whole cake brown there is a cake on this site that I have saved in my favourites made by ellyrae. I think it's beautiful. She made each tier a different colour mabled fondant (green, blue, yellow). You could start with brown on the bottom, then maybe green and then blue.
Anyway here pic is in the 2006 Great Outdoors/Nature Contest gallery, the keywords are butterflies, fondantrocks, handpainted, marblefondant.

There is a happy balance in the jobs we do (being experts in design AND being artists)- to make a product a customer wants within our level of experience and expertise (Emma, your cakes are absolutely stunning by the way, bloody amazing actually).
As professional designers and our expertise on design and what works and what doesnt, I think because someone is coming to us with their business, we have the right to give feedback on what 'works' and what doesnt. Ultimately, it's the customer's vision we have to put into reality. You also have the right to turn something down if it really goes against your principles/professionalism as a designer, whatever the reasons.

That being said, I think because this is an artform also, there is a lot of room to make something work within what a person wants.

And as was said, if you do it for the money, and some said they've been in the same situation and the final product wasnt SO bad after all- you can still just leave this out of your portfolio!

The nice thing about the consultation process (and sketching ideas) is to take what the customer has asked you to do and create some possibilities within that structure

Thanks guys, I agree with so much of what you're saying. Anyway, today the bXXXXy woman got back to me and she's shocked I'm charging £100 for a three tiered cake (it is a small cake - 4", 6", 8") but the price includes delivery. It would take me a good two days to do so I don't think I'm being too demanding. She's now getting stroppy about the cost so I've advised her to go to a supermarket and get a cake there or contact the cake decorating shop in the biggest town in our area that would charge her much more for a worse product.

This is supposed to be something I enjoy and feeling narky about this isn't enjoyable so she can go hang. I kind of hope she does go to the other bakers as she'll soon realise what her money can't buy. They charge about the same for a couple of 10" cakes (not stacked) plainly iced with a few roses spoldged on the side, ggrrrrrrrrrr!!!

In my email to her I laid out how much the ingredients would cost and how much time I'd spend decorating and baking and assured her that I wans't rolling in money. I get less than half of what I get paid per hour than my normal day job (teaching).

Why are people do demanding and so tight?

I just looked at your cakes and can confidently say that nothing you create could ever look like "poo" your work is incredible!!!!

Thanks oceanspitfire (how did you choose that name?!) you've said a lot of things that make a lot of sense. I choose not to do this one because I won't enjoy it if the client is so concerned about money and because it won't ever make it to my web-pages and I wouldn't want to be associated with it! you guys are stars

I do cakes because I like it.

I HAVE told people I didn't want to make that cake.

Just because they want it doesn't mean they will like it!!!!!!!!!!! And who will they feel bad towards? Not themselves for coming up with a stupid idea!

I try and steer people away from stupid things.

Emma, Your cakes are absolutely awesome, I agree with everyone else, I think you can make anyones idea look good, I say go for it, you might as well make the money rather than someone else!

TipTop57,

I wish I was more like you so I didn't get screwed over on some of these cake jobs!!!

~Luraleigh~

Don't forget, you make the big pile of poo and YOUR NAME IS ATTACHED TO IT? How many subsequent jobs do you think you will get or possibly lose from doing a big ugly cake?

Emma-I think that cake would look beautiful and unique-even as three-tiered. You do gorgeous work and that cake has a good amount of green and color from other bugs and things. I think it would please anyone. If she doesn't want to pay, don't make it. If she is willing to pay the price, it will be a lovely garden cake!

emmascakes:

I revisited your website and have to agree with you! First off $191 for your cakes let alone three tiers is cheap!!!!!! So the woman has money issues. Cavier dreams on a tuna budget.

Second, that cake would look very funny large. You designed it as a small earthy design not a big brown gopher mound and I am glad you turned her down.

Martha Stewart has two garden cakes on her website that might inspire you --

secret garden cake

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe3690020&contentGroup=MARTHA&layout=martha


and spring garden cake

http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe2646&contentGroup=MSL&site=living

Perhaps you could put the veggies on the bottom, the flowers in the middle, and a topper of garden tools with a watering can, all made of fondant, or get the tools, etc, in the toy section of a dollar store.

If someone asked me for a tiered cake with a garden theme, it is what I would do.

Theresa

I jsut looked at the picture of this on your website if she wants all the teirs being a garden theme why not start the bottom off with the worms and snails then do the next layer with roots and other lighter dirt properties.. then the next layer like grass and the top layer with florals sprouting like fresh spring love ..... does that make sense???

Too bad you can't do it in buttercream and do a basketweave in chocolate buttercream. I have seen this in an old wilton book only done with white buttercream. The whole top of the cake was done in roses. You can put an assortment of flowers and ivy with little comical ladybugs and insects done in gumpaste on the ivy. Ivy could come down the sides of the basket weave also and look pretty. Only a thought... Good luck!!
Vicky

That's a really good idea Tomay.

Truly, after looking at your site, I can't imagine ANYTHING you would make would look like Poo, but I can understand your frustration! My first wedding cake was everything I disliked, and I did talk the bride out of the millions of hearts she wanted all over everything, in addition to other decorations, but it took her forever to get on board with the ideas that I was giving. In the end, I'm still not happy with how it came out, but it just wasn't my style.

Until I started decorating cakes (which was recently), I had NO idea the labor and love that goes in to these creations! Now I understand where the pricing comes from, and I think a lot of people undercharge. Because this is an art, you have to feel good about what you are doing. Yeah, it hurts to loose the business, but, in the end, knowing that you didn't like the outcome, would it feel good to have that money? My bet is no.

Emmascakes, your stuff is AWESOME - I wish I was HALF as talented as your are. Too bad you're not in the states - I could use lessons!