Nadia has always loved beautiful things made by hand. Ever since childhood she dreamt of creating beauty and give it to people. It all started with hand-made Christmas ornaments, then drawing, postcards, candy bouquets, cakes, painting utensils ... and finally cookies! Although she still enjoys all of these hobbies, there is just not enough time for all of it! Currently cookies are her favorite, to which she gives almost all of her time. Nadia is originally from Ukraine, and now lives in California. As she has watched the war going on in her home country the past year, it has been a difficult time for her. She has been encouraged, lifted, and cheered up by the cookie community, and she is very grateful to her cookier friends who have helped her get back to her passion of cookie decorating!

Nadia is known for the intricate lace and embroidery patterns that she uses to decorate her stunning cookies. At CookieCon, Nadia will be teaching how she creates her delicate embroidery and lace patterns, and how anyone can apply the concepts to their own cookie creations.

Mallory Mae has always had a love of art and drawing, but it wasn’t until she decorated her first cookie in 2012 that she truly felt fulfilled as an artist. She is inspired by all types of art, especially comic book and tattoo art. At just 24 years old, she is already an accomplished cookie decorator, with her work appearing in Sweet Magazine, Cake Design France, Australian Cake Decorating Network, Cake Central Magazine, The White Suits from Dark Horse Comics, and more. She was also awarded the 2014 Cake Masters Cookie Award from Cake Masters Magazine. In February 2015, she launched “Piping Cookies that Pop” on Craftsy. Mallory Mae is an ambitious decorator who likes to go BIG! She has dreams of a fine art exhibit made only of cookies, or perhaps a comic book made only of cookies! Why not?!

At CookieCon, Mallory Mae will share her process of creating intricate designs, and how she goes from concept to the execution. She will also share general cookie decorating tips that she has picked up over time, and some things to consider when making coordinated sets of cookies.

Learn more by reading this "Cookier Close-up" Interview between Mallory Mae and Julia Usher!

The amazing sister duo, Laurie & Jeanette, have been decorating cookies together since they were children. It started with a favorite childhood tradition decorating Valentine cookies with their mother. Over the years, the tradition became more of a hobby and a creative outlet for them both. Eventually, after much encouragement from family and friends, cookies changed the course of their lives. In 2009, Laurie and Jeanette launched SugarBliss Cookies. For the past five years their artistic skill and amazing custom cookie designs have helped build a successfull and growing business. Their cookies have also won multiple awards from the Sugar Show of past CookieCon events. Combining their talents, they decorate with a variety of techniques their - favorite of which is airbrushing! Their cookies are easily recognized and known for their depth, dimension and detail created with an airbrush. Last year Laurie and Jeanette started teaching cookie decorating classes at Orson Gygi in Salt Lake City, Utah. Teaching has brought their passion for cookies to a whole new level. The airbrush is such an essential tool in their cookie kitchen. It not only speeds up and simplifies decorating but adds a unique element to any cookie design that can't be achieved any other way.

SugarBliss Cookies will demystify the airbrush for CookieCon attendees. They will demonstrate that with the right technique and a little practice, an airbrush opens up endless possibilities for creating amazing cookie designs!

Learn more about Jeanette and Laurie though this "Cookier Close-up" Interview with Julia Usher!

Monica is a professional illustrator with a BFA from Ringling School of Art and Design. After her son was born, she wanted a new creative outlet that the whole family could enjoy, and one cookie decorating class is all it took to fall in love. When Texas passed its Cottage Food Bill in 2012, Cookie Cowgirl was born! Monica is best known for her stylized, fun and nerdy cookies that have been featured on websites such as BBC, Geekology and ThinkGeek. Although she’s been painting since the age of 9, icing is a fun, new medium that provides a constant learning adventure.

Monica will be talking about her methods of breaking down complex designs into an easily repeatable process, creating characters, painting tips, and helpful ideas for planning out your orders.

Get to know Monica and learn about her plans for CookieCon in this "Cookier Close-up" Interview with Julia Usher!

Bridget started decorating cookies in 1999 when she quit her "real" job to stay at home with her newborn baby. The company she worked for had frequently given her those beautiful "cookies-on-a-stick" for jobs well done, and she was going to MISS those cookies. So, she set off determined to make them. Those were the days before blogs, so in 2007, after several years of trial and error, she had a wild idea to start a cookie decorating blog and teach the simple secrets to making cute cookies. Her likable, no-nonsense approach to decorating soon earned her a spot as one of the most popular baking bloggers. She has since authored 2 books on cookie decorating, Decorating Cookies: 60+ Designs for Holidays, Celebrations and Everyday, and Decorating Cookies Party: 10 Celebratory Themes.

Bridget will be teaching about blogging and using social media to help build your business. She will also talk about general on-line promoting, and tricks for photography.

Here's the transcript of a great Live Chat with Bridget and a Cookier Close-Up Feature on Cookie Connection. Definitely check that out!

Susan enrolled in her first cake class in 1988 and after that the "Game was On"!!! She began entering cake shows, joining local cake clubs, and then proceeded to start teaching cake decorating classes. She has taught sugar art across the nation and internationally. Susan is now the proud owner of The Cake Cottage in the beautiful City of Murrieta, California, where it is her passion to provide her customers with the best retail cake decorating supplies and specialty sugar art classes. Susan’s "Edible Works of Art" have won numerous awards and have been featured in magazines such as American Cake Decorator, as well as on the Food Network's show "Top Five". Susan has competed in TLC’s Ultimate Cake Off several times. The last episode she was in, The Roller Derby episode, she skated away with the Grand Prize of $10,000!

Susan will be demonstrating the art of 3D cookie creation. Learn how to take your cookies to a whole new dimension!

Here's a great interview between Susan and Julia Usher in this Cookier Closeup feature

Dotty has always loved crafting and baking so decorating cookies became the perfect combination of the two. She decorated her first cookie in 2011 and a year later… Sugar Dot Cookies was born. Dotty has been an elementary school teacher on and off over many years and has carried her enthusiasm for teaching into the cookie world. She holds monthly cookie decorating parties and teaches cookie classes. She also makes her beautiful cookies in a commercial kitchen in her home state of Maryland.

Dotty will be sharing her unconventional arrangement for the use of a commercial kitchen and how she made the transition to full-time cookie decorating. She’ll discuss creative ways that you can find your own commercial kitchen space and the pitfalls you may encounter along the way. She’ll also provide tips and strategies that will help you price cookies, manage your production schedule, and implement effective invoicing. She’s excited to share with you her formulas for determining how much dough and each color of icing you’ll need for a particular order.

Get a taste of what Dotty will be offering by checking out this "Cookier Close-up" Interview with Dotty and Julia Usher!