Cake Pops Like You've Never Seen Before. Kiss and Bake Up Puts Pop Culture On A Stick.

above: Zombie cake pops

You may have heard about the latest baking trend called "cake pops". Following closely on the heels of the cupcake craze, cake pops are a mouthful of cake coated in fondant or hard frosting and placed on a stick. Recipes for them are all over Facebook, Pinterest and food blogs and many bakeries and individuals now sell them. But no one makes cake pops like Sarah Downham of Kiss And Bake Up.



above: Mermaid, cherry blossom and Star Wars Bantha Raider cake pops

Prepare to be blown away. Sarah Downham doesn't just make Cake Pops, she makes sculptural desserts on a stick that are nothing short of art. The 'rock chic' baker of equally beautiful cupcakes and whoopie pies lovingly hand crafts each cake pop by herself with a process of hand modelling, carving, coating, hand painting and painstakingly adding texture.



above: Dragon and Antique Clock cake pops

Most cake pops are spheres of cake, coated in colors and rolled in sprinkles, with the occasional 3D flourish. These are way beyond that. Sarah sculpts cake pops in the form of Pop Culture characters and trends. Star Wars, Tattoo-Inspired, Pin Up Girls, Zombies, Day of The Dead, Animals, Birds and yes, traditionally romantic hearts and flowers, too.





above: Day of The Dead, Star Wars and Wizard of Oz and Alien Face Hugger cake pops

The results are so beautiful, it would be hard to eat them.

Sarah is impressively prolific and has so many great cake pops (not to mention, her stunning cupcakes) to choose from that these are only a small example of her tasteful talent.

Star Wars Cake Pops:






Pin Up Girls Cake Pops:


Tattoo-Inspired Heart Cake Pops:



Octopus, Fish, Birds, Frogs and Wildlife Cake Pops:










Tiki Torch Cake Pops:

Lucky Cat Cake Pop:

Floral Cake Pops:





She also makes custom cake pops from photographs, pets, kids, flowers and the like. Her impressive desserts have been used for movie premieres, special parties and other red carpet occasions.

Custom Pet Cake Pops:



I can't think of a better dessert to serve at parties, weddings, business functions or any celebration. They keep well, they are not messy, they are not too much food and they can be taken home to show them off.



Kiss & Bake Up is run by Sarah and assisted by her partner Darren in Exeter, Devon. It was launched early 2010 and has since grown into the bakery it is known for today. Full of original ideas and concepts, top notch decorating and baking with flair, and a firm grasp on today's tastes in culture and style.


above: some of Kiss And Bake Up's amazing cupcakes.

Sarah works full time in the bakery, and has modified her house to support the ever growing and evolving demand of KABU.

Kiss And Bake Up supports a local produce and trade, and bakes with Exeter based farms delicious free range eggs from Lucy at Devon Eggs and butter from Topshams own Country Cheeses, and is proud to be among the foundations of local businesses of Devon supporting one another.


above: they sell this great t-shirt, too!

Kiss And Bake Up

More Space Invaders Watches With A Price Tag That Is Outta This World from Romain Jerome.

The watchmaker Romain Jerome is best known for his luxury watches that incorporate the DNA of legendary things and landmarks. Inspired and paying tribute to historical events of the last century, each watch integrates the DNA of a legend such as the Titanic (made with rusted steel from the wreckage), The Moon (made with actual moondust), The Statue of Liberty (a bronze bezel which recalls the Statue of Liberty's crown) and EYJAFJALLAJÖKULL (made with Volcanic ash and black lava rock). Each timepiece comes with a certificate of authenticity issued by a third party. As one would expect, these are very highly priced.

Now, he has collaborated with legendary video game maker, TAITO, to release his second round of limited edition SPACE INVADERS watches. Last year he introduced a white and multi-colored version (shown below).


above: Romain Jerome's first Space Invaders watches were available in multi-colored and an all white version coated with Superluminova so it glows in the dark


Now, the new SPACE INVADERS WATCHES come in four colors with a special blue one for Paris store Colette. The price is over $15,000 for the watch. Why? Read on.

Having inherited the highly distinctive case of the Moon Invader collection (a round shape inside a cambered 46 mm square), the SPACE INVADERS watches have kept the same steel coalesced with fragments of Apollo 11. The four functional ball-and-socket joints on the corners of the case are shaped like the legs of the lunar landing modules of the American lunar missions. These extremely sophisticated components mounted on axles anchored in the case hold the lugs of the rubber straps and enable the watch to adjust to all kinds of wrist sizes.



Embodying another tangible token of the space age symbolised by the SPACE INVADERS collection, a dedicated plate made of Moon Silver RJ – a silver alloy with an extremely low oxidation rate incorporating moon rocks – appears on the stellar-patterned back of the watch and reproduces the lunar surface.




The dial is very complex and consists of three layers: the first two are beadblasted and the "straight graining" gives a pixelated aspect to the third layer. Measuring around 3.5 mm each, the SPACE INVADERS are meticulously machined one by one, applied by hand and lacquered in various colours. These pixel invaders are a playful nod that transforms watches into inspired "talking pieces" capable of creating a distinct sense of affinity with those who wear them, and who revel in the chance to thumb their noses at classic watchmaking conventions.

The first release of the new collection is especially made for Colette, the über hip store and gallery in Paris.




The pixelated figures (aliens) are the emblematic blue color of the store for a limited edition of eight pieces, only available in the trendy boutique. Buy it here

The SPACE INVADERS are available in four other colours (red, green, purple and yellow) and have started their incursion in all RJ-Romain Jerome points of sale worldwide. Limited editions of eight pieces per color, five new colorful legends have made their entrance at RJ-Romain Jerome.






Check out the two-part video of the watch being made:



The price? $15,368.43 (£11,753.12) (€14,900)
Maison Romain Jerome

An Up-Close Look At Damien Hirst's Spin Flag For The Olympic Closing Ceremonies.

Artist Damien Hirst’s giant interpretation of the union jack flag filled the entire floor of the Olympic Stadium as part of the magnificent celebration of the arts in Britain.



In recognition of his central role to British art, a specially commissioned work by Hirst was included as part of the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games. The colossal 130 meter wide red, white and blue spin painting covered the entirety of the Stadium floor and was filled with the celebrating Olympic athletes as they entered the arena. It is the largest reproduction of a Hirst piece ever produced.




The work, entitled ‘Beautiful Union Jack Celebratory Patriotic Olympic Explosion in an Electric Storm Painting’ (2012), was described by the Olympic committee as epitomising, “the dynamic, anarchic energy of British Pop Art.” It forms part of Hirst’s iconic series of spin paintings dating from the early 90s. Originally inspired by spin stalls at school fêtes, Hirst describes the paintings as a, “massive explosion of energy, full of life, colour and optimism”.



A selection of key spin paintings, including a collection which rotate mechanically in eternal replication of their fabrication process, can currently be seen at Tate Modern’s major ‘Damien Hirst’ exhibition, on display for the Olympic period until September 9th.



Under Artistic Director Kim Gavin, the Closing Ceremony – entitled ‘A Symphony of British Music’ – was a celebration both of the achievements of athletes at the London 2012 Olympic Games, and the significance of Britain’s contribution to the international art and music scene over the last 50 years. Since Hirst first came to public attention in 1988, when he conceived and curated ‘Freeze’, an exhibition in a disused London warehouse of his own work and that of his contemporaries, he has become widely recognised as one of the most influential and renowned artists of his generation. Hirst's contribution is acknowledged by Tate Modern's staging of the largest survey of his work to date in the UK as part of the 2012 Cultural Olympics.


images © Damien Hirst and Science Ltd. All rights reserved, DACS 2012

The final result:





above images courtesy of AP and Reuters