Home / Lifestyle / From RSI to Royal Palaces: A Gingerbread Story
From RSI to Royal Palaces: A Gingerbread Story
5 Jul
Summary
- Diagnosed with RSI, Garland quit her admin job.
- She now builds giant gingerbread structures globally.
- Her creations have been commissioned by the British Museum.
Emily Garland, once an administrator, turned her life around after a diagnosis of repetitive strain injury (RSI) in her wrists and arms. This condition, which began in 2008, significantly impacted her ability to perform her typing-intensive job and even daily tasks. The need to manage her health provided the unexpected courage to leave her corporate role.
Initially disappointed by this turn of events, Garland, who had always aspired to a creative profession and loved building things like her architect father, found a new path. A friend's circus-themed birthday cake, made entirely from gingerbread, sparked her business idea. In 2010, at age 27, she launched her gingerbread business, eventually earning a full-time wage by 2016.
Her unique talent has led to the creation of impressive gingerbread replicas of global landmarks such as London's Lancaster House and the Palace of Versailles for the British Museum. She has also crafted models of Holkham Hall and the Ziggurat of Ur. For a Call of Duty commission in California, she famously used a blowtorch to destroy one of her gingerbread creations for promotional footage.
Garland's current work involves extensive craftsmanship, with each large project demanding 160-175 hours. She utilizes 3D cardboard mock-ups for her designs, working with them in three dimensions rather than traditional 2D sketching. This allows her to manage her condition, as she can stop and start projects as needed, and she no longer experiences the chronic pain that once plagued her.
