Where the magic wand of Jackie Sorkin dances, there are hearts racing, heads swooning, palms sweating, eyes feasting, mouths watering, oohing, aahing, shouting OMG… OMG… OMG…
“Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three, come with me and you’ll be in a world full of pure imagination.”
– Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Imagine walking into a wonderland made of and blanketed by tons upon tons of candy where you can eat all colors of sweets and all shapes of chocolates to your heart’s content before reluctantly going away sucking your sweet fingers all the way home. Sounds like a scene in Hansel and Gretel? Well, it does because our reason would hasten to assure us that this kind of surreal wonderland, created by the proverbial mean witch, only exists in the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale.
Instincts usually are a safe bet, but sorry, not this time. Introduce Jackie Sorkin, resoundingly known as Hollywood Candy Queen, the genuine host of the hugely popular Candy Queen on TLC. Within a mere few years, Jackie has built up a nonpareil real sugary wonderland, The Hollywood Candy Girls, and made every candy lover’s sweetest dream come true. Celebs such as Oprah Winfrey, Katy Perry and countless celebrities are clients of The Hollywood Candy Girls because there’s just no way you can have a blast without the merry presence of Jackie and her uber-mojo!
I’m thrilled and delighted to have Jackie with us this time around. An enchantress per se, Jackie is outwardly a naughty Santa Claus who spreads joy and laughter to the world. Together with her extended ensemble of engineers, sculptors, designers, candy artists, candy lovers and people who simply enjoy creating things, Jackie has originated many of the coolest candy art creations using the widest range of sweet goodies beyond our imagination.
We all love candy, but few of us would have thought of playing with it. Jackie started to realize her wildest dream – to create a real-world candy empire – when she’s still a kid. “When I was a child about 7 years old I started to create and write business for all kinds of ideas. I was very creative and always loved holidays, decorating and I was always very business-minded. My first creation was at Christmas Time. I created a Candy Land House made of cookies, chocolate chips, marshmallows, lollipops, jelly beans and gum drops.”
It did not take long before she appreciated the unique properties of candy and kept putting out her creations, as later seen on the Candy Queen. “Candy is the ultimate media of expression with thousands and thousands of selections to choose from. Candy is sustainable as well so when creating “Candy Art” it can last a very long time.”
If you’re a fan of Candy Queen, you might probably remember the gigantic farm-themed Ferris wheel the TV program made for a charity, and you could see that the production of that elaborate confection was hardly a piece of cake. “The most difficult sculpture to make was a revolving Ferris wheel. The candy’s weight was so heavy that it kept interfering with the spinning and did not allow for the wheel to make complete revolutions. We had to correct the weight issues and re-design it until we could make it work.” She also mentioned about her favorite piece in the show: “My favorite piece was a chocolate silver king’s throne chair suited for royalty! The head of the chair was adorned with spinning rock candy diamond sticks that lit up in LEDs. AWESOME!”
We were all blown away by Jackie’s creativity and her candy creations. But to make things out of hugely diverse and varied candies is no mean feat. “Depending on the production, the size, the detail of the work, we can finish a piece in about 5 days averagely.” And some people get curious and think, “Is it really necessary for the candy engineers to wear snuggles and mask executing Candy Queen’s demands?” Jackie gives a good answer, “We always wear protective goggles, masks, etc… We do this no matter what size our production is. Safety and protection is always important. We never want to be exposed to too much chemicals, toxins etc… SAFETY FIRST!” Well said as safety at work will ensure that amazing creations by Jackie keep coming our way for a long time to come.
To create a piece of art, any art, one is bound to face difficulties for sure. Jackie, one of the most positive-thinking people out there, believes that it is so precious an experience and process that one goes through the entire learning curve of trial and error. “Just as in life, You can’t achieve great things without trying. And often times creating new things is risky, but in the end when you create extraordinary pieces, it’s well worth it! Writer’s block happens, but we just try and try again and experiment until we get it right.” That’s how Jackie turns every difficulty into a stepping stone on the path toward reaching her goal.
Lucky you Candy Queen fans living in Taiwan and the neighboring countries, The Hollywood Candy Queen is moving its land of imagination to Taiwan with multiple truckloads of its enchanting, out-there creations in January 2013.
“I would like to tell the extraordinary people of Taiwan how excited, honored and overjoyed I am to share my one-of-a-kind creations with the Taiwanese community.” Indeed, we’re thrilled at the prospect of this first ever candy exhibition taking place outside the United States. How exciting it will be to tumble into an amusement park-like place full of ingenious candy constructs – it is truly the sweetest dream come true for many of us.
Jackie wraps up this candy gift of interview with a splendid inspirational ribbon bow you don’t want to miss: “The Love of Candy is like a common language that we can all speak in a deliciously sweet way. Everyone has a favorite candy or sweet treat that they enjoyed when they were young and it simply brings out the child in every single one of us. I believe that life should be celebrated and enjoyed in a BIG way, and it’s OK to be unique or to even pursue an idea that may seem so very silly to some but makes perfect sense to YOU! Always follow your instincts and your heart. With immense passion, EVERYTHING is possible, your imagination is your greatest gift.”
SooperJerry’s Note:
1. I’ll keep you guys updated on the candy show in Taiwan after I’ve wallowed in the delight of it all!
2. Jackie is easily the most optimistic, passionate, animated and flaming person I’ve crossed paths with. I relish her friendship and her peppy and sexy messages.
3. Go to www.Hollywoodcandygirls.com to get more juicy tidbits about the amazing Candy Queen and The Hollywood Candy Girls!
