We finished off a year of our popular monthly Partners in Design event series in December with the perfect event to get everyone in the holiday spirit. Nicole and Chris Raysin of Custom Cake Designs joined us in our Lansing, Michigan showroom on December 12th for an educational, delicious, and fun event. Nicole is also a designer with the McDaniels Kitchen and Bath team. She and Chris established Custom Cake Designs in 2003 and now run this successful business from their home in Vernon, MI. This was their second time participating in our Partners in Design series and was the ideal event to complete 2023, just in time for the holidays!
What is Partners in Design?
In our monthly Partners in Design series, we welcome a local design partner to visit our showroom and present an event featuring their business, their story as an entrepreneur, and some information about their area of expertise. We have worked with a wide range of design partners, from wineries to photographers, art galleries, chefs, and more. Every month there is a new opportunity to learn and have fun, all from the comfort of our amazing Lansing, MI design showroom. All our design partner entrepreneurs are local residents, and each has a unique story to share about their journey.
About Custom Cake Designs
Nicole’s business journey started in 2003 when she baked her own daughter’s birthday cake, which allowed her to combine her background in art and her love of baking. She then expanded her business to incorporate custom cakes, gourmet cupcakes, and handmade chocolates. Since 2021, she started creating full, custom dessert bars for special events ranging from weddings to showers, graduation parties, birthday parties, and more.
Custom Cake Design’s Presentation
At our December event, Nicole and Chris presented a range of topics, including:
- Boxed cake mixes versus baking cakes from scratch and the advantages of each.
- Buttercream vs. fondant icing – why use fondant?
- Can you freeze cake?
- Icing colors – do they change the taste of the icing, why do they stain?
- Chocolate demo – how to make a Christmas cereal drizzle.
Nicole and Chris also brought a range of their amazing candies with loads of samples. All the participants went on a “sample tour”, which was delicious! They also had items for sale, including a “make your own box” option where guests selected the things they wanted to purchase and boxed them up. This event was packed with gift ideas and great new candies from Custom Cake Designs. Everyone enjoyed it and stayed beyond the full hour to browse and ask questions! Thank you to Nicole and Chris for their amazing presentation and for getting us in the holiday spirit.
That wraps up our 2023 Partners in Design event series. Watch out for our 2024 Partners in Design schedule, to be announced soon!