The Cake studio has been my dream for a very long time.

I wanted a place where I could be creative, make beautiful things and be inspired. A place that was separate from my home life, yet still connected. When I moved to my home in Dorset 3 years ago (which was a dream in itself) I was presented with an opportunity to build onto the house using planning consent which had expired for the previous owners. There was a square of decking outside the house and an old utility room, it was the perfect area to demolish and create something new. I had ideas for what I would like but I couldn’t afford it.

It was way too expensive and I was just starting to build up my work again after covid had reduced it to nothing. So I waited and hoped things would get better, in the interim I taught myself how to pipe buttercream flowers, launched a new online cake school and my business slowly and steadily picked up again. People seemed to like what I was doing so started to ask if I could teach them too.

It seemed like a natural progression to make myself a creative and functional space where I could share my skills.

A year ago I had made a little card model all to 1;25 scale and every day I looked at it hoping and praying it would become real. It had beautiful steel handmade doors, bespoke cupboards for all of my things and a mosaic floor made to my design with a floral motif in my corporate colours. Step by step brick by brick the space started to come to life and every day that I walked downstairs to the mess I couldn’t believe that all these people were building something for me just the way I envisioned.

It was really important that I used local companies to help achieve my vision, I wanted to create a really unique space and not a blank white room with no soul, so several items were handcrafted to my own design and I will pop links to them all as you read if you are interested.

I’m lucky to have a talented brother who runs London Mosaic they supply and create beautiful tiled floors. With a family member in the trade how could I not have one of their floors installed, so I chose a gorgeous mosaic hexagon design which I customised to fit in with my branding and colours.

I also chose a gorgeous solid oak beam to run along the roof, it was never actually needed to hold anything up, I just love a lump of wood, all 70kg of it! In addition I had beautiful oak windowsills from Dorset Design Works

My old dining room table was properly pimped up by Robbie from Interior Tailors a fantastic local company that revamps and repairs old furniture. For me it was turning an 25 year old solid oak John Lewis table into the cake decorators table of dreams. He raised it to working height, added a wipeable surface and inserted perfectly sized drawers at either end to hold all of my piping tips and pots of colours. It is utterly amazing, a joy to behold and totally unique to me.

A few gorgeous stools and it is the perfect table for teaching around. I also have a little vision of me when I’m older, getting out my flower press or painting easel and taking up one of the other arty hobbies that I love. Its also a place for lovely lazy family lunches and sharing a glass of wine with good friends.

Built in cupboards at the far end were put in by my carpenter Andy and the whole build was completed by James Newsam Builders, a local Dorset company. I chose bobbin handles in an antique brass from plank Hardware which I fell in love with and these gorgeous cupboards were designed perfectly to house all of my boards, boxes, paper, tools, cake stands etc as well as a lovely little hidden desk at one end for me. Ohhhh and I also have a secret fridge and microwave in there too… for wine, and lots of buttercream!

Lastly, before I share a few of the finished images, this room was also all about the view. I kept things light and bright with large sliding doors to the outside decking. The perfect place for my students and I to sit with a cuppa and gaze at all the beautiful flowers, as well as sleek and slim profiled steel dividing doors. These gave me a gorgeous division between my home life and my studio life, but also allowing me to swing both the doors open on non work days and just enjoy the space. These were handcrafted by local company BOMEN who are just 5 minutes down the road from my home.

Designed to perfectly fit the space to the mm, the slim lines echoed that of older style warehouse buildings and helped to add a chic and elegant piece of character to the space.

Once the doors were installed all I needed was for the guys to deliver and put together my new table. Excitement doesn’t even begin to explain how I feel about my new space, I cant even believe its mine and that I have achieved it all by myself through hard work and determination. Building work is a stressful undertaking and it did break me just a little towards the end BUT the summer is over, the skips and porta loos gone and I now get to open my doors to you, my students.

I get to share my gorgeous new space and be creative with you, its the best job in the world. Oh and did I mention I have a fully installed air con system too so no more sweaty buttercream and hot hands. We can programme it to the perfect working temperature!

If you are wondering how to go about booking a course with me you will find upcoming group workshops here on the website Workshops

If you prefer a one to one Masterclass where you get all the attention then take a look here Masterclass

But don’t worry if you cant travel to the gorgeous county of Dorset, UK, I have online classes that you can follow from home wherever you are in the world. You can choose from over 100 buttercream flower tutorials right here in my Cake School

If you are travelling from far away I can even put you up in my little boutique bed and breakfast room at the house.

For now, I’m off to do some baking and I cant wait to meet you all soon.

Rachel x