Big, BIG news to share! If you missed the big announcement yesterday, Chef Nicholas has collaborated with Katy Sue Designs to create four autumn and winter themed molds! Here is a quote from yesterday's press release:

With our Grand Holiday Open House just a few weeks away, I know that you are all looking forward to seeing all of the fun tools that Chef Nicholas, Chef Reva, and Chef Tunde will be sharing in their demos. Usually our Open House events turn into a bit of a shopping frenzy. But, never fear! I am here to share an easy tool that will allow you to make a list of all the cake decorating, cookie decorating, or sweets making tools that your heart desires!

I am excited to tell you all about the WISHLIST feature on our website! You can send the list to someone who may need help giving you a gift, or you can search for a friend's wishlist to surprise them with a gift, or use it to save items you'd like to purchase later. The ISAC wishlist is very easy to use, and I am going to show you how! So... who's ready to make some wishes?! 

First of all, you need to go to our website; if you are reading this blog, chances are you are on our website right this very moment! Just in case, it is www.nicholaslodge.com. Click on the shop button, and then once the shop page opens, you will click on Wishlist at the top.

Boy oh boy. Chef Nicholas is always a busy guy. This year, this fall specifically, Chef Nicholas is taking busy to a whole new level. Beginning on September 21, Chef Nicholas has not had a single day off. And he still has so much to do before the end of the year! I thought maybe I would just give you all a glimpse into Chef Nicholas' schedule!

I love unicorns. I have always loved unicorns. I cannot express how excited I was when unicorns became cool and fashionable. When I found out that Chef Nicholas was developing a mold for unicorn horns and ears, I knew that whatever design he was planning was going to be amazing! I was not disappointed! Chef Nicholas designed a simple, yet completely adorable unicorn that can easily be used on any sweet treat you have in mind!

Here in Atlanta, the weather has been warm and beautiful. It can be difficult to remember that it's fall and no longer summer. At ISAC, there are many things to remind us that autumn is here. The most fun and exciting is our Grand Holiday Open House! As many of you know, each November we open our two classrooms and host wonderful demonstrations by Chef Nicholas and an uber talented special guest instructor. This year is no different! On Saturday, November 11, and Sunday, November 12, Chef Nicholas and Tunde Dugantsi will each be sharing their amazing skills with all of our guests. YAY!

Last Thursday, Chef Nicholas shared some exciting news in a live broadcast on Facebook. As Renshaw Americas Brand Ambassador, Chef Nicholas is privy to lots of exciting news before the rest of us get to hear about it. For a while, Chef Nicholas and Renshaw Americas had been working together to expand and improve their rainbow of available colors. When Chef Nicholas became Brand Ambassador, Renshaw Americas had just developed their line of rolled fondant and gumpaste exclusively for an American market; red, black, yellow, green, navy blue, purple, and pink were seven colors available in the Renshaw Ready to Roll Fondant collection. Well, things just got a lot more colorful! (oh, and who wants to win a prize?!)

This year not only marks the 25th anniversary of Nicholas Lodge's International Sugar Art Collection, it also marks the 25th anniversary of another tradition that the ISAC family holds near and dear: the Omni Grove Park Inn National Gingerbread House Competition! 

A few weeks ago, I shared that Chef Nicholas will be attending two different cake shows in October: Show Me Sweets Edible Art and Cake Competition (October 21) in St. Louis, MO, and Canada's Baking and Sweets Show Canada's Baking and Sweets Show (October 29) in Toronto, Canada. The sweets communities of the Midwest and our northern neighbors are pretty lucky. Well, I am here to tell you that the good people of Orlando, Florida are in for some Chef Nicholas awesome-ness as well! Chef Nicholas will be attending The Americas Cake Fair October 13-15, 2017!

I am so excited to tell everyone that the 2018 SoFlo Cake & Candy Expo tickets are now on pre-sale!! Why am I so excited? As many of you know, Chef Nicholas has been lead judge for the competitions for years, and Renshaw Americas has been a big sponsor of the event. So, the ISAC family is always excited for SoFlo! 

Tomorrow is September first. The year is beginning to wind down now that the lazy summer days are at an end. Chef Nicholas will only be teaching three more classes at our location in Georgia this year. Not only are there three Nicholas Lodge classes left, there are also only three classes left taught by visiting instructors in Studio B! Don't fret, there is still time to sign up for a class with us at ISAC before the year is out! 

This October Chef Nicholas is thrilled to be attending not one, but TWO fantastic cake and sweets shows: the Show Me Sweets Edible Art and Cake Competition and Canada's Baking and Sweets Show. This will be the first time that Chef Nicholas attends either of these shows, and is excited to bring his skills and expertise to the attendees. Chef Nicholas will be offering seminars at both shows, and the best news? Chef Nicholas seminars are free!*

Summer is coming to a close. The busy summer wedding season is wrapping up, and depending on where you live, the kids are either back at school, or will be in the next couple of weeks. The days will soon become cooler and longer as fall begins. Why not sharpen some of your cake decorating skills, as the summer rush slows down? Chef Nicholas has a lot of fantastic classes coming up this fall, and he would love to see you in class! 

Chef Joseph Cumm is coming back to ISAC! Last February, Chef Joe taught an amazing mini-chocolate showpiece class. This fall he's back to teach Introduction to Chocolate and Bon Bons! YUM!

Sweet Fest Business Convention is back in Atlanta, September 21-24, 2017! This is not your every ay cake show. Sweet Fest Con is aimed at helping aspiring and established professionals in the baking and sweets industry! Whether you make cakes, cookies, or candies, Sweet Fest Con can give you valuable tools to start, grow, and manage your business successfully!

At the 2017 Sweet Fest Con, Chef Nicholas was honored to be one of the seminar presenters; his discussion topic was branding and sponsorship. No surprise there- Chef Nicholas is the Brand Ambassador for Renshaw Americas! As one of the 2017 Sweet Fest Business Convention sponsors, Renshaw Americas is pulling out all of the stops! EACH AND EVERY conference attendee will be participating in a Renshaw Academy hands-on class!! Playing with all of the exciting Renshaw Americas products? Um, yes please!

The Renshaw Love Color Chart is amazing. So amazing that I featured it in last week's blog. Well, I decided to come back today, (yes, before our normal Thursday post), to give you all a gift. In this blog post you will find downloadable PDFs for the entire Renshaw Love Color Chart!! YAY! But wait, there is more! 

You will also find the 2017 Renshaw Product Guide. This handy dandy little book showcases all the products you know and love from Renshaw, but also introduces some beautiful, bright new colors and tool! The Renshaw Product Guide also includes some cake decorating tips that I'm sure you all will find helpful.

2017 Renshaw Americas Product Guide

Color Mixing Chart

I hope you are all able to download both files, and use them to their full potential! There is a wealth of information here, and I don't want anyone to miss out! 

Sweetly yours, 

Stephanie

WINNER of the 2017 Golden Tier Educator of the Year Award

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award.

Chef Nicholas, Renshaw Americas' Brand Ambassador, has been in Liverpool, England all week. He, and the nine Brand Ambassador Partners, have been having an amazing time visiting the Renshaw headquarters! On Monday they took a fabulous tour of the Renshaw Factory, seeing where all the amazing products are made (not just for us, but for the royal family as well!!). They also got to spend some time at the state of the art Renshaw Academy!

Well, I didn't think it was fair for those lucky ducks to get all the Renshaw love. Nope. So I wanted to share some of my own Renshaw goodness with you, including their new, and absolutely AMAZING, color guide! 

Monday marked Chef Nicholas Lodge's International Sugar Art Collection's 25th Anniversary. Chef Nicholas, Scott, and the rest of the ISAC family are incredibly proud of this achievement. Thank you to everyone who sent flowers, cards, texts, messages, and came to celebrate with us last weekend and Monday. The outpouring of support and well-wishes meant so very much to Chef Nicholas and Scott. ISAC is here because of their hard work and dedication. They have dedicated themselves to bettering the sugar arts world, and I think they have done just that. Scott asked that I share some of the photos from this weekend here on the blog. I hope you all enjoy!

Thank you again to everyone who helped make the ISAC 25th Anniversary weekend a great success! We, the entire ISAC family, truly appreciate all the love and support our students, clients, friends, and family have shown these past 25 years. Thank you for helping Chef Nicholas and Scott to this place! 

ISAC 25th Anniversary Fun Fact: In 2007, Chef Nicholas and Scott host the first Spring Open House event!

Sweetly yours, 

Stephanie

Don't just follow our blog! Follow Chef Lodge on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter!

WINNER of the 2017 Golden Tier Educator of the Year Award

Winner of the 2015 Craftsy Blogger Award for Best Craftsy Cake Decorating Instructor Blog

Chef Nicholas Lodge: 2015 Finalist for the Cake Masters Cake Hero Award. 

Hello friends! I needed to add a correction to the blog!

In-house, Chef Nicholas Lodge classes for the remainder of 2017 are included in the 25% off sale. To secure the 25% off special pricing, you must register for the classes in person at our store, or over the phone: (800)-662-8925.

In addition, the International Sugar Art Collection 25th Anniversary - Part 1 video is now working correctly on the blog. Below the video you find a link to International Sugar Art Collection 25th - Part 2. 

In just two days ISAC will celebrating our 25th Anniversary with a party at our Norcorss, Georgia retail gallery and school! There will be giveaways and prizes, a raffle, and... drum roll please.....

25% OFF THE ENTIRE STORE*!!!

*In stock items only, no speical orders, no layaway. Applies to physical store location only, excludes items on website. In-house Nicholas Lodge classes ARE included in the sale; must call to register for the special pricing.**

Well. I have been mentioning for months that the Nicholas Lodge International Sugar Art Collection is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year. On July 17, 1992, Chef Nicholas and Scott opened the doors to ISAC, and here we are 25 years later ready to celebrate this momentous occasion. I mentioned last week that only one third of small business make it past the 10 year mark; only one quarter make it past the 15 year mark. Well, ISAC blew past 15 years TEN years ago! This is a very big deal to the entire ISAC family. All of our hard work and dedication has always been for our loyal fan base. 

Because ISAC would not have made it this far without our students, customers, clients, friends, and families, Chef Nicholas and Scott are hosting an anniversary party at our Norcross, GA retail gallery and school! There will be yummy refreshments, and some fun prizes and giveaways!