Sylvia Sherrill, left, owner of Sherrill's Catering, Cakes and Flowers, talks about various decorative options with a soon to be mother-of-the-bride Michelle Bowman during the Formal Affair expo at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Staff File Photo by Margaret Fenton* Name: Sylvia Sherrill
* Position: Owner, Sherrill's Cakes, Catering and Flowers
* Favorite part of the job: "The creativity of it. It's something different every time. I became known around Chattanooga because for a long time, no one else did cake art. I don't know how to say no. I did all the cake art long before "Cake Boss" or "Ace of Cakes." I've made all the sugar flowers and hand-painted cakes. I've painted china patterns on cakes. It's different things all the time - working with chocolate.
"I just finished a replica of First Presbyterian Church in December. I'm self-taught. When I was a kid, I took art at the High Museum in Atlanta. I won all the prizes for hand sculpture work. It's a wonderful job. It's very interesting; it's a happy time in everyone's life."
* Biggest challenge of the job: Trying to fill clients' wishes when they want her to create a cake she's never made before, such as a building. The construction, she said, takes many hours. "Of course, my husband makes me figure it out, we work as a team." Clients bring in an idea and then they have to figure out how to pull it off. "But that," she said, "is what makes the job so interesting ... the challenge of something new."
* What she's learned: You can do all things if you just put your mind to it. I never could say I couldn't do that. You can do anything if you want to. It might not be perfect, but you can do it.
* How to make a career of it: You have to want to do what you do. You have to enjoy your work. You have to study, read, welcome trial and error. You could go work for someone who could train you. You have to have some artistic ability.