Meet Our Cake Decorators!
We have a remarkable staff of incredibly talented and passionate cake decorators… and we would love to introduce you to some of them!
Autumn
I have only professionally been cake decorating since September of 2018. I would decorate cakes for fun, inspired by my favorite cooking and baking shows. I always watched them growing up and thought, “I want to do that, too!”
Now I am doing my dream job every day! My forté is quirky and whimsical cakes, like me! Anything from a garden full of gnomes to a robot playing football. I’m excited to continue expanding my artistic abilities. One day, I’d love to own my own bakery!
Jonathan
I’m not a typical decorator who went to school or had lots of training. I’m all self-taught. I started off as a cashier, but I’ve always had a creative side so I jumped at the chance to work in a bakery. Four years later, I’m designing and decorating countless cakes for every guest that walks in! I even did a video for our YouTube channel! I love creating cakes that make your day or event even more special!
Lisa
I was born and raised in Central Minnesota. My daughter, Shawma, and I love the MN State Fair. It’s where my partner, Steve proposed to me, right in front of the Midway. I decorated a cake that has all my favorite life memories, including the MN State Fair, becoming a mother and a grandmother and even my Graphic Arts education at SCTCC which helped develop my creative ability that I used in all of the cakes I decorate. Custom designed cakes are a fantastic way to celebrate milestones and memories for yourself or for someone important in your life!
Jill
My entire life I have always loved creating art projects and craft items. It has always made me happy and kept me busy. Cake decorating allows me to do both of those for my job so I absolutely love it! My most requested and favorite cake to design is a birch tree stump with a fall theme that has colorful leaves. This cake also comes in a winter theme that has pine bows all over it that is very popular.
The best part of my job is seeing the happiness and excitement when a guest pick up their cake. Sometimes, they even cry tears of joy! It always makes me so happy to see their reaction. I once did a military cake for a women’s organization and when they came to pick up the cake they looked at it and started crying! I thought I did something wrong but they were just beyond thrilled with how it turned out! I love seeing the reaction of our guests when they pick up a cake I’ve created for them!
Martha
I like to create cakes with bright colors usually with flowers but my most requested cake ordered is the Game Station cake. I didn’t go to school for cake decorating but did take many art classes in high school. My creativity comes from the theme a guest has chosen for their party. I gather ideas and then put my own fun twist to it. I love that I’ve worked here long enough now that I get to see the local kids and families grow, often reminiscing about past cakes I’ve made for them. I’ve created wedding cakes for some and then have had the privilege of creating gender reveal cakes and 1st birthday cakes as their family expands. Reveal cakes are fun especially when the parents don’t even know. I’ve had the experience numerous times of opening the sealed envelope from the sonogram being the first person to know the gender. It’s hard to contain my excitement! I love helping make our guests celebrations even more memorable with a custom-designed cake!!
Ana
I have been decorating cakes for 12 years at Coborn’s. My love for cake decorating began when I was hired to work in cake production at the Cash Wise bakery in Waite Park. During my breaks, I would watch the cake decorators ice plain cakes and turn them into beautiful cakes that were too pretty to eat. Fortunately for me, a job opportunity opened up at Centennial a few years later, where I would meet Nellie, who would train me into the wonderful world of cake decorating. My favorite cakes to decorate are those with floral designs inspired by nature, and vibrant cakes that are full of colors. Nothing makes my day like seeing customers pick up their cakes and the smiles on their faces when they see them for the first time!
Kelly Jo
I have been decorating cakes for over 20 years. One of my first cakes I created was a Holly Hobbie design which I entered into the county fair at age 13. From there I moved on to creating roses that looked like cabbages and writing that you couldn’t even read! As I became more skilled, my love for cake decorating became my profession. I was the first cake decorator that was hired at Riverside Coborn’s in Sartell back in 1987. I took some time off to raise my family but returned to the cake decorating world to continue my passion and here I am today!
Melanie
I grew up watching my mom decorate cakes at home for family and friends. I started working for Coborn’s in 1994 at the central bakery and learned from many great bakers and decorators. I became Bakery/Deli manager at Coborn’s 5th Avenue store and continued decorating cakes. When the Coborn’s Cooper store opened I became a full-time cake decorator. After having a baby, I transferred to Coborn’s in Clearwater as part-time cake decorator. I have taught many cake decorating classes for local grade schools, 4-H programs, U of M extension service and even seniors in nursing homes. I enjoy sharing all that I’ve learned about cake decorating and continue to learn new things from my students. I am passionate about bakery and hope to encourage and inspire new decorators!
Erica
I’ve been a Coborn’s cake decorator for eight and a half years. I have always been an artsy person, taking a lot of art classes in high school, and particularly love arts that involved working with my hands. When I first started decorating cakes, I found an immediate passion. Since working here, my work has been featured in Minnesota Brides magazine, I’ve won Gold Awards in the Upper Midwest Bakers Convention and have built a loyal guest following. While I am skilled in fondant cakes, I have a passion for creating beautiful cakes out of buttercream icing. One of my specialties is caricature cakes. I just love taking a photo of the guest of honor of a celebration and turning it into a caricature of them on their cake. I am always building my skills and would love helping make your celebration even more memorable!
Amanda
I have been a cake decorator for over 7 years and four of those years have been with Coborn’s. Some of my favorite designs to create are tiered cakes with rosettes on the side. I find rosettes add a very beautiful and elegant touch to cakes. The rosette design is a request I get quite often especially during wedding season because it seems to go great with any theme. The basket weave is another design that I love creating on cakes. It really is a great spring time element and when spring comes around it seems like I go crazy with this design. I can do so much with the basket weave technique and its gorgeous for any event – especially a wedding.
