Ah, love is in the air. :) What better thing to remind a couple of the sweetness of their relationship than a mixer.

I LOVE the little rats!

I'm curious about how this was done. The link doesn't say much more than what's here other than adding that the top is gold leaf. Looove the little chefs

Am I the only one who thought this whole story was a little confusing? Matt is the boyfriend and he went to Hobart's (team of designers) to get a custom mixer for his girlfriend. Hobart's team posts on a blog under the guise of (Mixed Up) Jake and they speak as if they are really some guy named Jake.

I initially thought Matt did this himself. I didn't realize he just paid a mixer company money to produce it. Awesome gift of course, but it took me a few reads to get.

To be honest, we were a little confused, too, at first! It's really Hobart's fictional "Jake" that makes it confusing, because "he" writes the blog as if he's the one doing everything, when it's really the company Hobart behind it. All that to say - the project itself is clever and sweet, regardless of how it was done.

I just looked up Hobarts. HOLY CRAP, are you guys aware of how much these things are?!

Ok I know I live differently then lots of apartment therapy readers. I live in the south. I work two jobs to pay for my VERY small one bedroom apartment for me an my dog. So I have embraced that I am not the the "normal" AT reader.

That being said $2000+ dollars for a mixer for someone who is an at home baker!!!!! That is such a waste of money! I know that AT you are just showing us what can be done but this is not what I come to AT to read. I come to read things that I can adapt to my life even if it is just a small item or portion of an idea due to my budget. This is not something that could be DIYd and is not within the reach of a majority of the population. Please remember that as editors you sometimes need to do a reality check of even if something is pretty from a design perspective when it is done in a manner that is so over the top it really moves from pretty into obscene. AT/Kitchen is not the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog it is a "Apartment" Therapy. Please remember your roots.

Hi I'm Matt.

yeah, same one.

I don't think the mixer is a waste. It's hand made in the usa, with a fully geared transmission, completely restored, and vintage from 1954 with a custom paint job. It's not only an NSF and UL listed commercial workhorse, it's a piece of art. that is a wonderful conversation piece.

It should never give us problems, and that's why I went with it.

As an electrical engineer, I understand the cost of engineering and genuine craftsmanship, and know that it comes at a cost. To me, it's worth it.

PS. we live in an apartment. so there. haha

Matt,

I can understand what you are saying but from this reader's perspective I will disagree. Thank you for providing your prespective and I am glad that you and your girlfriend enjoy this conversation piece. My point which I think I addressed to the editor and not in your direction was that for a majority of readers this type of choice is well outside of what they could even think about considering. I believe we each have the right to make choices w/our own finances so I did not address it to you and really I believe that if you were to re-read my comment a majority of it was an editorial comment. Regarding you living in an apartment I won't even go there since I think you know that an apartment in San Francisco is VERY different then one in the rest of the country.

Hi Ellen,
girlfriend here. We actually live in Tampa which is about as different a real estate market as you can get from San Francisco, so I get the money/cost of living part. He works one job and I work two to cover the bills for the two of us, our rats and our dog so we don't have money to burn and certainly don't shop at Neiman Marcus.

If you're buying a mixer, my guess is you don't have several hundred dollars just lying around so you're going to end up saving up for it. He opted to save a little longer to get the one that will last us the longest. We bake A LOT of bread so it just didn't seem practical to buy a kitchenaid and run the risk of blowing the motor in a few months to a year, as has been the case with several friends. The paint job was the big surprise for me (and I do agree that that's the part which would put the price tag over the top). I know lots of people who are on their second or third kitchenaid and at somewhere between $400 and $1000 I think we did much better to spend the money the way we did. It's just like any other major appliance purchase, especially if you're one of those people who bakes anywhere from 2 to 12 loaves of bread in a week. Then again, I guess we aren't your average home bakers either... Even though everything I read on here isn't practical for me or for our home, it's still interesting to read and nice to have ideas for our next home :)

Cortney

Courtney & Matt,

I seemed to have offended you and that was not my intent. As I said in my reply I really meant it as a check and balance from an editorial perspective so I tried to address a majority of my concerns to the editor. If you were offended please accept my apology. I do think AT/Kitchen sometimes does get a little to "high end" and by keeping the editors attached to their roots it can allow for everyone to enjoy the site.

I completly agree with your comment about keeping ideas for your next home and I do agree (my pinterest dream house is one of my boards with the most pins) as well and believe I said something similar in my reply. So I will go along with reading and even every once in awhile commenting. I understand like articles not all comments are for everyone but I still hold strongly to my feelings that it does not hurt to voice my comments constructively.

Ellen