My name is Lauren King, formerly Lauren Pastrich. I grew up on Long Island, NY and currently live in Port Washington, NY.
By day I am a business woman... I have a Bachelor's of Science in Applied Economics and a Master of Business Administration. I have worked on Wall Street and in Corporate America and am now a Financial Planner at my father's wealth management and advisory firm.
By night I decorate cakes!...
My road to cake design is not too exciting but came about through a few failures in the art world. I always had the urge to do something creative. I consider myself left-brained but love working with my hands and 'creating' - unfortunatley I was never really any good at the 'creative' stuff. Senior year at college I took a scuplting class and, well, you can say I was lucky to get a "Pass" grade. After college I attempted painting and drawing and quickly realized I have little innate talent for art.
In retrospect, I could have chosen a career path that lended itself to my quant strengths and creative desires - perhaps engineering or graphic design.
However, my path did not take me there...
My search continued into grad school with no real epiphanies. Then, I moved to Chicago and fell in love with the Food Network, TLC and Bravo - all the cake designing and cake competition shows. I religiously watch(ed) Challenge, Last Cake Standing, Cake Boss, Top Chef - Just Desserts, Cupcake Wars, DC Cupcakes, etc. I thought - wow I may be able to do this!
So... after my wedding, with a lot more free time - I signed up for the Wilton Class 1: Basics of Cake Design class at the Hobby Lobby in Downers Grove, IL. It was only 4 classes but it gave me the foundation to start decorating.
My husband, Ben, loves my new found passion - and is extremely supportive. He even cleans up all the tools and dishes when I'm done!
I am happy I have finally found my creative outlet!
Bon Appetite!
