This Wonder Woman takes creativity and passion, and turns it into a successful business - East Idaho News
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This Wonder Woman takes creativity and passion, and turns it into a successful business

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EDITOR’S NOTE: In the week leading up to Mother’s Day, EastIdahoNews.com is partnering with Monarch Healthcare to profile interesting and unique ladies living and working in our neighborhoods and communities. We present to you East Idaho Wonder Women.

SHELLEY — Creativity is her motivation, and fondant is her medium.

Desi Richards of Shelley has worked hard for over two decades and turned her childhood hobby into a business — Desi’s Custom Cakes.

“I’ve always just loved to bake. I love to create and to draw and do different things like that,” Richards said.

Richards says she began to learn about her true passion for baking as a young child. Since she was 12 years old, the kitchen was a place Richards could be herself, although she admits she started off as a somewhat messy baker.

“I look at my mother now and I just say, ‘I’m so sorry,'” Richards said. “But she let me develop my dream, and I’m grateful for that.”

After high school, Richards looked for educational opportunities to cultivate her passion. She took classes and experimented with tips and tricks from books. Richards practice gave her the confidence to craft her own wedding cake.

DesiTierCake 2
Facebook

Just like baking, Richards started her business from scratch, in her basement. She added an extra kitchen to her home to take on larger projects.

“At the very beginning when I started doing cakes I would just do it for enough money to pay for the product or the supplies that I needed. Then I started building up all of my pans,” Richards said. “A cake 24 years ago, I charged ($25) for one of my wedding cakes. It wasn’t very much, and now today I would probably charge around $250 for that same cake.”

Throughout her baking career Richards has remained debt free, an aspect of her business she is proud of.

“I have never had to go into debt for my cake shop,” Richards said.

DesiCakes CarrotCake
Desi Richards’s highly requested carrot cake. | Natalia, EastIdahoNews.com

Richards skills have led her to annual awards at the East Idaho State Fair Sugar Art Show. She’s even had the chance to make a cake for Mitt Romney during his presidential candidacy.

“I have to look and say, ‘If I can keep doing my best, then I just keep getting better every day,'” Richards said.

Richards remains active in her local position at an assisting living center, and she and her cousin run a haunted attraction in Shelley.

“We have the (haunted) theater and the (haunted) hospital that we do. When I look at everything that I kind of keep busy in… a lot of it comes back to creativity and designing,” Richards said.

She enjoys working with the youth volunteers who help build the haunts each year.

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Lost Souls Attractions in Shelley. | Facebook

“It’s our 14th year of having an actual haunted attraction in Shelley and that’s exciting,” Richards said.

Richards also teaches sugar art classes and has inspired many locals, especially youths, to pursue their passion.

“She’s always looking for the next thing,” long-time friend Sandi McKinlay said. “The best part is she loves sharing that with other people and teaching them to do the same thing.”

Richards said she has a zest for baking, but her passion for creation has bled into every role she has in her life.

“I love every moment that I get to spend, whether it’s with an aging loved one, or whether it’s decorating a cake,” Richards said. “Being passionate, it’s just a way of life. I love it.”

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