 |
Ask Lisa Calhoon what she thinks of when
she hears the word “wedding” and she’ll probably answer “polymer clay”
(you gotta love her!). The connection between marriages and clay came about
for Lisa by way of her husband, Brent. “It's all my husband's doing,” exclaims
Lisa, “For a Valentine's Day present while we were engaged, Brent gave
me a package of [polymer] clay. He thought I'd be good at it even though
I had never worked with clay before.” Not only was Lisa “good at it,” she’s
translated her polymer obsession into “Right Brain Creations,” a lucrative
business creating custom toppers for wedding cakes.
Lisa has always considered herself a fairly
good artist, but wasn’t so sure her talent would translate to clay. She
began her foray into our favorite medium by attempting to make a cat and
was pleased when her creation actually looked like, well, a cat. From there
it was the usual path to pure clay obsession.
But Lisa had other things on her mind
than just clay (we can’t imagine). “We were making our wedding arrangements
and could not find anything to use as a cake topper,” Lisa explains. “We
wanted our wedding to be more fun than formal, and none of the cake toppers
we found had any sort of personality. So I decided to give it a try and
make my own cake topper.”
If you think Lisa’s cake topper turned
out to be traditional, think again. Lisa’s specialty is designing and creating
a cake topper that is as individual and unique as the engaged couple. Her
toppers resemble the couple not only in physical appearance, but reflect
their interests or hobbies as well. Perhaps a bride and groom want to commemorate
a special vacation or life event – no problem. Lisa gets to know each couple
through a series of well designed questions and works with each client
personally to capture the look and feel that will make their cake topper
exclusively theirs.
Lisa explains that while the figures will
resemble the couple as to relative heights, hair and eye colors and attire,
they will be more cartoon-like than realistic.
Bride and groom figures are typically
4 to 5 inches tall, and the base is a round piece of wood painted white
that is 4 inches in diameter. Lisa says this base not only stabilizes the
topper, it solves the issue of clay not coming into contact with food.
A visit to the Right Brain Creations website
gives prospective brides and grooms and wedding planners answers to the
most frequently asked questions about purchasing a custom cake topper for
that special day. And once the order is placed, and Lisa receives payment
and pictures, the custom cake topper is shipped usually within 10 weeks.
The starting price for a typical bride
and groom cake topper is $350 (US). The price increases if the order is
rushed, or as other figures, such as pets and children, are added. The
more unique cake toppers, such as the moose or mascots pictured on the
website, cost a little more depending on the design.
Is there a cake topper Lisa doesn’t make?
“Yes,” says Lisa. “The only items I can't create, due to the materials
I use, are buildings and vehicles, such as bicycles, motorcycles, cars
and water crafts - they become too large and heavy for the cake |
