e-Portfolio

Every artist has a tale to tell and so do I.

My name is Anjali Tambde and being born to an artist mother, I was naturally inclined to several forms of art and craft. She was my inspiration since childhood so much so that I made my first painting at the age of 3 when other children of my age managed to only scribble.

My love for art and craft grew with my age.

I entered all the drawing competitions in school and at state level and won most of them. In the process I learned to respect every win and strive to become better.

I topped in Fashion Designing at Nirmala Niketan College in Mumbai and took up the teaching job at the same college. Little did I know that the real struggles are waiting to begin...

After marriage, I had to leave my Job and left to London with my husband and my 3 months old baby.

Managing a baby and the house in a new country with no friends and family and absolutely no domestic help was the toughest task I had faced. It was the most difficult year as the new country brings its own set of challenges when you are on your own.

However I  managed to learn more about miniature craft using polymer clay, sugarcraft and few other ideas.

This was going to be turning point for me as it was going to turn out something bigger and better in future.

I started making miniature human figurines using polymer clay for my friends and family.

For a few years I kept working on different techniques for creating miniature figurines using the knowledge I had in painting, sculpting and even Fashion Designing.

In 2009 I moved to Ireland and kept working on making miniatures using polymer clay. I made miniatures of humans, animals, monuments and different other objects to improve my skills.

Having spent months in learning and practicing clay modelling I decided to open my own business in Ireland to sell handmade figurines for weddings and other occasions.

It turned out to be a good decision as in less than one year I started getting orders not only from Ireland but UK, France, Australia, U.S., Dubai and several other countries.

Global Cake Toppers is now known for its premium quality cake toppers and has delivered hundreds of handmade personalised cake toppers all over the world.

Becoming entrepreneur and to make uniquely beautiful creations to bring smile and joy to thousands of people was a dream come true but there was still something missing.

The commercial aspect of my work was secondary to me as I wanted to explore and challenge my skills more.

I came to know about Irish Sugarcraft show which is a national competition for cake decorating art where artist from all over Ireland compete.

In 2016 I participated in five different categories in the show and won a prize in all of them. In doing so one of my entries was unanimously adjudged as the Best in Show among 300 entries.

This was my first international win and that too in my first participation of the competition.

After six months I participated in the World's biggest cake competition show "Cake International" in Birmingham.

My entry "Fantasy Flowers" won the competition beating more than 1400 entries among 30 categories from all over the world.

It was an ecstatic feeling as at world stage this was my first competition and I had won the World's biggest competition.

I became the first Indian origin & from Ireland to win the competition and my name was included in the hall of fame in Cake International website.

Participating in these various competitions encouraged me to trade unknown waters and meet different but like minded creative people across the globe. Winning these prestigious awards created an international identity for me and for my craft. The craft that I learnt from my mother at childhood and from the teachers back in India now made me an international artist. The hard work without fear of losing is still is the best old method for success and as an Indian it is a value that is deeply instilled in us from the early life.

Life has come full circle as I am now an official Judge at Cake International, UK and guide the upcoming artists to achieve the perfection they are striving for. I will miss participating in these competitions as now I am a judge and not a competitor. But I am connected to this beautiful world of creativity where all are equal regardless of gender, religion, nationality etc. and only the creativity and perfection wins.