Cake Master’s Magazine Cake Icon: Lindy Smith

How thrilling,  Cake Masters magazine has featured ‘yours truly’ as their cake icon in this months magazine. The March 2018 issue. Last month the magazine featured Alan Dunn and his beautiful life-like sugar flowers, this month it’s me! I feel so honoured, especially as I’m following on from Alan – the ‘King of sugar flowers’.  I understand that this Cake Masters series will be showcasing cake icons who have helped shape the industry into what it is today. Going forward, it will be interesting to see who else they choose from our world of sugarcraft. In the meantime here is a snippet or two from this months magazine.

Cake Icon Interview

Questions, questions and more questions…questions certainly get me thinking! Often I am asked the same questions but when I’m asked a more unusual question I tend to go to town with the answer – I love the challenge.  Here is one example:

What have you learnt in your career that has moulded you into the icon you are today?

I have learnt many things. I’ve learnt it’s very important to be passionate about what I do and to try be the best I can be. I’ve learnt that to be successful in this industry I need a multitude of skills. It’s not just about designing cakes. It’s about how to connect, present, plan and be adaptable.

People learn about my work through images they see online, on video or in print. Images inspire and are the key to enticing people to find out more. I have learnt that the saying ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ is true and since it is not always possible to use professionals, the time I have spent honing my photography and videography skills has been invaluable.

Over the years, I have learnt that people skills and the ability to communicate are vital. Being able to write clearly and concisely is important, it is what my readers rely on when buying my books. I’ve also learnt that by writing my blog and using social media channels that communication that inspires and educates effectively often leads to exciting opportunities.

From experience, I’ve discovered that it’s important to allow myself time to think, plan and problem solve. For me, walking my dog in the early morning whilst allowing my brain free rein. It works a treat and vastly improves my productivity.

Finally, I’ve learnt it’s important to adapt to change and be motivated to do so. When I first started writing my books my aim and motivation was to help bring cake design up to date and into the twenty-first century. Now that most decorated cakes are of our time, my aim is to inspire and help give people the tools and skills to think outside the box and express themselves through their craft.

Unpublished Cake Icon Questions

Fifteen questions, nine published,  I guess, due to space limitations within the magazine.  Here’s one, not in the magazine, I thought you might find interesting:

What made you decide to share your craft as an author with a range of best-selling books?

Back in 1999, I was offered the opportunity to create my very first book. I grabbed it with both hands. By this stage, had been writing magazines features every month for a couple of years so thought I knew what was required. However, I soon discovered that a book is very different from a one-off magazine feature. I found the process incredibly challenging, especially as I had a very young family at that time. My first book, ‘Hobby Cakes’, was published in 2000. It was so incredibly exciting once the book was published, I found doors starting opening that I had never dreamed of. People viewed my work in a different light. I was an author and I was hooked!

After my first book, my work was recommended to the Australian publishers Merehurst. I worked with them on my second book, “Quick and clever party cakes”, cakes designed to appeal to my young children. Interestingly this book was republished a couple of years ago  – children still love cute animals and aeroplanes! My third book, with publishers David and Charles, came about from another recommendation and lead to a very long list of titles. Many bestsellers, many with foreign editions and some with awards.

I simply love creating books, I love the process and the freedom a book gives me to be creative.  I also thoroughly enjoy working with a dedicated publishing team. It makes a nice change to be able to brainstorm ideas and discuss concepts. Most of all, however, there is something special about holding a printed book in your hand for the first time when you have spent months and months creating and putting it all together.

To find out more about my fifteen published books please visit the Lindy’s Cake Decorating books page.

Read the cake icon feature in full

If you’d like to read the full cake icon feature, the March issue of the Cake Masters Magazine is in shops right now or is available to download directly from Cake Masters

I hope you feel inspired

Sweet wishes

Lindy

“Bring worlds-class sugarcraft into your kitchen”