Irina Ustimenko is direct when asked why she started a bakery business.

“It was my dream, and I like sweets,” says Ustimenko, who was born and raised in Ukraine before moving to Spokane about 20 years ago.

A maker of cakes, mini cakes, and pies, Ustimenko recently opened Sweet World, at 1104 W. Wellesley, a block west of Monroe Street-Wellesley Avenue intersection, on the North Side.

Ustimenko is the sole owner and employee in the 1,825-square-foot bakery shop, though she gets volunteer assistance from her mother, sister, and a friend, she says.

“We have a wide selection, and this is a very popular time to do a variety of different things,” she says.

Sweet World, which can also be found online at sweetworldcakes.com, is open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. six days a week and closed on Sundays.