[EDITOR'S APOLOGY: Day 2 for Barb was Thursday, not Friday, but due to my zany schedule this week, I'm having a tough time keeping up with the posting pace of my correspondents. I apologize in advance for any lag time you are likely to experience, as Saturday gets even more hectic for me! But I promise, I WILL eventually get all of their great content posted!]
Day 2 started out with the second session of Team Cookie’s (Rebecca Weld, The Cookie Architect; Kari Arroyo, Yankee Girl Yummies; and Melissa Joy Lacasse, Melissa Joy Cookies) design seminar. We walked in to find the scene above laid out on the tables.
And, we would be learning all the techniques necessary to decorate this set (which was made and photographed by Rebecca and Kari):
As the day went on, the very wise Team Cookie realized their set for class was extremely feature-rich. Even though they are very thorough demonstrators and tutors and we were able to hang out in the room for some time after the class was supposed to end, many of us ran short of time to complete our sets. But all of us got plenty of opportunity to learn and understand the steps that went into the making of that set, so the instructors’ objectives were reached.
After class, I checked in with the front desk, and lo and behold: my overnight package was received, so I could hustle up to my room and finish up the one Sugar Show entry cookie that was incomplete. I let it sit out and dry while I went for some lunch, and then put it out on display later in the day.
At 6 pm, we had the welcome address in the grand ballroom from Mike and Karen Summers, organizers of CookieCon, and a great keynote speech from Lisa Snyder, The Bearfoot Baker, on the power of the cookie. She talked about the community, the big and very small things that come from making and sharing cookies. It was nicely delivered and resonated with pretty much everyone in the room.
At the conclusion of her speech, Lisa told us a story, reading from a book to which several notable cookiers had contributed – a story about a baker dealing with a cookie order, told in pictures, which were actually pictures of cookies detailing each phase of cookie order development. Each cookier had a page to do, making cookies to tell that part of the story. It was adorably cute, and made even better when we got a surprise announcement from Karen Summers – each of us at the conference would get a book of our own! Everyone seemed pretty excited about that!
After the opening ceremonies were over, most of the attendees hung out in the ballroom for a while, catching up with each other and getting their books signed by the now "celebrity" cookiers.
After the meet-and-greet wound down, several of us headed next door to the Olive Garden for dinner. I met Risa of RH. BAKE, who came all the way from Nagoya, Japan for CookieCon! So much fun meeting all of the people that I’ve been following on Facebook and Instagram.
The days are full and tiring at CookieCon . . . ready to bag some ZZZs and start again tomorrow.
Barb Florin, aka BAKRGAL, has been interested in both baking and art since she can remember. Barb studied art in college, later graduated from pastry school in San Francisco, and, between jobs in corporate America, dabbled in her own baking business. However, it was only within the last few years that she became involved with decorated cookies. In addition to finally finding a way to combine her art and baking interests in one medium, she's met so many members of the cookie community who share a philosophy of creativity, inspiration, and generosity. In Barb's words: "It’s really a fun and fulfilling thing to be a part of!" While at CookieCon: Barb will be doing a "Day in the Life of Barb" series of blog posts that track her CookieCon fun, starting with the highlights of her pre-CookieCon course with Team Cookie and culminating with a recap of the Sugar Show.
Photo credit: Barb Florin
Note: This article expresses the views of the author, and not necessarily those of this site, its owners, its administrators, or its employees. To read more CookieCon 2015 updates from our special Cookie Connection Correspondents Team, click here, and for CookieCon event photos, click here.
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