About Suzi
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Suzi was born in 1975 in Reading, Berkshire. From a very young age, Suzi had a real interest in art and music and would spend her time either playing the trumpet or painting portraits and attending life drawing classes.
She also had a love of languages (speaking fluent Spanish by the age of 18) and spent several summers in Spain drawing Spanish people within their communities.
Her parents installed a strong work ethic so Suzi always worked to save for art materials or to buy a new trumpet! Aged 15, Suzi moved to Bath, Somerset - a place she will always love and where she spent many a weekend sitting by a lamp post sketching what she could see around her.
Having decided at 16, to go and see Europe with her best friend, she inhaled the art and culture of other European countries which has a huge influence on her. Then, age 18, she decided to go to India not returning for nearly 4 months. She fell in love with the colour and vibrancy - something that still exists in the colour Suzi uses in her cakes today.
In 1993, Suzi was lucky enough to be offered a place at Oxford University where she studied Oriental Studies. Her thesis, of which a copy still exists in the Bodlien library, was all about ancient Egyptian art - and in particular patterning and design.
However, a chance meeting at a party in 1995 lead to a change of career direction into the field of law. In 1996, Suzi graduated Oxford with a 1st class Honours Degree before heading off to Law School. Having won several academic prizes at law school, Suzi then headed into the City thinking that she would be there forever and long gone was her true passion - the Arts.
Suzi worked for 11 years in the City and the long hours gave her little time for hobbies (except running - she used to run 20 km before work each morning!). Those who have met Suzi will recognise instantly that this is where the addiction to Haribo sweets started as they were packed with quick energy! Travel also became her passion and she visited places such as Japan, Africa, the USA and Europe whenever she could.
In 2001, Suzi met her (now) husband who shared a love of the arts and culture. The "Witt" in "Pretty Witty Cakes" comes from her husband's surname! In 2007, they were married and the interest Suzi showed in her own wedding cake design (made by Linda Fripp) was perhaps an early clue that she might end up starting her own cake business (albeit Suzi went a little overboard on the size of the cake - there were only 82 guests and the cake could have fed hundreds!!!).
In 2008, Suzi had her first child and although she temporarily returned to work, everything changed in 2010. Suzi turned her back on the City, perhaps as a result of having children, Suzi decided she was tired of doing a job she was not passionate about and which she found boring, so she left. It was a scary move as Suzi went from a secure salary to nothing - with no plans, no idea what she was going to do - and a little 1 year old on her hands. Then a few days later, she found out she was pregnant with No. 2! That was the beginning of Pretty Witty Cakes which was established in 2010.
Suzi's sole aim was to run a business which she enjoyed and which would allow her to work from home and around her children. She always said that no matter what happened with Pretty Witty Cakes, she would focus on her and her employees being family friendly. Even though the business has grown substantially and requires commercial premises, Suzi still frequently works from home.
The combination of a love of art and time at home with a young baby and being pregnant with number 2 meant Suzi began to bake. And bake, and bake. Then she learnt to decorate cakes and within months was receiving orders for birthday and wedding cakes.
In 2010, she came first in an international cupcake competition and people began to ask her to teach them. So she did - on the condition she could do so at home. Her first classes were with children and by 2011, she was teaching adults.
From 2011 to date, Suzi has taught thousands of people to make cupcakes and cakes. She is totally passionate about baking and decorating cakes and also about helping others who have gone down the same route as her and want to change career, whether due to children, not liking their job, illness or redundancy.
By the end of 2011, Suzi was working 110 hour weeks teaching up to 5 classes a week with just one assistant. It was too much for 1 person. That is when she decided to ask others to join her at Pretty Witty Cakes.
Pretty Witty Cakes now has over 40 online tutorial tutors - all offering their own skills, passion and enthusiasm. Many of those tutors have become great friends of Suzi. Like Suzi, all the tutors here have one thing in common - a real passion about cakes, baking, food photography and teaching others.
In April 2011, Suzi also had an idea about filming Online Tutorials. But she was so busy she pushed this back a year until April 2012. In September 2012, a holding site for the new Pretty Witty Cakes Online Tutorials was launched while the main site was worked on by a 10 strong team of film crew, sound technicians, IT team, tutors, assistants and Suzi.In 2014 Suzi published her first book based on fondant modelling. Suzi and pretty Witty Cakes have one many awards for the business and been noted for their excellent customer service.
By Spring 2013, after 1000s of hours of work, this new website was launched. With 1000s of members around the world based in 58 countries, Suzi hopes that the passion and love of cakes will mean people from all over the world can help and inspire each other.