Cake! magazine by Australian Cake Decorating Network November 2017 | Page 78

Shannon Bond
interview with
Written by Kellie Rudland
An Interview with Shannon Bond of
Shannon Bond Cake Design
Your business began in 2013 and has
grown in leaps and bounds in just a
few short years. What do you attribute
your success to?
I’ve really been blessed and I still feel
the need to pinch myself every so
often! With every cake, I try to create
something that is a little different
than the ones before but always with
attention to clean lines. Every cake
designer has that one little thing (or
more than one little thing) they really
emphasize on their cakes and clean
lines is one of mine!
Where do you find your design
inspiration?
I love getting inspiration from fashion,
art, nature, architecture - inspiration is
really everywhere! It can be the ceiling
tile texture or a paint swatch or even a
pattern on a piece of clothing. I’ll see
something and take a quick pic with
my phone so when I’m designing, I can
flip back through for inspiration.
Do you have any advice for decorators
starting their own cake business?
You’ll spend way more time on the
business side of cake than actually
designing cakes, especially at first!
It’s so important to have policies
and procedures in place before you
actually need them. It’s not the fun
stuff to work on, but when you are
neck deep in orders, you’ll be glad you
took the extra time at the beginning
to sort out all those business details!
Once I had my contracts and policies
sorted, I made myself practice on
something new at least every week. It
could be making a flower or painting
a monogram - something small - but it
really helped to give me confidence in
skills as well as the knowledge of how
long a technique would take on a client
cake. helped where business is concerned
too!
What are your top three cake
decorating tools? Do you have a favourite cake design to
date?
Oh this one is hard! I would say a
toothpick (you’d be surprised just how
much a little toothpick can do) a good
bench scraper and a locking turntable.
They may not be fancy but they are
things I use with every cake! After
those necessities I have my favourite
pasta roller and Agbay leveller - things
that save time and get consistent
results!
Tell us about how you got in to cake
decorating.
I started making cakes for my kids
several years ago, the excitement
on their faces when they would see
their cakes really hooked me! The
more cakes I made, the more my style
evolved and I fell in love with cake
design! From a young age, I’ve had a
love of the arts and baking, cake has
allowed me to combine those loves
and grow it into my passion. Food can
bring back such wonderful memories,
it’s an honour to be included in
someone’s special day or event - that
is something I will never take lightly!
What was your background prior to
opening your business?
The artist behind an ever-expanding collection of breathtaking bespoke cakes,
Shannon Bond, spoke to us about her design process, how she manages to balance
family and cake life, and how she creates masterpieces using the humble toothpick.
I always loved to craft and make
things, I dabbled in making jewellery
and painting but when I found cake,
I knew I had found my medium! I’m a
home schooling mom of 6, so that is
still my first priority. We home school
until high school, our oldest 2 are in
high school now and we still have 4
kiddos still at home that I teach. I’ve
really been blessed to be able to
continue to school them while also
having a home based business! I think
home schooling so many kiddos really
forced me to step up my organisation
game. That organisation has definitely
Your designs tend to feature delicate,
feminine details. What does your
design process entail?
I usually start my designs with a focal
point and work out the details from
there. I would say my designs tend to
lean towards minimalism, so once I
have that main focal point designed,
it’s all about adding in details to work
around it and help it to flow from tier to
tier.
I have so many for many different
reasons! Some because of the textures
or a technique or even because they
were made for a special client or
cause. But overall, anything that has
some turquoise in it is a favourite!

Have you had any cake disasters?
Yes, we had a cake just this last spring
that was bumped after it was set up
at the venue. It was a huge 6 tier cake
that had separator pillars as well, so it
was very, very tall. We got a call from
the coordinator that it was leaning, so
we flew back to the venue to fix it. It
was leaning in two separate directions
so I had to disassemble it in front
of the guests and shim it up. I was
praying the entire time! Thankfully, it
was repairable! We stayed for the rest
of the evening to cut the cake because
I didn’t want anyone else touching
it from that point forward! It was
definitely stressful. As much as you
prepare for every scenario, you can’t
prepare for things like that! I always
say caking is an extreme sport!
You and your husband have six
children. How do you manage a work/
life balance?
Thankfully, I am able to work from
home which allows me to still be
involved with my family and have a
business. My husband is a “cake
husband” and helps with deliveries.
He’s also a civil engineer who
designed bridges for 15 years, so
anytime I have a structure question,
he’s the go-to guy! But work/life
balance is hard, I’m not going to
lie! It’s a struggle for me, like so
many others, trying to keep life in
perspective. Over the last few years,
I’ve come to know just how much I can