2015 has been really good to us! We’ve been very lucky to have a lot to celebrate, in and out of the studio. Last week we swooped Danielle away on a well deserved bridal shower celebration. We chose to visit Duff’s Cake Mix Bakery & Studio on Melrose to have a little design fun, cake style! Do you remember the TV show ‘Ace of Cakes’ on the Food Network? Well, the pastry chef star Duff Goldman, has since created the very first do-it-yourself decorating studio where the customer is the artist – pure genius.

You arrive to a bright, colorful studio with floor to ceiling glass walls, allowing you to see all of the beautiful cake designs from the street corner. Once inside, Duff’s team gives you a friendly welcome and the low down on how the decorating process works. We were allowed to choose every detail of the cake experience ourselves – from the cake flavor to the toppings. We went with rainbow Funfetti cake and a white fondant base to ensure maximum decorating opportunity.

For only $2 you can add a beautiful spray paint effect to your cake, so that’s exactly what we did. Our cake was taken into the booth where they gave it a lovely yellow ombre treatment. Then came the challenge…what the heck do we put on this cake?

After pretty much writing an entire design brief, a plan was devised for the overall vibe of the cake – we take this design thing very seriously! If you’re a designer, you can appreciate that creative freedom is sometimes not so “freeing”. After contemplating every single color choice we went with a spring-themed floral cake. Yummmmm.

Just like in our own office, we had an art director and 3 designers on the job. It was a great exercise in team work and communication. We had to constantly remind ourselves to not overthink it and just have fun. Afterall, our precious cake design would soon be devoured. We called our masterpiece “70s Spring Grandma of Luxury”.

Duff shared a great quote by Ben Franklin that reads “We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Well said Ben, The Creative Pack will never stop playing. Thanks to Duff and his dream team for creating such an inspiring space, inviting people of all ages to explore and grow their creativity! We will definitely be back for Round 2.

Duff’s Cake Mix, 8302  Melrose Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90069 duffscakemix.com