Meet Isa Karina Vidal | Fondant Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Isa Karina Vidal and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isa Karina, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?

I remember being assigned to create a copy of a coloring book page during art class in elementary school. Even then, my artistic abilities and concentration seemed to be quite developed. Art-making came easily to me and I excelled at it. The better my copies the more I enjoyed making and the more I enjoyed making the better my copies.

Needless to say, artmaking has always been a constant in my life. I was always drawing, painting, sculpting, and later even pursued photography. My mother always encouraged it and her support was the single greatest push for me to stick with it. One of the most vivid examples of that was a Christmas present from her while I was in high school of $300 worth of art supplies. Having my own tools at home to create really set the tone for the kind of work flow I grew to love and seek out. I had a space to create and I was no longer copying. She feathered and fostered an environment of personal joy and passion with her endless support.

As the daughter of an immigrant, my model for work was for sustenance only. Without knowing any English, in a country that wasn’t her own my mother worked in a factory most of my life, but as with most immigrant parents, she wanted something more for me. So, even with her salary as a factory worker, as a dishwasher, as a daycare provider she managed to send me to a private school and then later helped me pay for art school.

Pursuing an art career was a departure from that model of work. Work for my mother served a purpose outside of itself: it fed a family, it built a home, and it paid for the education she never had. In essence my choice to pursue art was a deliberate and rebellious act against work solely for sustenance, but also it was the fulfillment of a dream of an immigrant mother for her daughter.

Together we have created a path for me that allows me a life where the work I do is an end in itself. The pleasure of creating art for myself and sustaining myself with that art has been the gift and opportunity from my mother and I value this dream more than anything else.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I was trained as a painter. It was during my time in art school that I realized my pace and sensitivity were not the right fit for the art world. I could spend 4 years on a single painting. And if I didn’t feel “inspired” I could spend months and sometimes years without touching a paint brush. I had sort of resigned myself to looking at other career options.

When I discovered cake as a medium more than 10 years ago, I fell in love. Cake challenged and fulfilled me in new and exciting ways. Quite frankly, it has never lost its luster for me. Every cake I create teaches me new things. And every discovery builds on the last. It might sound over the top, but I am obsessed with cake. I am always inspired by cake. I am always talking about cake. I am always thinking about cake. Whether its cake created by me or another artist I admire, cake is at the center of my world. Unfortunately, creating cake art and running a cake business require very different skill sets.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for me on my cake journey has been the demand of juggling clients along with the baking, designing, creating, and delivering a fragile edible work of art. I partnered with other friends to share the load of client relations and production. Not once, not twice, but three times. After three business partnerships that didn’t quite work out, I thought a cake business was out of my reach. I had just about lost hope and even considered myself to have failed as an entrepreneur.

I had experience in every aspect of the cake business from responding to emails to conducting cake tastings to decorating wedding cakes for 300 people and yet I just couldn’t get the entrepreneur thing right. It wasn’t until we were hit with a pandemic that my vision started to clear. As I started to see every other business pivot, my own mind started to shift from creating huge celebration cakes to the potentiality of e-commerce.

This is how I came to develop the concept of Craft, an online shop that focuses on creating fondant cake toppers that are made to order. With big events and social gatherings put on hold, my day job as a cake decorator left me temporarily unemployed and somewhat lost. With no clear end in sight, I considered a way to build something online. At that point, we didn’t know how much longer parties would be postponed and without parties, big elaborate cakes seemed to be a thing of the past. It became very clear that my particular set of fondant skills could be put to use in a much more intimate way.

Being trained as an artist gave me the knowledge and experience to create toppers that are not easy to come by. It was easy to recognize that I had been sitting on a skill set that was rare and undiscovered. I became fluent in sculpting with fondant and soon enough had a solution and trick for every fondant challenge I was presented with. I went to work developing original character designs for my fondant toppers and building a brand online to grow an audience that would eventually watch me open my own online shop.

I started to sell my fondant toppers in July of this year. And wouldn’t you know it, with my first month of sales I was able to cover all my personal expenses. In the months that have followed I have had a steady flow of orders that has truly stunned and humbled me. Somehow, in the midst of this pandemic I realized I could still help people celebrate their special day and their loved ones with these little moments of joy.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love being out in nature and my favorite place to enjoy is White Rock Lake by the Arboretum. It never disappoints and is particularly beautiful at sunset.

I also love a good meal and every place I’ve tried in Deep Ellum has been excellent. It has incredible places to eat and fun places to have a beer and listen to live music. The area is colorful and artsy and good for nighttime fun.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There’s no doubt in my mind that the greatest factor in my success is the encouragement, love and support that my mother always gave me. Even today, she’s our there mailing packages for me, running out to the cake supply store, and making my meals so I don’t have to interrupt my work flow to cook. Her dedication to my flourishing has meant everything. Truly, my success is hers as well.

Website: Craftsugarstudio.com

Instagram: @craftsugarstudio

Other: Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CraftSugarStudioShop