Women at Work: Marj Santaromana
Hello and welcome to my inaugural Women at Work post! Who better to speak with for my first interview than my good friend Marj? She’s an artist, pin designer, and professional cake decorator extraordinaire billed out of Staten Island, NY, or as she fondly calls it, Shaolin.
Marj in her element. You can check out more of her awesome work on her website Marjdotjpg.com!
Marj was always my most creative friend. Since she was a kid, she’s been drawing and sculpting, starting out sketching South Park and Dragon Ball Z characters and eventually graduating to selling duct tape wallets, pop-culture winter hats, and bespoke costumes.
From there, she moved onto pins, totes, t-shirts, and other Pokemon and wrestling related merchandise on her Etsy. She’s recently created cakes for dessert hounds and celebrities alike, most notably designing the cake for WWE RAW’s 25th Anniversary, a dream come true for a full-time mark like Marj.
As ODB would say: Ooh, baby, I like it raw, yeah, baby, I like it raw…
I’m sure you’ve been asked this a bunch of times already, but how exactly did you get into cake decorating and pin design?
I’d always wanted to do something out-of-the-box with art. Cake decorating reality and competition shows caught my attention when I needed motivation most. I started making cakes for friends and family out of my kitchen, ended up going to pastry school, and it blew up from there! Pin-making simply started out as a side hustle but has grown into so much more — now I design pins and other merch for wrestlers and wrestling brands across the globe.
Who is your favorite wrestler and why?
Chris Jericho. He's been my favorite since I was a kid and has still managed to stay relevant to this day (he just celebrated his 30th anniversary in the biz, for reference).
Who would be in your current Pokémon roster if you had to choose?
Cubone, Ampharos, Furret, Togetic.
So the cute ones?
Cute but mighty. Like me!
Who's your dream villager in Animal Crossing?
Merengue. The fact that she's adorable aside, she's also a pastry chef! We've come full circle!
No love for Stinky?
Don’t put words in my mouth! I jumped through several hoops just to get him on my island.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
5x better than I am today. It’s a pipe dream to simultaneously design cakes and merchandise for the top stars in the wrestling universe.
Who is the person you’re dying to make a cake for?
Mick Foley, my friend and second favorite wrestler of all time! I've had his birthday cake planned out in my head for the longest time!
What is the pin you’re the proudest of to date?
Probably my most popular pin, a bloodied female wrestler named Becky Lynch. It may seem gory, but it was actually an infamous moment in women's wrestling history that skyrocketed her into stardom.
What is something you hate to make, but you’re always asked for?
Cookies. I love how the end product looks, but piping intricate designs onto them is so time-consuming!
Any advice for people looking to get into cake decorating?
Don't expect a light at the end of the tunnel or to ever reach your "peak." In my experience, there is no end; no matter how good people think I am, I notice little improvements and learn new things every single day!
Marj taking part in the “everything is cake” craze that swept the internet in 2020
Well, there you have it! The king of the ring has spoken. For more information about Marj and her artwork, you can visit her website Marjdotjpg.com or give her a follow on Instagram @Marj.jpg!
