Cake decorating air brush in Minneapolis

May 19, 2010 4:19 PM

Any cake decorating stores in the Minneapolis area that sell and stock decorative air brushes?

I'm heading to Minneapolis for the Canadian long weekend in a few days and my wife is looking for a cake decorating air brush.
I want to surprise her in Minneapolis and pick one up but I obviously don't know the minutae of the local cake-decorating retail outlets.

I'll be in Minneapolis until Tuesday so I don't think shipping something in will be an option.

posted by gfroese to Food & Drink (13 answers total)

If no one chimes in with anything specific, most of the big chain craft stores have sections devoted to cake decorating so you might start with those. Good luck, it sounds like a nice surprise!
posted by amyms at 4:33 PM on May 19, 2010

Best answer: You could try Lynn's Cake and Candy Supplies but I have never been there. They appear to only be open on Saturday, and closed Sunday and Monday.

I really came in to say not to be fooled by any Google searches that turn up Sweet Celebrations or Maid of Scandinavia. Unfortunately they went out of business a few years ago, or else that would have been my first suggestion.
posted by cabingirl at 5:05 PM on May 19, 2010

you could try calling Kitchen Window
posted by wocka wocka wocka at 7:52 PM on May 19, 2010

I've bought at Lynn's. It's a nice old-time supplier run by nice little old ladies for little old ladies who like to bake and make candy. Phone in advance to find out if they carry the kind of thing you're looking for. If they don't, they might be able to suggest who does.
posted by exphysicist345 at 8:33 PM on May 19, 2010

Damn, when did Sweet Celebrations close?? That was the best, and I mentally always thought of it as Maid of Scandinavia still. I visited every time I went home...I could have sworn it was just last year...

Actually, Michael's has a really decent cake decorating section. Lots of locations in the Twin Cities, but I'd call and see if they have the air brush you want.
posted by GaelFC at 9:24 PM on May 19, 2010

Hi, my family was Sweet Celebrations. The stores and catalog shut down gosh a year or year and a half ago, I've lost track. Closing a business is a long process, apparently. As must be common for family businesses it was a mix of family and economic (hi, recession!) troubles that came to a head and forced the closure after two generations and about 66 years.

As far as the airbrush, I sent a request to the head honcho (mom) and will see what she recommends. Keep in mind that even at peak, airbrushes were usually drop-shipped from the supplier and we probably only had one or two on-hand.

If you are looking for brand recommendations, you should be able to find the old catalogs at www.sweetc.com to get the names of the equipment and colors and go from there.
posted by whatzit at 5:47 AM on May 20, 2010

Mom sez "no clue..." who would keep them in stock (and yes, she knows about Lynn's and Michael's and KW). So... call those stores and check anyway?

But I do recommend looking up the ones in the old Sweet Celebrations catalogs if you are buying blind; they are quality equipment that will never need replacing. The Kitchen Aid of airbrushes, as it were. My mom's are as old as I am. (I'd do it for you but I'm at work.)
posted by whatzit at 8:01 AM on May 20, 2010

Response by poster: @whatzit Thanks for the second effort, its much appreciated.
The sweetc.com website is simply just a notice at this time, no catalogs or any type of information is left there.
posted by gfroese at 5:54 AM on May 21, 2010

Response by poster: Lynn's Cake and Candy Supplies does have one in stock, a bit pricier than I was hoping however.
No luck at either Michael's or Kitchen Window.

My ruse was revealed so this is no longer a surprise. :(
Maybe I can convince the Mrs. to order one online and wait for its arrival and save a few bucks. :)

Thanks MeFi
posted by gfroese at 9:48 AM on May 21, 2010

Wow, Whatzit, I'm excited that you're from the Sweet Celebrations family, and also that you found Metafilter via my Pop Culture Junk Mail! Double win!
posted by GaelFC at 10:08 PM on May 21, 2010

gfroese, I didn't realize the page had been taken down or hidden. I will look into the names in case you still need an airbrush, and get back to this post when I find them.
posted by whatzit at 4:27 AM on May 26, 2010

The KopyKake KromaJet (black one in second picture) is the airbrush we've had in family for an eternity. They are not cheap, but they last forever and the flow of color is really good. This company also has airbrush colors, if you can handle the 1990s web design.

There is one more that we sold but this is The One that came to mind. If I can think of the other name I will post back.
posted by whatzit at 4:52 AM on May 26, 2010

Response by poster: whatzit,
thanks for the info, will do some research into that model.
You get what you pay for, so I'm all for some good quality.
posted by gfroese at 7:07 PM on May 26, 2010