It's a 'piece of cake' for Trisha Vandeven

By ANDI WETHINGTON

Special to The Daily Statesman

BLOOMFIELD, Mo. -- Long fascinated by the world of crafts, Trisha Vandeven has honed her skills in customized creations in everything from oil painting and flower arranging to today's business of weddings, catering, and specialty cakes.

Trisha's, the at-home business of this 31-year resident of Bloomfield, primarily focuses on specialty cakes "from simple to simply elegant," as the company tagline reads. "If you can imagine it, we will bake and frost it and fulfill your sweetest dreams."

Originally from Dudley where her family farmed, Trisha attended Dexter Schools and started on her cake decorating "just as a sideline" right after graduation. "I fooled around with it, mostly for family," she explained. "My mother started making cakes as a home business, and she retired from it about 12 to 15 years ago."

For a full-time job after high school, Trisha worked at the former Campbell Filter Company, first in the plant for two years then in the office for another four. The girls in the office held "birthday swaps" for each other, and one year Trisha created a ceramic fruit arrangement. Her very all-business traffic manager asked her, "What are you doing working here when you can do that?" And his question stuck with her.

"I started asking myself why I would do an okay job when I liked doing other things," Trisha said. The proverbial wheels were set in motion.

When she married John Vandeven and the couple bonded families, Trisha was able to stay at home with their three kids. She opened a craft shop in Bloomfield, and from the family's old, two-story Victorian home she taught oil painting classes for adults and children.

Several years later Trisha tried her hand at wholesale floral work and sold to Silver Dollar City and various gift shops. "I was able to be at home with the kids, which is always a plus, and I had a job, too," she said. "I did floral arrangements and craft shows, as well as antique Santa Clauses. We focused on the Victorian era, and I bet I made a million ribbon roses."

Reflecting on her timeline of at-home work, Trisha joked that she "ought to be called evolution," tackling everything from oil painting to flower arrangements and antique crafts to gift baskets and personalized prints. "You go with what's popular at the time, with what sells," she relayed. "[My husband] John even did the woodworking for me and made picture frames. It was a team effort. He's always been the best supporter."

After all these ventures, though, her business objectives changed, and 19 years ago this month, Trisha made a complete circle back to her original, high school love of specialty cakes. Her daughter was getting married, and this mother of the bride loved being a part of every detail. "I did everything but her dress... and the tuxes," recalled Trisha. "I took care of the flowers, the catering, the attendants' and flower girl's dresses. But I also found out that it's hard to do it all and be the bride's mom. That's when I realized there was a market for this, and I gradually got into the wedding business."

Today, Trisha helps couples with all the details for a complete wedding and reception. The only part this company owner no longer takes care of is the flowers. "Catering is a last minute item, and so are flowers. I can't do both, so I've chosen not to do the flowers anymore." She also caters for church events, family and class reunions, and baby showers and takes care of all the details, including rentals.

Trisha's main focus, however, revolves around "creative custom cakes for any occasion," the company's promotional items explain. "Whether you're looking for an after dinner dessert or an elaborate wedding cake for that special day, we've got it. We don't just make cakes for you -- we create them with you, too. We turn your ideas into stunning edible works of art."

Customers can choose from nine different cake flavors -- white (vanilla), chocolate, and strawberry being among the favorites, in that order -- as well as six types of fillings and buttercream frosting with or without fondant accents. "I don't do complete fondant cakes, just an accent," said Trisha. "I personally don't like it, and most people just peel off that outer layer anyway."

As for the designs, "I either get to do my own thing at the client's request, or I follow the given instructions," she explained. "It helps enormously when there's a picture to design off of because it can be hard to fully comprehend what my client wants. I also draw ideas from napkin or plate samples."

Wedding cake trends change every few years, and today brides tend to want very smooth, simple cakes. "What they don't realize is that those are the hardest. At least with a flower detail you can hide a blemish," Trisha laughed. "Smooth cakes require more time. It takes many hours to create something that looks so simple."

Through the years, this brilliant cake artist has required very little self-promotion as her clients learn about her by word of mouth. "If I advertise, it's to help out local schools," she shared humbly. "I'm to a point now where I've had to turn down orders. This little person can't fill them all. I even have birthday orders up to November."

Her clientele have come from all over -- as far south as Clarkton, north to the Cape Girar-deau/Jackson area, and west and east to Poplar Bluff and Sikeston, respectively. Facebook and social media attention have attracted a great deal of business, too. "People post pictures of their child with the cake, or I get to see their faces when they pick up their order," said Trisha. "Seeing the excitement is what makes it all worth it. Watching the little kids -- or even a bride who starts crying because she loves her cake -- that makes you feel good."

A typical week involves the creation of one or two wedding cakes and nine to 12 birthday cakes, which often demand more time because they require more colors and details. "I like challenges as long as I have time to work on it," she stated, "and some projects have really been a challenge. There are times I think, 'How in the world am I going to do this?' But I find a way. There's a way to do everything."

"I turned a hobby into a business," she continued. And all that practice substantiates her training. "I practice with wax paper -- scrape it off, put it back in the bag, then practice some more. I really love when a customer says, 'You can do whatever you want' because then I get to practice a technique I've wanted to try."

"Really, anybody can do it," she added. "All you need is a bag of icing and two [decorating] tips and you can do wedding cakes. It just takes practice."

She's also taken a few classes in the St. Louis area, including ones led by a Food Network cake competitor. Also, when a member of the cake decorating guild ICES, Trisha took several two- to three-day classes in St. Louis, and the guild invited a professional to St. Louis or Columbia once or twice a year for demonstrations.

"Cake shows make it look so easy," she commented. "But there are lots of shortcuts you learn through the years and you do things better than before. It's just fun. Most mornings I can't wait to get down to the kitchen and get going on my projects."

Trisha also enjoys her grandkids' reactions to her cake designs. "Matthew and Connor look at my sample books and want this or that," she laughed. "It's best to wait until the last minute because they change their minds constantly. They also flip through my cake supply books and look at them like they're storybooks."

Her grandkids might just have the right idea. For 19 years and counting, Trisha has been making dreams come true for area cake enthusiasts, and her precision, passion, and labors of love create something magical. Whether a simple project or a challenging design, she truly makes her works of art look like a "piece of cake."