About ibicci - and the Artist.

The name ‘ibicci’ was literally born at 3:30am one day - taking the Kiwis love of biscuits or [as we in New Zealand often call them] ‘biccies’  + the iphone / ipad of todays online world.

Kat Rutledge - Artist, Cookier and Stenciller

"I've loved baking since I was little following in the footsteps of my mother who was a highly-respected Baker and Professional Cake decorator in Rotorua until we lost her in 1986. Sitting in her studio workroom, listening to the National Program and making gum paste petals for Dogwood roses, I watched her create cake wonders. When artwork was required on plaques,  she had me paint them - I loved small canvases rather than big ones - I didn't like painting at school at all! It seemed a natural talent for icing and sugarwork. I even decorated wedding cakes myself to help her out or found myself taking her night school classes.

After I left home in the late 1970's, I did do the occasional cake, birthdays, a few weddings, but it was many years later before I fell in love with decorated cookies. In 2012 I was looking for handmade, edible treats to include in my Gift Basket business and thought perhaps mini cakes.. that was until I found and fell in love with My Little Bakery and Naadia's highly detailed and exquisite cookies on Pinterest. I remember thinking "I can do that!" (I actually met Naadia at Cookiecon!)

In a short time, I was finding people were asking for the cookies, without the gift basket, so I started concentrating on custom orders. As with the gift baskets, I only did custom work, never off-the-shelf designs, that just isn't my style.

Stencils came next to help decorate cookies, first cut by hand, then using a Brother Scan n Cut - my loves of art, crafts and technology combined! Dropping the gift baskets, I started to design more stencils, with an emphasis on Polynesian and other stencils which seemed to be lacking in the marketplace. 

Being part of the NZ Registered Cake Decorators FB Group I work with Cakers to produce Cake stencils unique to our region. Funny thing now, my Polynesian stencils are now being shipped all around the world - Australia, the USA and UK and places like Serbia, Switzerland, Japan. I'm always amazed at what people use them for too - a lady in Hawaii stencils onto wine glasses, a man in Ohio USA uses my stencils when creating his Tiki bars, and a lady here in NZ uses my stencils as guides for her amazing Scrabble Name wall mounted artworks.

Being the only person behind ibicci, I get extremely busy at times - not only the Cookier, Artist and Stenciller but the Admin/Accounts/Stock controller/Labeller/Marketer/SocialMedia/Dispatch person et al. I would love to try 3D printing cookie cutters, doing Collabs with people, or Taking more classes but the time just flies by when doing cookie orders at night and running a stencil business dayside. 

I love being my own boss, and working to the rhythms of supply and demand, even if I do get exhausted often  - I am well known for my many power naps during busy seasons LOL.

Knowing that I create cookies for people to admire then enjoy eating, or help others create edible art gives me great joy.

I hope you love my work and enjoy looking through my Website, Facebook or Insta or even using my stencils."

Cheers, Kat