Miss Biscuit

(Image of Julia Day taken by Haven Lifestyle Photography)

When Julia Day starting making biscuits she found couldn’t stop. Her biscuit range started growing and so did her orders, and the rest as they say is history. We chat to Julia of Miss Biscuit about how she started, her most popular biscuit requests and her tips for starting a business.

(Going to sea – image by Julia Day)

(Tea Party – image by Julia Day)

1. How did your hobby of making biscuits turn into your business, Miss Biscuit?

I have always loved to bake and spend time experimenting in the kitchen. In late 2012 I discovered the art of biscuit decorating and very quickly became obsessed. It got to the point where I was handing out biscuits to everyone I knew to try and get rid of them. People started asking me if they could put in orders and it grew from there. At that point, my local council wasn’t registering home businesses and so it took a lengthy proposal and many conversations with council to become registered but once we got there, my Facebook page grew and the orders started to come in.

(Gymnast – image by Julia Day)

2. You produce such an enormous range of designs. Where do you get your inspiration?

It’s a little sad but I have to admit I see the world in biscuits. Everywhere I look, and every time I see an interesting photograph, artwork, street sign, pattern and or other image, I think about how it could work on a biscuit. I also love the garden and one of my favourite things to make is floral or garden style biscuits.

(Ahoy there! Image by Julia Day)

(Stunning bespoke biscuits for engagements and weddings – image by Julia Day)

3. What are your most popular biscuit commission requests?

Children’s parties, baby showers, christenings, bridal showers and weddings are all very popular occasions for biscuits. People love to customize the biscuit to match the theme or occasion and give them to guests to take home as a thank you gift for attending.

(Mermaids – image by Julia Day)

Hearts with monograms or names are very popular for bridal showers, engagements and weddings. Shapes such as baby suits and elephants are popular for baby showers and for children’s parties, think princesses, mermaids, seaside, fairies, dinosaurs, construction vehicles and so on.

(Birds and flowers – image by Julia Day)

(The best seller – the love bird. Image by Julia Day)

By far, the single most popular biscuit that I make, is the love bird (above) which I make in a few different sizes. This has been used for tea parties, fundraisers, first birthdays, weddings, engagements, baby showers and bridal showers.

(London theme – image by Julia Day)

4. Do you have any advice for creatives wanting to start their own business?

Don’t underestimate the power of social media. Invest in a good camera and take high quality pictures of your product and post them on media such Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Flickr. It’s quite incredible the reach that you can get from a few good photos.

(Baby suits and duckies – image by Julia Day)

(Yes, Paris is always a good idea! Image by Julia Day)

5. What work are you proudest of, and why?

I think this would have to be my recent submission for Australia’s Sweetest Morning Tea, a collaboration between event stylists and sweet makers to raise funds for cancer research. The design brief was a lot more masculine in colour and style than I am comfortable with (dusty rose food colouring is generally my best friend in the kitchen). I had to think outside of my usual range and in the end came up with a set of biscuits reflecting Melbourne. I put them in frames on the wall and it all worked quite well. From a distance it was difficult to tell they were biscuits. All images below by Haven Lifestyle Photography for Australia’s Sweetest Morning Tea.