Space couture

THERE was a time in cake maker and decorator Trina Ang-Kokseng’s life when the saying “When life throws you a lemon, make lemonade” was true. Having finished accountancy in college, life seemingly threw flour and eggs (and not ledgers and calculators) at her.

Thus she started to make cakes.

For three years now, Trina has made personalized fondant cakes and pastries for a living. Then there came the time a shop was needed to serve as base for her cake business, and Cake Couture was born.

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So life threw her a small nook under the right wing stairway of the Banilad Town Center (BTC). Knowing how to make most of what is available to her, she gladly took the opportunity to establish her own office address.

Trina happily shared these and other stories with the writer and the photographer over a nice cup of brewed coffee and delectable chocolate and sugar-free biscotti in her more than a month-young showroom. Too bad this is not a café where customers can just order their favorite brew and pastry, and exchange warm conversations with friends.

The space, which is both a showroom and office, formally opened on June 17 this year.

The design of the small space was inspired from the many cafes she saw in Paris when she had her honeymoon with husband Steven. “The cafes and showrooms there were definitely bigger than this,” shares the New York-trained chef and pastry specialist.

This proved to be the challenge for interior designer and friend, April Lua, who worked on the showroom’s design.

The white color and fixed glass windows were instrumental in countering the miniscule space afforded to her. A cramped feeling is the last thing you’d like to have when you do your work, so the design called for some blessings from color psychology. So much more for Trina, who does almost all the work herself—from dealing with clients to making the cakes and delivering them to her clients. She could spend the whole day of Saturday and Sunday there for her shop’s “Cupcake Weekend.”

White, coupled with simple and clean lines in the interiors, is also a perfect canvass to efficiently highlight her eye-catching and yummy creations.

Breaking the seemingly wide field of white and glazing is the fuchsia accent on the wall behind Trina’s table. Artworks depicting (guess what?) different kinds of cakes provide excellent conversation pieces aside, of course, from the cakes on display.

Her friend and webmaster, Toni Ho, computer-edited the photos to make them appear like sketches. The air-conditioning unit’s color also matches the wall color.

The small space called for maximizing the use of every nook and cranny. The line of cabinets under the staircase and around the periphery of the room provides for ample storage for Trina’s office essentials. A dose of practicality, Trina says, was also considered in working with her designer for the showroom’s plans.

Couture (defined as designing or making fashionable things) does not only apply to the cakes that Trina makes (thus, the name of her business). It has also become applicable to the cozy, little space she acquired at BTC. This proves that a good and well-conceptualized design, whether for an interior space or an entire building, can squeeze out the best from a space of any size.