I have been watching all of these reality shows about baking and I see all of these recipes that utilize ingredients that I've never used before like lavender, curry, thyme, honey, rose, etc. and I was wondering if anyone else had any experience in using such exotic items in their baking.

1.) what form do you use them in (herb, liquid, essence...)?

2.) how often do you use them and are people making requests for them?

3.) how do you decide how to use them...I mean how do you know you should use a liquid form rather than another form?

I would like to incorporate more exotic/sophisticated flavors in my baking because I really think most people don't know they would enjoy it unless they are exposed to it and I want to broaden my repatoire. Thanks for any and all input!

Exotic flavors are definitely interesting...from a marketing perspective most customers would probably want to sample an unusual flavor before they order a whole cake's worth.

We spent a lot of time before our business launched coming up with recommended combinations of cake flavors, frosting, and filling, but I'd estimate we've never sold half of those combinations, people tend to stick with "safe" choices unless they are able to sample a new combination. Our most common combination by far is vanilla cake with vanilla frosting.

We always use liquid extracts for flavoring, we buy them in bulk from our local restaurant supply store or Smart & Final, or Cook's (http://www.cooksvanilla.com/) if they are not available locally.

A company called SensoryEffects also offers lipid-based inclusions in a number of different flavors and textures, we haven't had a chance to try their products, but you may be able to work with them to create custom flavors if you're so inclined.
http://sensoryeffects.com/se/products/inclusions/featuresandbenefits

wow thank you that's good info to have!