A Stroll Down Memory Lane - 2011, Part 1

photo: Christie Pham Photography

It's been a few months since our last "Stroll Down Memory Lane" post. I purposely paused the retrospective after the year 2010, knowing 2011 would require a lot of time to write. 2011 changed our lives in incredible ways! The single biggest event that year was our book deal for EXTREME CAKEOVERS with our publisher, Clarkson Potter. Then all the hard work began! Also that year, Rick began teaching his "Discover Your Inner Artist" classes with his first stop in Canada. The classes were arranged the previous year, long before a book was on the horizon. After returning from Canada in in the Spring, we immediately started the book.

In 2011, we received the coveted "Best of HONOLULU" award for "Best Custom Cakes" by Honolulu Magazine, and Rick's wonky cake was selected for the cover, which were thrilled about! The Hard Rock Cafe Waikiki had its grand opening party which Rick made an outrageous Tiki themed cake for. The year was also full of photo shoots. Just when one was ending, another was starting. We still look back and don't know how we did it all - juggling cake orders, working on the book, traveling to teach, and trying to maintain a blog! It was a crazy, nonstop year of 13 hour workdays. We discovered what we were really made of!

Before all the craziness began that year, we were "just" making cakes, which we've done quite happily for the previous 6 years we were in business. In fact, it is hard to imagine not making the cakes for clients. It brings tremendous satisfaction and keeps the creative juices flowing, and one of the reasons we chose to accept orders while working on the book. We've selected some of our favorite cakes from that year to share with you.

In January 2011, Rick made the gorgeous wedding cake (above) shown next to its inspiration piece, the bride's designer Anne Namba gown. It is one of our favorite wedding cakes ever! The client also ordered a sculpted cat groom's cake pawing a 3-tier wedding cake.

Less than a week after this wedding, Rick made a sculpted Snoopy cake driving a race car for a birthday party. It was all made of cake and took quite some time to make!

January 2011 was the first time Rick sculpted Fenway Park. He's made other stadiums but never Fenway!  Like the cat pawing the wedding cake, the sculpted Fenway cake was a surprise gift for a very happy groom!

From one recreational activity to another. Our first paintball themed cake, and it was an explosion of color!

In February, we did our first photo shoot of the year, with photographer Rae Huo. cakelava was named "Best Custom Cakes" by Honolulu Magazine and Rick designed a cake in its honor. It was a dream of ours to land the cover of HONOLULU and afterwards, we got even busier!

I adore the "Grace" cake, named after the bride. Rick made the couple's cake in February 2011. It was one my favorite wedding cakes of the year! 

In late February, the Hard Rock Cafe Waikiki had its Grand Opening party and Rick was hired to make the cake. He made a large sculpted composition with a giant Hawaiian Tiki head flanked by two ukeleles, yellow hibiscus in front of a Hawaiian backdrop. We attended the party with friends of ours. The cake was huge hit! 

 

The day before we hopped on a plane to Canada for Rick's classes, we delivered this adorable sculpted dog cake. Read the story here.

The teaching experience was unforgettable - just perfect - and those first 2 classes in Canada remain some of our favorites ever! Rick and the ladies of Class 2 are shown below. Two classes sandwiched between cake orders made for a very hectic month! 

Shortly after returning from our trip, Rick made the "living room cake". Have you ever seen so many remote controls! You can read the fun story behind this cake here.

 

In April, one of our close friends had a baby shower so of course she had to have an amazing cake! Rick sculpted a super cute lamb for Annie's celebration!

 

Also that month, our clients Carrie and Rick G., both in the Navy, had a Pirate themed wedding on the beach, and honored the occasion with a treasure chest cake filled with beautiful jewels - all edible! You can read about their story here.

In Part 2 of our "A Stroll Down Memory Lane" series, we're starting with May and the biggest event of 2011, our book deal! We'll showcase more of our most memorable cakes, covering a wide variety of themes. If you missed the previous parts of the retrospective series, please visit our blog Archives, starting with January 2013. We hope you have been enjoying the journey!