Tag Archives: Hydrangea

Squires School Class July 2013

P1030726 copyLow

This year I seem to be blessed with the opportunity to teach my beloved sugar flowers beyond the borders of Italy. After attending Squires Kitchen’s Exhibition in England and Expotarta in Spain, last July I had the pleasure to be invited to teach a two-day class at Squires Kitchen International School in Farnham, Surrey.

Besides being my first two-day class in the UK, the course scored other pleasant records. The one I cherish the most is having the youngest student ever, a lovely, talented 14 years-old girl named Helena. In spite of her young age, Helena has already attended several classes and acquired quite an impressive experience for her age. I really admired her professional and determined approach to the course. I was also delighted to learn that another student had flown right from Ireland to attend my class.

P1030725_LowRes

The course was about one of my favourite combination of flowers: roses and hydrangeas. Well, I guess this might not be just a favourite of mine, since theclass sold-out pretty quickly!

Students worked hard and concentrated on techniques such as wiring petals and leaves, colouring each piece to obtain a rich, yet natural look and assembling their flowers to make them stand out.

P1030741 copyLow

Many of the students had little and some none-at-all experience of sugar flowers making. All made great flowers (you can judge by the picture of the lovely arrangements) and sported big, pleased smiles at the end of the course (I think this shows in the pictures too!). I felt my mission was accomplished.

P1030744_lowRes

Sometimes as I teach I tend to forget that I’m actually working, it is more like spending great time doing what I like the most, in company of lovely, like-minded people, sharing our love for the craft. This is literally how I felt about my class at SK’s school.

This relaxed feeling is highly supported by Squires Kitchen school environment. They provide the perfect conditions to learn in a professional, friendly atmosphere.

Expotarta 2013 Madrid

_DSC2073

The second edition of Expotarta, the sugarcraft exhibition in Madrid, just ended. Back in Italy, I have the pleasant feeling that holidays give.
I had a very busy weekend, with classes and demonstrations, but the atmosphere and the great passion Spanish people have for cake decorating and sugar floristry made my job extremely likeable. Sharing one’s passions with like-minded people is so invigorating!

I’m grateful for the this year’s chances to teach classes abroad: I believe that confronting our personal experiences with people from different countries leads to mutual personal enrichment as well as to a boost in creativity.

My special thanks to Loleta and Nieves Linares, organisers of the event, for inviting me to teach at their fabulous exhibition, and to Laura Aldana Arias for impeccably translating every single word from English to Spanish, and for being the perfect assistant. Last but not least, I wish to thank all the lovely students and demo spectators, for sharing with me their love for sugar flowers.

Vintage Charm Cake

I will always remember last summer as the season of roses and hydrangeas. I love those flowers, especially when they are together. Their shapes and colours are the epitome of Nature’s beauty!

Starting from those thoughts, a few months ago I decided to design a cake featuring roses and hydrangeas. The simple idea became a project in the 2nd issue of Squires Kitchen’s Bake School Magazine. The article is a step-by-step guide to making flowers, cake and mini cakes.

SKMP must have thought the same about the magical match, because to my surprise the cake was used on the cover of Wedding Cakes magazine, issue 45!

It is a great honour for me. Seeing my work, and what was intended as a homage to Mother Nature, on the cover of a world-renowned magazine filled me with joy. When passion and hard work meet, sometimes something magic is born.

If you-like me-love roses and hydrageas, please join me on March 15th, 2013 and March 17th, 2013 at Squires Kitchen’s Exhibition in Farnham, Surrey. We’ll learn how to make blossom mini cakes. See you there, then!

Roma 7-8 Luglio – Photo Gallery

Pictures taken during classes in Rome, July 2012.