How To Incorporate Spacers & Separators Into Your Cake Design With Bubba's Bakes
Zara owns and runs Bubba’s Bakes, working out of Worthing, serving the Sussex coast & beyond. She is an avid supporter of Prop Options and today talks about how and why she uses our spacers & separators in her designs You can find Zara on Instagram @bubbabakes!
I have been following & purchasing Prop Options stands from the very beginning. Always loving not only their attention to detail but also their understanding that a cake stand is not ‘just a stand’ but an extension of the cake design itself.
When Prop Options launched their innovative floating tier stand I’m not sure I’ve purchased anything so quickly! I used it on the first wedding cake design I could & as expected, it was an absolute hit. From that moment I knew the wedding cake design game was hitting the refresh button.
Just as cake stands are an extension of your cake design, so are spacers & separators. If, like me, you & your clients desire tall elegant wedding/celebration cakes, this is where spacers/separators can help you achieve this. They are such an easy to use addition whilst giving an amazingly positive visual impact.
Let’s take the clear acrylic spacer as an example. This spacer is a genius design, not only can you gain 6” in extra height - per spacer - but when you have a large venue with high ceilings, these are a wonderful way to help enhance your design & ‘fill’ that void.
As a designer I want to aesthetically draw the eye up the cake, not looking down & around. I design first & foremostly to my clients & then to the venue, taking everything into account, with the ceiling height being one element.
Adding spacers/separators to my design allows me to add height with ease. Plus, spacers suit all designs, from florals right through to of the moment contemporary pieces, they work with every style.
As I finish all my cake designs in ganache I use this to adhere the base of any spacer to the top of the cake. If I were using the clear spacer, I would then adhere the next tier - which has been set onto a cake card of course - to the lid of the spacer popping it in place when setting up at the venue.
So simple, yet so effective, offering you the opportunity to elevate your cake designs giving your clients, & their guests, the illusion of space and light, whilst leaving them wondering ‘how & wow’.
All cake designers work differently when it comes to deposits & hiring out their stands/spacers/separators. I personally advise & request the onsite wedding coordinator to place any stands/spacers/separators into the box I leave onsite (for ease of return) & I always request that they are left uncleaned.
Why uncleaned?
Spacers, separators, stands are all an investment. I invest heavily so my wedding clients don’t have to. By investing in this way I know I can trust that every piece of staging is able to perform its role without fail. If I allowed these spacers/separators/stands to be cleaned in a commercial kitchen using abrasive materials, they would render my investments unusable. They would be scratched to bits within two uses & it would not be fair on my clients to have to forgo their security deposit because the wrong material was used to clean them.
By having a strict ‘Do Not Clean’ policy in place all parties are on the same page & understand the reasoning for this policy. I would much rather receive a spacer back covered in cake & clean it myself using the appropriate materials, than have it back clean but scratched.
Prop Options have such an array of spacers available they really do help us designers & in turn our clients, have the dream wedding cake they desire. Wedding budgets are often tight & some clients may have chosen a small intimate wedding but still yearn for a two or three tier design. By incorporating spacers, you are not only delivering on their dream wedding cake design, but also ensuring that there is no unnecessary waste which is such an important aspect.
- You still need to dowel your tiers, do not rely solely on your spacer/separator to take the weight, do dowel as normal.
- Think about the edges of your
- cake tiers, if using a floating spacer think about how you will cover up that join. If using a clear separator, ensure you have nailed that sharp edge for a clean contemporary look.
- To avoid any unnecessary scratches, request the bottom tier only is cut at the cutting ceremony as this tier will be on a cake board which will be disposed of.
- Always take a security deposit to protect yourself & your property.
- Set out a separate stand/spacer/separator T&C’s form to issue to your clients. This will ensure everyone understands what is expected from them when hiring your stands/spacers/separators. These items are your property so have confidence in your policies.
Prop Options are innovative thinkers, they have allowed me to ensure that all my wedding cake designs have the perfect solid foundation to build upon. They foresee new trends & design quickly for those upcoming styles, ensuring we, as designers, have what we need to showcase our work to the best of our ability. If you have as yet not purchased a Prop Option piece, this truly is your sign to purchase & shine.
Zara x
