Turning strawberries into art proves therapeutic for new business owner

When times get tough, Ryanna Sandoval turns to strawberries.

Sandoval, 24, started decorating chocolate-covered strawberries last fall as a way to cope with postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter, Lili.

“If I was frustrated or if it felt like I was going to have a mental breakdown, I would just go straight to strawberries, and that’s what would keep me calm,” Sandoval said.

In January, she decided to turn her love of decorative berries into a business, Lili Berries, named after her now-1-year-old daughter.

“It still feels like a hobby just because I enjoy it so much,” Sandoval said.

Lili Berries offers custom berry designs as well as holiday-specific themes.

For Easter, for example, Sandoval created strawberries decorated to look like little bunny bottoms with cottontails and pastel paws. She also had berries decorated as carrots that looked to have just been pulled from the ground, complete with a crumbled chocolate cookie coating to look like dirt.

She also has designed berries with cow prints, marbling and even some for nurses complete with stethoscopes and lines to mimic a heart monitor screen.

She has done other chocolate work creating geometric hearts, and she hopes to expand her product line to include “cakesicles,” which are like cake pops but in the shape of a popsicle.

Sandoval hopes her in-home business could someday expand to a brick-and-mortar shop in Sioux Falls.

Originally from New Mexico, Sandoval is also an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She’s excited to go from living in a small town on the Navajo reservation to owning a business in Sioux Falls.

“It’s just surreal knowing that people are slowly getting to know my business,” she said.

You can learn more about Lili Berries and place a custom order through Facebook, Instagram or by emailing [email protected].