About My Custom Cake Topper

My Custom Cake Topper is located in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. But we ship world wide!

In the Press! Pittsburgh Post-Gazette October 1, 2013.

Unusual wedding toppers really take the cake
October 1, 2013 12:15 am
By Maria Sciullo / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Like love itself, some wedding cake toppers don’t seem to make a lot of sense. That Steelers-themed couple smiling happily from its perch atop cake and fondant? Now that makes sense. They’re not worrying about the team’s record; they’re there to celebrate a bond stronger than any NFL lineman.

But how to explain the “happy couple” of a horse and unicorn? Or the severed zombie hand wearing a new band of gold? Pug puppies in top hat and veil? Colorful octopi? A same-sex couple high-fiving in place of the traditional embrace? Duck hunters?

“I am always surprised and delighted by the original requests from customers,” said Holly Edwards, an artist from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, whose website, www.mycustomcaketopper.com displays a rainbow of top-of-the-cake keepsakes.

Ms. Edwards sculpts from polymer clay and customizes toppers that will be sent around the world, from Singapore to New Zealand. Most of her orders, however, are from the United States.

Locally, many upscale bakeries, such as Vanilla Pastry Studio in Regent Square, don’t seem to find a big demand for toppers, which often indicate a more laid-back approach to matrimony.

“We actually haven’t had a wild topper request in a long time,” said Rex Hoffman, assistant pastry sous chef, adding they receive more requests — sans toppers — for sweet decorations that are part of the overall decor of the cake.

Where once porcelain or plastic figures of bride and groom defined the traditional topper, more — shall we say? — “unusual” themes are emerging. Ms. Edwards created “Iguanas on Toast” to represent a private joke between the newlyweds.

In England, a bakery specializing in molded sugar wedding toppers played the bride and groom, as well as the TARDIS, as the centerpiece for “Doctor Who” fans.

Andrea Denton is a graphic/product designer for Alberta-based Weddingstar.com, which has warehouses across the globe, including Australia, South Africa and Russia. Her porcelain designs pop up on sites such as Etsy, where others have turned the figures into customized, eclectic toppers with zombies or videogamers.

“It’s flattering, in a way, and they’re still using our product,” she said.

One of WeddingStar’s newer designs — featuring a firefighter groom — represents the popularity of customization.

Perhaps the ultimate in personalization, however, are the artists who will fashion toppers in the the image of the happy couple.

Animals are popular. Turquoise Edwards-Stroud, president of North Carolina-based “That’s My Topper” (www.ThatsMyTopper.com), said the summer’s big hit was a couple of kissing bears. There was another, titled “Bear-throved,” with a bear groom carrying the bear bride over a threshold.

“That is one of the most enjoyable aspects, creating something unique to those individuals,” said Ms. Edwards. “It’s something that has personal meaning to them alone and no one in the entire world has that cake topper.”

Maria Sciullo: [email protected] or 412-263-1478 or @MariaSciulloPG.

First Published October 1, 2013 12:00 am

In the Press! The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) May 25, 2011.

For Holly Edwards, helping couples customize their wedding day is her dream come true. It’s a classic two-birds, one-stone situation for the local artist and her growing list of clients. Through her aptly named home business My Custom Cake Topper, 27-year-old Edwards happily stretches her artistic muscle to create unique wedding cake toppers for brides and grooms wanting to add something personalized to their special day. “It’s gone far better than I ever would have anticipated,” Edwards said of her business, which she launched in March. “I feel like my dreams are actually coming true. I can actually make this my living and be happy in what I’m doing.” It takes between two and 50 hours for the University of Saskatchewan grad to make a cake topper. Her portfolio includes pairs of birds, hedgehogs, owls, turtles and even a Mr. and Mrs. Gainer the Gopher. She makes models of people too, of course, with her most elaborate custom topper including a bride and groom, their pets and personal interests. “Every piece has it’s own little challenge to it,” Edwards said. “I absolutely love doing the personal pet ones, those are fantastic.” While the local market is her target, the artist has shipped her work across the country, into the United States and as far away as Australia thanks to her shop on the popular Etsy.com as well as her own site at Mycustomcaketopper. com. She sells her handmade “mice in tartans” toppers here in Saskatoon at Clans, Celts and Clover on Broadway Avenue and hopes to create more partnerships with local businesses. The wedding industry is highly competitive, but the lucrative sector also holds great opportunity for people who take on the challenge, said Laura Small, CEO of Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. Small said the strength of the local economy has encouraged many women to start their own businesses in the service industry – which includes weddings and other special events. “We’re seeing a lot of women in a lot of industries right now. It’s very busy,” the CEO said in a recent interview. “A lot of the businesses we are seeing (start) in 2011 have been in the service industry. So there’s obviously a lot of opportunity and a lot of change happening out there in those types of businesses.” Small suggests Edwards build relationships in the Saskatoon and region wedding sector, learn about the nature of the market and promote the uniqueness of her product. “She could develop a partnership or a relationship with the other people in the industry to bring more awareness and more business to her,” Small said. Priced between $25 and $500, most of the orders Edwards receives for her cake toppers are in the $50 to $80 range. Although a number of orders are coming in for the summer wedding season, she’d like to see her business grow to sell about 20 pieces per month. Edwards says she’ll keep pushing through any challenges that come her way, both to expand her own business and to provide couples with a lifelong keepsake for their special day. “I’m not going to quit. I want to keep going with this,” Edwards said. “I look forward to helping brides achieve their dreams.”