A few months ago, we stumbled upon one of Abbie's cakes on a Disney Facebook group... her boyfriend was raving about his birthday cake she designed for him... once you see it, we know you'll know why we had to reach out and feature her on our page!!
Now welcoming Abbie for our August 4th - August 10th Creative of the Week!
Creative's Name: Abbie Houser
Type of Creative: Baker/Cake Decorator
Genres: Weddings, Food & Event
Tell us about you! What is your story? Married, kids, fur babies? What things do you do besides your craft? I am 28 years old. I live in West Virginia. I went to culinary school to study pastry. I graduated in 2011. I have been decorating cakes and working in bakeries for 8 years now. I am constantly trying to better my skills and become as good as I can. When I'm not working, which is very rarely because I love what I do, I enjoy going to the gym, kayaking, going to plays, and camping to name a few. I have three dogs and they are my entire world. I don't know what I would do without them. One is a Newfoundland the other is a Saint Bernard and the last one is a lab beagle mix. They are a handful, but I love them so much.
What has been one of the hardest parts of being an artist (no matter what you do)? How long have you been working on your craft? I have been working in bakeries and decorating cakes for 8 years now and I would say the hardest part of it all is giving people what they want. If someone isn't descriptive enough for what they want, I have to talk to them and try and get more of an idea out of them to give them what they are looking for. Sometimes people don't know how to explain what they are looking for in words and that's when it gets complicated.
What makes your passion shine and what are you most passionate about when you see your finished work? Going above and beyond on a cake. Trying new techniques. Having something turn out exactly, if not better than you pictured in your head. Always bettering myself, improving myself. Seeing people's reaction to the final product. The happiness, the speechlessness that is what makes the cake worth it.
Would you change anything you have learned? What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind with your work? I wouldn't change absolutely anything I have learned. I want to learn more. I would like to learn absolutely anything and everything I can. Cake decorating is always changing and new techniques are always coming up. I would like to be remembered. When people look back at photos and see birthday cakes, anniversary cakes, wedding cakes I want them to think that was the best cake we've ever had and it was perfect and remember that I was the one who decorated it for them. I want to be one of the best in the area that I live.
Among your works, which is your favorite and why? I would have to say that the most recent cake I did for my boyfriends birthday is probably my favorite cake right now. I absolutely love Disney and cake decorating, I had so much fun making it. Detailed cakes are my favorite to decorate. Clean work and details always bring a cake to the next level.
What inspires you? Who's work has influenced you the most? What is the most rewarding part for you? I am always following cake decorators on Instagram or Facebook. I wanted cake decorating shows on the Food Network. Any bakery I ever see that is better than me, is a role model to me. It is someone I can learn off of and hope to become.
What makes you stand out from the others? What makes me stand out from the others is how dedicated I am to my work. How I can go from decorating a sports sheet cake to a detailed four tier wedding cake.
What advice do you have for people just starting out? Learn as much as you can. Be a sponge and just absorb everything you can from others. Challenge yourself. Push yourself. Always try new things.
Tell us something we wouldn't know about you, from looking at your portfolio. I love horror and zombies. The walking dead and horror movies. I love haunted houses. I have a full leg tattoo of zombies.
What influences your work? Traveling? Theme parks? Music? Everything influences my work. When we travel or watch movies. I feel like I can relate so much more, if I've seen the movie or been to the place or read the book. Music is a big help. Sometimes music helps put me in the zone.
When did people start taking notice of your work? People have always noticed my works from when I started. Because cake decorating isn't too big around this area, so it was something different that people love. Just within the past few years, when I have really started to improve my skills and push myself harder is when I have really gotten a lot of notice.
Thank you Abbie for sharing your creative journey with us! We love having you as part of the Artistic Alliance Community!
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