Hello

Thanks for visiting my website. My name is Kayleigh, I am the Owner, Baker and Biscuit Icer at Hamilton Bakes. I started my business in June 2022 and operate from my home in South West London where I live with my husband and 2 cheeky boys.

I offer fully personalisable biscuits decorated with royal icing which are perfect for any occasion. I work in small batches to bring you that personalised touch. I really enjoy working directly with my customers to develop their perfect idea, then bring it to life.

My Story

As someone who suffers with anxiety and was never really the academic type, the idea of running my own business has never been something I have thought about. But like many people out there COVID has made me reassess what I was doing with my life and I needed to spend more time doing something I really love!!

Since leaving school I worked for a supermarket but after 17 years I found myself stuck in a rut and lets face it unhappy at work. I was scared to move away from everything I have grown to know.

Then in June 2021 a flash of inspiration from an unexpected source. I had organised a bouncy castle for my son's birthday party and whilst setting up I got talking to the man who was the owner of the business. We talked about day to day life, covid and dealing with customers, and I told him how unhappy I was at work.

He asked me one simple question “what do you enjoy doing?"

“Baking” I replied

Then he went on to say what have you got to lose, do what makes you happy, enjoy life, start your own business like he had done 20+ years ago and he hadn’t looked back. Time with the family, working your own hours. He truly sold it to me. I didn’t do anything straight away but his words stayed with me…

It wasn’t until September 2021 that I actually did something. I saw an advert for a job at Biscuiteers. I had followed them on Instagram and loved their content and this felt like a great opportunity to try something different, I had to apply for this job. What was there to lose?

I got a call back a week later and I was booked in for a 90 minute interview. My anxiety kicked in but I knew I needed to do this for myself. I didn’t know what to except but it turned out I had to decorate biscuits there and then and a job offer was based on my skills. So I had some natural talent and started in November 2021.

So why start out on my own? I really wanted flexibility in my job and I also really enjoyed the idea that I could bring a premium personalised experience to market. This is my first experience of running my own business but I started by signing up to some baking courses with my friends, completed all the necessary food safety training and ordered myself some books for business novices. My journey into self employment started and now Hamilton Bakes is up and running. Orders are coming in and now I have my very own website to show off my talent and the biscuits I really enjoy making. I hope this might inspire someone else out there to follow their passions or maybe reach out and order some yummy biscuits.

My production process

What I produce is a premium product that takes 3 days from start to finish. This is without the time taken to plan any orders. My biscuits are not a mass produced product and there is a lead time that you need to consider as there are a limited number of biscuits I can get out each week.

My production process:

Enquiry is placed - I then spend time talking to the customer to find out what they like/don't like/colours/theme. I then take these ideas away and do some sketches or create an idea board. I will focus on how many colours am I going to use. The more colours the more time it takes. Everything is possible but typically people are working to a budget
Make the dough and leave it to harden in the fridge
Make the icing then divide it into how many colours I'm using. If I'm using three colours then I will need to divide the icing into 9 separate bowls as there is a process for icing. There are three separate stages, each require a different consistency
Once the dough is set I then cut out the different designs. Then back in the fridge for 10 minutes before going into the oven
Once biscuits are out leave to cool for at least 30 minutes
Add an outline to the biscuits
Time to flood with the different colours, working at pace so it doesn't start to set before popping bubbles
This is the beginning of the drying process it can take 24 hours before a biscuit is completely dry
Once biscuits are completely dry then it's time for my favourite bit, the precision detailing which takes time but gives the wow
Box up biscuits into packaging and stick on food allergen labels ready for collection or delivery

Each order is different and prices vary too, depending on the number of biscuits, the number of colours, the size of the order etc. I have some items in my shop available for a set price which give an indication of what to expect. I love working with my customers and can help give you ideas to hit a set budget if you need.