I am Ruth Seidler, the baker and artist behind JollyBe. I studied art and art history at Hunter College in New York City, trained as a painting conservator at the University of Delaware in its art conservation program based at the Winterthur Museum, and then worked in the conservation labs of two major art museums.
After my second son was born, I continued to clean and repair paintings on a private basis. Increasingly, I also indulged my lifelong desire to create beautiful things and my love of baking by making cakes for family and friends and their events. As I honed my baking and cake-decorating skills, I began to supply cakes and cupcakes to some cafes here in Park Slope. I began to get more requests for special-occasion cakes, and I found that making them gave me the greatest pleasure. And so I found myself in the kitchen of JollyBe.
I love the adventure of taking your ideas, blending them with my own and working them into an irresistible feast for the eye and palate. I am especially devoted to playing with color, and I love to draw on art and design ideas from the past and from other cultures. After you have browsed through the examples of cakes that I have made for other individuals, I invite you to contact me so that we can explore ideas for your own.
Oh, and in case you were wondering: JollyBe Bakery is named for Josh, Oliver and Benjamin, the very finest sweets in my life.
