An Interview with Carla Rodrigues from Pepper Posh

Carla Rodrigues from Pepper Posh Cakes

BeTeamRed is a collaboration of 200 sugar artists from around the world focusing on World AIDS Day.  The collaboration launches on December 1st, i.e. World AIDS Day.  As part of the countdown to the launch, for the next few days I’m going to be interviewing sugar artists who are new to collaborations.  Here is my interview with Carla Rodrigues from Pepper Posh Cakes

1.Tell me about yourself. How long have you been decorating? Do you decorate professionally? 

All it started in December 2013 when I was with a depression and sought an activity to help me overcome my status. For some time ago I saw on facebook pictures and cake design workshops ads and thought it was the activity that could help me.

So, I decided to do an initiation workshop and Wilton level 1. A few days later I made my first cake design cake, the cake for christmas party school of my child and I never stopped! Invested in  more training from the master degree of PME to master classes and workshops in several areas with national and international sugar artists.

Pepper Posh name comes up in February 2014. I wanted a name that could reflect a little oh who I am but nothing sounded okay. Until jokingly I took in my husband’s last name, Pimentel which is similar to pepper in portuguese – Pepper is a spice that makes the difference, has an intense, powerful and long lasting flavor. An extra condimenting representing exceeded expectations – and joined “Posh” as meaning of tasteful, ending a name with meaning sought.

I started just for fun but then I started entering contests and received some awards highlighting silver in Cake International (small decorative exhibit, March 2015, London, UK), second place in the “Cake by Night” ( “Glamour and Fashion”, April 2015, Vilamoura, Portugal), silver and gold in Cake International (small decorative exhibit, November 2015, Birmingham, UK). So, currently I work as a professional and I also teach.

2.Tell me about your piece. What was your inspiration? What is your piece made from and how did you make it? 

I’m passionate about modeling and wanted to work with it and used fondant to do all the models.

I thought seriously about how I would feel if I had AIDS transmit to my son, I would have a broken heart and that’s what I intend to convey with this piece. It was also the message which I sought the images that inspired me, using also my imagination.

3.Tell me about being part of a collaboration for the first time. What are some of the challenges that you faced? What did you enjoy most about being in this collaboration? 

This is my first real collaboration and I have some more coming up for next year. There are a broad range of reasons why I said yes to them, from wanting to make the difference, believing in the cause and purely for fun.

Be invited to a collaboration is, in itself, a sense of excitement and nervousness. Am I able? So many fabulous prossifionais, will I be at their level? Will I be successful?

At the same time, if they invited me it is because they like what I do, because they believe that somehow I will be an asset to this group.

This group is full of great people, not only as professionals but also as human beings. Are always ready to support those who need it and it is an honor to live with them all, even if only virtually.

The most difficult was to decide what to do and what message I intended to spend, because these people make us believe that we can do whatever we dream and imagine.

Please click on the links below to contribute to The Global Fund to support their war on HIV/AIDS , TB, and Malaria in countries in need.

GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/beteamred

BonfireFund T Shirts: https://www.bonfirefunds.com/unsa-beteamred