Today we’d like to introduce you to ANJULI WEBSTER.
Hi ANJULI, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I started baking about fifteen years ago because my son was turning one and I wanted to bake his cake. I had no idea what I was doing and fumbled through his first birthday. I was determined to have a better handle on baking for his next birthday. For the next ten years I baked for my family, mainly for my kids’ birthdays.
In 2018 I was diagnosed with breast cancer and for a year and a half I went through treatment and many surgeries. In the summer of 2019 I completed radiation treatment and I was officially cancer free, a couple of months later my youngest started Kindergarten.
All of a sudden I had free time, it was just a few hours a day but if you have little ones a few hours can be a lot. I found that in those few hours my mind would stray to these really dark places because of the cancer journey I had just been on. For a year and a half I had constant medical visits and doctors looking after me and now I was just alone with my thoughts, my experiences, my scars that were still healing and it was just a really difficult time.
I had heard about the wonderful baking community on Instagram and so I created an account and decided that I would start baking and decorating so I could post my cakes and track my progress and also stay busy during my idle times.
I met so many wonderful baking friends from all over the world and was able to not just share what I was creating but also have bakers that I could bounce ideas and techniques off of. I also shared my cancer journey publicly as I felt it was an integral part of my baking journey and I was essentially practicing survivorship through baking. Baking became my therapy.
Today my baking is my income but it is still a wonderful way to tune out the noise of the world and just be in the now. I love creating edible works of art and hope to continue doing it for a while or for as long as people want to celebrate their special occasions with custom edible art.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I am a home baker, therefore I do not have the steady income of someone that runs a fulltime bakery so those dips in orders can be difficult. Custom cakes are also expensive and when the economy isn’t doing well it’s one of the luxuries that people cut back on first.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a cake artist. I create edible works of art that is beautiful and also delicious. I specialize in buttercream florals and buttercream painted cakes.
I am really proud of my painted cakes and that sets me apart from others in my area. I use palette knives and buttercream and paint on cakes. It’s a unique and wonderful kind of art.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I would say to anyone just starting their cake decorating journey, to not judge yourself too harshly or compare your work with someone else’s. It’s a skill that takes time and practice and more practice.
I wish I knew just how long the process can be, it’s a bit funny but the reality for a lot of home bakers who are creating custom cakes is that we are putting in way more hours into cake designs that we can’t actually charge for.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.cakereflections.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cakereflectionsbyanjuli?igsh=ZDZtNjNjY2ZiY21s&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=cake%20reflections%20by%20anjuli
