In our recent blog post about our Talking Tables garden party we showed you the beautiful cookies created by Janine at The Cookie Shelf. We have worked with Janine for a while now and she hosted a festive cookie decorating workshop with us last year (read about it here). We have had lots of people express their admiration at her amazing decorating skills so thought we'd get a little more insight from her about her journey to creating her business - The Cookie Shelf.

How did The Cookie Shelf start? Have you always been artistic? 

I came across some sugarcookies on Instagram and found it incredibly fascinating that with some icing sugar & piping bags you could create such intricate designs. From here I was hooked, actually obsessed! Watching endless videos and tutorials before plucking up the courage to have a go! Attending my first workshop was euphoric and I knew this was my calling. Initially I made cookies for friends and family. Then as my confidence grew, it was time to up my game and The Cookie Shelf was born in 2019. Art and Crafting has all been a creative outlet for me. From a young age I took up art, mainly drawing/painting. Over the years this evolved to fabric painting, handmade gifts, jewellery making and of course baking. Now it’s all about creating edible art. 

What is your favourite kind of order?

This is tough, it’s like naming your favourite child! The “favourites sets” rank high as they tell such wonderful stories. Each set is bespoke and so personalized. I love hearing why people have chosen the designs. Then making birthday favours, sharing or corporate event cookies is a win. There’s something therapeutic about the repetition of the same design. Essentially they are all my favourites! 

We loved the NGS x TT cookies you made for our charity partnership, how long did that detail take?

These bring a smile to my face, that yellow is so joyous! I don’t often time myself as it puts me under pressure. Or manors me panic when I realise how long something can take haha! These took me about 10-12 minutes per cookie. That seems a lot, however this design had both edible ink and icing detail. 

What is your one top tip for budding cookie decorators?

There is so much you can learn online but where you can do an in person workshop! It gives you the forum to ask questions, try different techniques and helps to iron out all the bad habits! 

What is planned for The Cookie Shelf looking into the future? 

The Cookie shelf started as a side hustle and in October 2021 become my full time business. As I approach the 1st business Anniversary, firstly I’ll celebrate! In terms of the future, I’d like the Cookie Shelf to be recognized as THE business for the ultimate bespoke sugarcookies. I want to continue stretching my creative skills, elevate design ideas and continue to bring joy with every bite of my cookies!