Deann Melvin Skillfully Decorates Ice Cream Cakes
For twenty years, Deann Melvin has been decorating ice cream cakes at Dairy Queen in Marshfield. Each week she is busy crafting her frozen creations, and in the busiest months of the year (June and July), she decorates more than 150 cakes per week. The past week has featured a lot of hearts, roses, and other Valentine’s Day themed decor.
“I just love creating different and unique cakes,” said Melvin. “I do not always like the same old thing, so I am constantly on a quest for new creative ideas.”
Every cake sold at DQ’s North Central Avenue location is made on-site, resulting in a fresh,
quality, and tasty frozen dessert. Located in a back room adjacent to the giant freezer, Melvin’s work area includes different frostings, sprinkles, and a plethora of design tools. Each cake is carefully decorated with creativity and care.
“As long as I am creating and decorating new ideas, they are all my favorite,” said Melvin, adding that she has always loved art, and even has a degree in Graphic Design.
“I create most of the marketing ads at our Dairy Queen; my passion really lies in the graphic/digital designs,” she said, adding that she loves crafting things out of things people use in their everyday life.
“My grandma always used to call me ‘Cinderella’ because she said I could always create something out of nothing,” she said.
It was Melvin’s mother that introduced her to cake decoration, even teaching her how to make roses from frosting- a skill she still uses today on her DQ cake creations. At the age of 12, she began helping her mother write on the cakes.
“My mom decorated and sold cakes out of our home when I was very young. I would sit and watch her decorate and was completely fascinated by her skills!” she said. “I was hooked; and I have been decorating cakes since!” she said.
Top holidays for Dairy Queen cakes are Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Easter, and Valentine’s Day; but local stores also saw an increase in Christmas cake sales last year. No matter the occasion, Melvin creates a delicious treat both to view and to eat.
“I love to create and I always want that to show that in anything I do,” said Melvin. “I love the part when the customer looks at their cake and says, ‘That cake is so cool!’ or ‘They are gonna love that cake!’ I would say making people happy with what I create would be my very favorite part!”
