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I was so excited for this contest but ended up not contributing after a good handful of people, myself included, decided the contest wasn't fair. The creator decided professional decorators could enter alongside home cooks. I didn't have a problem with them entering personally (yes, they'll look good, but as we saw, many home cooks' entries were amazing) but I didn't agree with them having fondant rollers, levelers, every color imaginable of fondant and icing, textures, cutters, etc at their disposal while home cooks struggled to (for the most part) get what they could from their local grocery or Michael's. Just didn't seem fair.
And I really love the judges and read all of their blogs but I wasn't too cool with the girl that runs CakeWrecks posting her favorites on her site for the past month on Sundays.

Great job to the winners though. Especially the mom's who did it with their kids (most of those were amazingly fun!)

i agree with jmorri26...perhaps there should be two different categories next year?
That being said, I entered anyway, with no aspirations of winning...just an excuse to make a fun cake!
It came pretty ok, I think...
http://www.threadcakes.com/entries/view/530

That's what we told the guy. Pro's aren't looking to win a few bags of chocolate and flours, so make a professional category and let them shine on their own. Donate to a charity for the winner or something.

BrooklynBaker, you did a great job on your cake!

This is Cam at Threadless. Really appreciate the feedback and we will definitely be working with the Threadless community member who ran the contest to figure out how to handle professional vs anyone categories next time. We're thrilled with how many professionals and nonprofessionals entered for the pure love of awesomely decorated cake!

Ahh the pros vs. amateur debate rages on.

I'm the guy responsible for Threadcakes, so let me chime in a bit on this: clearly there's a level if disparity that people feel when they believe professionals are entering in and thus, punching in above them in materials, supplies, and experience.

There are several logistical problems with separating them into separate categories:

1) Who's a professional? Do you have to be earning a paycheck from a bakery? Working as a pastry chef? Paying some cake-baking union dues? What about students in a culinary pastry program? They may have the advantage of having access to those supplies, but they're not "professionals" at all.

2) The trust issue. This is the internet. The last thing I wanted to do was to create a rule that would cause backlash when, upon seeing the results, there was a witch hunt for the amateur category winner because their cake was so great that *surely* they *MUST* be a professional. The alternative is quietly imagining and figuring they might be.

3) We can restrict access into the professionals category, in a way, but we can't reasonably restrict access into the amateur category. I can ask for credentials to get into the professionals category. I could incentivize pros by making the prizes better or including a charity element or something of that nature. But a pro who simply works from their home kitchen can quietly claim to be an amateur and we would be none the wiser, and accusations would likely fly.

For the record, to my knowledge only 3rd and 4th place for the 3D category winners were "pros". And no one (to my knowledge) baked from a professional kitchen.

Access to supplies is a bit of a non-sequitir. My girlfriend who had NO chance of winning the contest (as she's my girlfriend, not for want of her baking skills) still went out and spent some money on some fondant and other supplies. While I'll someone who has access to an airbrusher might have an advantage, you'll notice those techniques weren't used in any of the winners at all. If most of the winners of the overall contest were amateurs, do we really need to separate them out?

There's nothing we can do to keep people from being discouraged (or encouraged, for some) by some of the cakes they see go up throughout the contest. I wanted the site to be a destination site that people check every day, and frankly, having 590 cakes dropped in one day would be a horrible way to experience the site. Most people like mulling throughout the week and following the contest's progress, so queuing entries isn't an option either.

This is all stuff I've given careful consideration to, as that's been the biggest complaint. (The second biggest point of contention is the "edible" vs. "non-edible" and "what supports are allowed" issues. There will be some definite refining of the rules next year, and a likely ban on such use of rice krispie treats, for example. The judges definitely applied my guidance of "the more edible, the better, the more cake, the better" as the winner was entirely edible with no supports at all.

The more restrictive we get and the more rules we apply, the more we limit people's ability to execute amazing cakes, and worse, the more bickering we invite the contest to based on people violating the rules. I think there's a balance to be struck, and the professionals issue is definitely present, but I'm not sure there's an approach that will leave people happy and confident across the board. Definitely interested in your feedback, so please feel free to contact me to continue the discussion.

I totally called the 2D winner, but I'm surprised that the birdhouse thief entry didn't win, as it's a structural marvel. http://www.threadcakes.com/entries/view/437

Guess it was the copper rod that did the baker in?

llamapyjamas, that definitely counted towards it. Only one other of the 10 judges (and myself) even had it on their scorecard, though it's definitely an amazing entry.

Meanwhile, regarding CakeWrecks posting their favorites, I don't see any issues with that--they didn't influence the judges at all in any event, and that's all who mattered as far as winners were concerned. Likewise, I tweeted great entries under the @threadcakes account, but it didn't guarantee any of them a win, and having the recognition was really nice for them I think.

A good way to strike a balance might be to have an initial entry phase to the contest. When entries are submitted, whoever reviews them categorizes the content into a couple of different categories. (sending the entrant a message such as "Congratulations! Your entry has qualified for Level One", something like that). That way, you've got multiple divisions based on levels of talent and accomplishment and effort, not based on professional or amateur entrants.

More contestants can likely feel in their element, and some of those feelings of hopelessness may be resolved (I admit to feeling it a little hopeless myself at first, but came to the conclusion that I was still having a great time, still honored to be among so many talented people, and, to paraphrase your own words, I still got cake!

Something to think about....

I do hope you revisit this contest again next year. It's such a great thing :)

~BellaMoccia

Interesting. There are all sorts of challenges associated with splitting up a contest into tiers that have to be categorized, not least of all the feeling that someone has been miscategorized, and the subjectiveness that comes with such a judgment. Again, the argument "well, they should've been a 3rd tier cake, not a 2nd tier" starts up and we're back at square one. But I like the discussion, and I like completely off-the-wall ideas, because they foster interesting discussion and jumping-off points.

Just posting my view of the comp... I am an amateur cake decorator - I prefer to say Im a cake enthusiast because I have bugger all luck finding anything cake related close to home - in regional QLD Australia. I marvel at the awesome products that you guys seem to have available. But do I think it should make a difference in the comp? Not really... isn't part of the fun the creativity and imagination involved in creating something like this, with or without all of the best and professional tools? Surely its more the concept, individuals skill and creativity rather than being a technically sound cake? Personally I was soooooo stoked that this competition was out there. I checked it every day and got the biggest kick from seeing what other people did. And I learnt from them too! Yes... I was put off by the high caliber of competition, but in the end, I wanted to participate for the joy of being a part of something so awesome. It was a great excuse to do something different and learn. And I loved that! Professionals and amateurs alike, I thought this was about re-creating a threadless design that you loved. I know that the people around me enjoyed the cake, and I enjoyed following the comp. Well done! I cant wait to see what next year brings! http://www.threadcakes.com/entries/view/361

My view on the professionals vs. amateurs issue is that it's not a problem at all, as there are many amateurs that are capable and have the tools for professional quality design. Surely, there's more chance that pros will be ranked highly, but there are many amateurs that can come up with creative and intriguing designs that have a chance at winning.
Having said that, I felt like the judges valued professional looking "copies" of threadless designs vs. creative interpretations of designs. I think that if in the future, the creativity and imagination & perfectly painted gum paste structures are weighted more evenly, amateurs will have more chance at succeeding.
I LOVED "The Red", I thought that was a creative interpretation, probably my favourite cake, and I'm really happy it placed, but I thought the rest of the entries, although beautiful cakes, didn't really showcase any "out of the box" thinking.
What do you guys think?

I agree with the prior comment that cake replication (as close to the original as possible) vs. cake interpretation (taking an idea and running with it) is more interesting than the professional vs. amateur dilemma.

I entered the competition and I'm not employed in a professional bakery and I've never taken a cake decorating class. Surprise, surprise, I didn't place in the Threadless competition. But between the craft store and the hardware store, I can get all the tools, supplies, etc. that the "professional" entrants had access to. What they have that I don't have is more experience (and I hate to admit, more talent). In my opinion that's fair. If they put in the time to get good at something they deserve to be better at it than I am.

I think the equalizer is the vision of the decorator. Some of the less experienced decorators in the Threadless comp had some of the coolest and funniest ideas. I would rather see a division between the duplication entries and the interpretation entries than division between the experienced and less experienced decorators. Those who want to go for the closest imitation can go that route and those who want to springboard off a design and take it a step farther can follow their bliss.

I support an out-of-the-box category rather than a "beginner's category" or some such thing.

I agree with the other people who posted that a pro v. amateur category isn't the way I'd like to see the contest go.

I do really like the idea of separate replication and interpretation categories. I'm still cheesed that Drop it Like You're Clumsy didn't win something, and it wasn't even my cake.

I'd also hate to see things like rice krispie treats banned. If you must, I'd prefer to see separate categories for that too. Maybe one for all cake, and one for cake plus other edibles, and, as a real challenge, maybe even one for fondant and gum paste free.

Regardless of what you decide, Chris, I know I will have as much fun next year as I did this year. It was a blast. In fact if my kids get their way we'll be having fun with it all year long.

The interpretations versus reproduction concept is far more interesting to me, and far more clear-cut. I will *definitely* consider breaking things down across those lines. At the VERY least, I can assure you we'd have a Type Tees category, which itself is entirely interpretation-driven.

I've been really thrilled with all of the feedback all of you have provided. It's meant a lot to me that everyone still had a lot of fun.

I'd like to get more sponsors on board and thus more prize positions, because I think with 600 entries, only 8 winners is a bit on the short side, but to their credit, Threadless really made the prizes awesome this year by lining up the other suppliers, and by throwing some cash into the ring.

I'll be working to revise the rules a bit, but that's definitely a change I could see being put into place.

Thanks again for the feedback!

On the 50/50 chance that JNerissa was referring to my "Drop It" submission, thanks, I appreciate and am flattered by the sentiment. If you were thinking of the other submission, I'm sure they're appreciative as well.

I like the idea of the Type Tees getting a bit more attention. Several of my favorite cakes in the competition were Type Tee inspired. The "Shoulders" entry that switched from shoulders to corners was well done and quite clever, taking the shirt idea to cake in a way that made sense. Bravo! The "Pickles...Soaked in Evil" cake was another great cake.

I think the designers who inspire the most cakes deserve some recognition. Were would we be without them?

To an extent we have that with the filter for design and decorator but maybe a more formal bit of recognition. I realize that prizes can be scarce, but recognition is free (well, mostly free, except for Chris's time collecting info, tallying results, programming pages to display the results, paying for server resources, etc.) At least, it's free to me.

Indeed, Burton.

Since I'm literally only able to work on the contest and site in my spare time, I'm adding stuff as I can, even still. (You'll notice, for instance, new high-resolution image links on every entry, in the comments box.)

I'll try to compile some stats on artists themselves. I know many of them were following along, and I know at least one contacted you directly, burton.

Hi Burton, yes I did mean your cake. Actually I enjoyed seeing all of your entries. There were so many great cakes in this contest. And the corners cake was actually one of mine, so thank you too.

Chris, I also agree that recognition, for many of us, is just as good as prizes.