Interview #28: Nina Blackburn from Make Pretty Cakes

Thanks to Shags, we are bringing you an Interview with Nina Blackburn from Make Pretty Cakes. Enjoy!

Anyone who knows Nina from Make Pretty Cakes will agree she is just an amazing lady …always so giving of her time and knowledge but best of all her encouragement. One day I was having a bit of a down day and nothing going quite right. I made a quick post on facebook about it and within minutes my phone rang…… I just about died when the caller ID read Nina Blackburn!!!! She called just to say keep your head up and that she hoped my day would get better and that is how I got to know this incredibly talented lady.

She is always pushing the limits of our imaginations with her fabulously adorable creations and gravity defying masterpieces …this is why she is definitely one of my cake idols!!!

I hope this short interview helps you all get to know her just a little better also.

1. How did you get started in the cake industry?
Like so many, it was my son’s first birthday cake that started the cake buzz! A few coffee group mums were impressed enough to pool together and hire me to teach them how to make cupcakes. So that pretty much set the path in motion! My boy is nine now…..wowzers, time flies!

2. If you could do your dream job what would it be?
I am so lucky, I am living my dream job now!

3. What is your favorite cake you have done so far?
OOOooooo, it’s a very close tie between my Duct-taped duck and my hippo on a chaise lounge! Both brought me so much joy – I think I was giggling the entire time I was making them.

4. What part of cakes do you like the best and the worse?
The best part is when the wheels are turning and you figure out how to make what’s in your imagination come to life! Finding a new use for tools and short-cuts is pretty awesome. The worse thing is when things start misbehaving. Naughty ganache, monstrous modelling chocolate, that sort of thing. Or wasting time finding a tool – for the fifth time in a row!

5. What do you think is the one most important message cake decorators should know, if any?
Be as kind to yourself, as you are to each other. Makes me so sad when I hear a decorator cut their own work – or another artists’ work down. Because guess what? You (yeah YOU!) are all amazing.

6. What would be your dream cake to do?
Oh boy, I have got a notebook of bucket list cakes – but I’ve learnt my lesson and I’m not telling!

7. Where do you want to be in say 5 years from now?
I would like to be exactly where I am now….totally loving what I do, and not wanting to change a thing about it.

8. Do you have sketch your cakes or just wing it?
I do a very rough sketch to give me a “map” of where I’d like the cake to go. As I’m creating, I allow myself the freedom to change things as I go.

9. If you could afford to hire someone as your cake partner who would it be?
OOOOooooo, such an unexpected question! I can easily rattle off all my cake heroes – so many that I have hosted and learned from. But today, I would choose Margie Carter, because she has an amazing “eye” for sculpting and design and such a gentle nature. I feel so happy around her, so yes, Margie would be it.

10. What is the one tool you cannot live without?
My clay knife! It’s my secret weapon and works so beautifully with Bakels Pettinice!

Nina Blackburn’s: CakesDecor Profile | Facebook Page

Some of Nina’s Cakes: