Wow! Can it really almost be April? I've accomplished a small fraction of what I set out to do this year, and it's already one quarter of the way over. Yikes! I don't know how everyone here does all that they do?!!
It's truly incredible to view the volume of wonderful work that so many of you produce, day in and day out. And our monthly site artists are no different - they continue to impress and delight with each of their monthly posts. If you have even a shadow of a doubt, just take a look at this gorgeous shabby chic set, by @hikainmel (kaori), which will be beautifying our site banner and backdrop throughout April:
As always, I'll be doing an in-depth Cookier Close-up with hikainmel (vert), aka Kaori Everitt-Hirota, later this month. In the meantime, check out her bio below and her lovely Cookie Connection portfolio here. (Please note that Kaori would prefer I not share her photo online, so I'm going with her striking heart cookies as her avatar instead!)
Kaori Everitt-Hirota, originally from Osaka, Japan, moved to Melbourne, Australia about 14 years ago, where she lives happily with her husband and two children. About four years ago, she started decorating cookies for her kids’ snacks – “nothing complicated, just basic baked shapes with my kids’ names or smiley faces,” she says. When she started, Kaori never envisioned she would get deeply involved in cookie decorating, but a few months later, she began her Japanese cookie blog and also found @mintlemonade (cookie crumbs), and the rest is history! It didn’t take long for these two cookiers to realize they had a lot in common – Aussie husbands, age, and a shared passion for making lovely treats. They became fast friends, and remain cookie besties to this day.
Still, cookie decorating is only Kaori’s hobby. She has cooked professionally for 12 years, and currently works as a chef at a hotel in Melbourne. These days, she makes cookies probably once a week. She also runs cookie workshops once or twice a year when she goes back to Japan, but has no immediate plans to teach in Melbourne. [EDITOR’S NOTE: Judging from the quality of her work, methinks she should!]
You can follow Kaori's work on Facebook, on Instagram, and via her member profile here on Cookie Connection.
Cookie and photo credits: hikainmel (vert)
* P.S. If you would like your own cookie art to be considered for use on the site, I would love to see it at any time. Guidelines for submitting cookie art can be found here. Pssst . . . we're still in need of art for the months of September and December 2017, and all of 2018!
