Katie Clifford's "cake journey" began 11 years ago, on the eve of her son Cooper's first birthday.
"I was determined to decorate his cake myself with fondant, despite never having used it before," the Cardiff resident tells Weekender.
"After that, I did it every year, making it more complicated each time. I also started making cakes for my nieces' birthdays and, in the following years, more family and close friends started asking for cakes.
"Due to my disabilities, I never thought I could be 'reliable' enough to turn it into a business. But I decided to give it a try and turned it into a hobby business, not focused on making money, just covering expenses."
Then Katie started getting requests from outside her circle of friends and family.
And so KT Bakes Cakes was born.
"I had proven to myself by this stage that I could be reliable. Even when I couldn't walk for six months due to a fractured hip, I still managed to complete orders. So, I took the plunge," she says.
The rest, as they say, is history. Earlier this year Katie was one of four finalists in the ACADA Cupcake Artist of the Year Award at the Australasian Cake Oscars.
I was introduced to Katie by Ben Neil, of Newcastle disability employment company Activate Support. Her story intrigued me. For most of her life Katie struggled with pain and illnesses and no one could tell her why.
Ben - who used to own Newy Burger Co, owns Hindsight Recruitment Solution and was once chair of Hunter Culinary Association - met with Katie on several occasions to give her business advice.
"She had been baking for a few years and had some success but was keen to take it to the next level to help support her family," he says.
"We didn't end up charging her. She was just so lovely and so appreciative and welcoming at all times.
"I encouraged her to consider sharing her story - not that she needed to play on it, by any means, but in this space it's a definite point of difference. I said 'You've got these physical challenges in your life and they make what you do harder to achieve, and you're out there doing it anyway' and she was like 'I never really looked at it that way'."
Early days
Katie describes her schooling years as "complex".
"By year 2, I was getting really unwell, and by year 3 I was in and out of hospital, unable to walk due to extreme fatigue and pain," she explains.
"I managed to get back to school every so often in a wheelchair. Years 5 and 6 I probably made it half the time.
"Music became an outlet for me and helped me get through the tough times. For high school, I started going to Hunter School of the Performing Arts for singing. Unfortunately, after a year or two I was back to being largely bed bound, so I had to do school by correspondence.
"I really missed the social aspect of growing up, so I attended Kotara High in years 11 and 12 and did Music and English, just to get to feel a little bit 'normal'.
"The highlight of my schooling was being a soloist in Star Struck. It's a moment I'll never forget."
She credits her grandmother with her love of baking.
"Growing up, we would spend every school holiday at my grandparents' house in Brisbane. My grandma was a brilliant cook and baker. She always decorated her sweets so beautifully," she says.
"I loved watching her in the kitchen, and helped her or my mother when I was well enough. I now bake one of her desserts whenever we have family meals for special occasions.
"I don't think anyone could ever say they are completely self-taught, especially with all the tutorials we have access to online these days, but, for the majority, I have taught myself.
"In the very beginning, before KT Bakes Cakes started, I attended some classes on the basics as well as buttercream skills, run by an amazing decorator who is now a dear friend, Christine Kerr."
She's also attended classes at baking expos over the years, grabbing any opportunity to learn new techniques from the international teachers present, such as cake sculpting.
"I don't think you can ever stop learning in the cake industry," she says.
Finally, a diagnosis
Katie grew up in Adamstown Heights and moved to Cardiff when she married her husband, Michael, 15 years ago. It was only when Cooper was born did she finally get some answers about her health, and the result was life-changing in more ways than one.
"Despite all the medical issues I had as a child and young adult, nobody could ever tell me why. So many of the conditions seemed to be linked, but most doctors came back with the same answer ... 'You're just complicated'," she says.
"Cooper was born with low muscle tone and was showing signs of having similar issues to mine, so we were linked with the team at Hunter Genetics. They did a whole exome sequencing test and found that there was a mutation of the RYR1 gene.
"Without getting too technical, it affects the flow of calcium through the muscles. I was tested and found to have the same gene mutation, as did my mother."
Katie was diagnosed with congenital muscle myopathy at the age of 35. Her form of the disease is "slowly progressive". It affects all of her muscles, in particular her core muscles, and causes hypermobility.
She shares an analogy. Most people wake up refreshed and with a full cup of energy, ready to start their day. Not Katie.
"For me, my cup starts less than half full and has lots of holes, which in turn has me running on empty regularly," she says.
"I am prone to fractures. I have really low muscle tone, it affects how I breathe and my lung function, causes chronic pain, and I am always tired.
"I have to really push myself to get things done ... and unfortunately, there is a fine line to walk as overdoing it can cause rhabdomyolysis, which is when the muscles break down. This is something I realised this year, after the cake show.
"On top of the muscle disease, I also have quite a few other medical conditions which just add to the complexity of KT [laughs]. I have rheumatoid arthritis, epilepsy, peripheral neuropathy, migraines, to name a few.
"I know it's crazy that I have built a business baking and cake decorating! But the beauty of running my own business is that it is on my terms. I can manage my fatigue and pain by working hours and times that suit me."
Katie's creations are truly a work of art. Check out the custom-made fondants, cakes and cookies on her website. You name it, this talented woman can create it.
Even if she is working from a wheelchair most of the time.
"Due to my health and disabilities, working is really difficult, but I wanted to feel proud of myself, to feel like I can do something just like everybody else," she says.
"I grew up watching my mum run two businesses, and she has the same muscle disease. I wanted to show Cooper (and myself) that even though it's hard, I'm determined, and I can do this!
"My favourite part is seeing and hearing the excitement and joy that people get from my creations. Getting to be a small part in people's special occasions is just so wonderful.
"They are always so grateful and can tell I've put my heart and soul into their orders. Making people happy is so rewarding."
Cooper, who she describes as "amazing", helps however he can, even if it means giving up his weekend to join his parents at the markets.
"I'm not ready to have him help in the kitchen just yet, but he helps during my busy pick-up time," Katie says.
"My wonderful husband has always helped me with the baking, even when working full-time, and he is always the calm voice of reason if I get overwhelmed."
Looking forward
Katie hopes that speaking out about her disabilities, after so many years of frustrated silence, will not only benefit Cooper, but other people living with disabilities, too.
"It's taken a very long time to speak about my disabilities as I grew up with so many people saying there was nothing wrong with me, and I built up barriers around me so I could cope," she says.
"I did my best to try and hide it as I guess I was scared how I would be treated.
"After finally being diagnosed with congenital muscle myopathy, it was a feeling of validation - I wasn't failing at life, I was succeeding at pushing through, despite all the roadblocks thrown in my path.
"As the years have gone on in my life, it has become harder and harder to 'hide' it all. After two fractured hips and having to surrender to using a wheelchair full-time for many months each time, being seen as needing help was sort of forced upon me.
"But watching my son dealing with his own roadblocks, watching him be accepting to using a wheelchair when he needs to, I realised that Cooper needs to know there is nothing wrong with having a disability.
"There is nothing wrong with needing to use a wheelchair. I don't want him to feel ashamed, as I had felt for such a long time due to how I was treated earlier on in my life. I want him to follow whatever dreams he has and make them happen.
"I also truly hope that by speaking out, people will see that disabilities don't define us, they are just part of some people's lives. We didn't ask for them. We are not useless; we can do things we want to do and be proud of, too. It is just harder with added roadblocks to get through."
When she posted a photo of herself in a wheelchair on social media not long ago, she was surprised - and encouraged - by the response.
"I actually had a lady come up to me at my market stall, she was in a wheelchair and she said 'I found you! I have been stalking you!'," Katie says.
"It turned out she saw the post Ben's company Activate Support shared of me with the corporate cookies I made them. She had previously wanted to do something similar and she was so thrilled for me that I was doing it.
"I was in tears; she was visibly so excited and proud of me. Her seeing me as an inspiration just blew my mind. I have tried to hide my disabilities for such a long time. Opening up just a little has already reached someone else. She made my day!"
Activate Support
Ben, quickly identifying Katie's potential, encouraged her to consider targeting the corporate market with her customised cookies and has introduced her to Newcastle pastry chef Gareth Williams.
"Katie is someone we will refer people to and say 'Look what she's doing'. She's such a genuine person, and so driven. It's pretty inspirational," he says.
"When I sold Newy Burger Co last year, I took a few months off to decide what I wanted to do and got involved in community fundraising. I've had the recruitment company for the past 12 years and I wanted to do something with a sense of purpose; a business with a feel-good side."
He launched Activate Support earlier this year, working with people of all ages keen to enter the workforce, with a focus on young people transitioning from school to work.
"It can be challenging, hearing some of the back stories that people have had to go through on top of their disabilities," Ben says.
"We've got a young guy with autism we're working with, he's 20, and he really wants to get into real estate. He's just been given some work with a real estate agent that we know, as an assistant agent.
"We work with each person, one on one, and look for realistic outcomes. It can be so rewarding."
