Balloonafied Travels To Florida To Participate in Balloon Wonderland Event
Shanta Abraham recently traveled to Orlando, Florida for an event called Balloon Wonderland that was put together by a guy named Stuart and a woman named Ladonna. Both of them are very big names in the balloon industry. The event was put on for the Give Kids The World Village, which is a eighty-nine acre non-resort located in Central Florida and provides week cost free vacations for critically ill children. Shanta and other Balloon Artist took one of their event rooms and we embellished it with more than three hundred thousand balloons to create a balloon wonderland for the critically ill children.
After that, the organization actually put on events for the next few days for the community to join and also for the critically ill children to walk through and they sold merchandise and took donations for the foundation. I know that when I actually left Florida, they had raised almost ten thousand dollars. In this interview with the GR Times, Shanta shares her experience and talks about the evolution of her own balloon business.
GRT: How were you invited to participate in the event?
Shanta: I have been in the industry for a while and been apart of balloon groups and I have been to other balloon events out of state. It is pretty much a balloon community so you tend to see the same people. So when you are around that community you see events that are going on and the people are really balloon artist and are really in tune with what they are doing. These are the people who are actually paying to attend these events and are giving back while they are doing their deeds. It is really not just about making money once we see the affect that balloons have on people. So just being known in the community in being in the right space is what got me invited to attend the event in Florida.
GRT: Did you go down to Florida with a team of people?
Shanta: I actually traveled by myself but people attended the event from all over the world. This was a six-day stay and everyone actually paid for everything out of our own pockets so this was just about giving back. There were people their from the UK, Spain and all around the world. So we came together as the best of the best in the balloon industry and we put together huge displays. We had five quadrants that we embellished with different scenes. The scene that I was involved in was called Toyland. We had an Enchanted Forest, Under The Sea scene and a Candy Land area as well. It was a lot of fun.
GRT: Was this a great opportunity for you to network with people in the balloon industry from all over the world?
Shanta: Absolutely. I was actually able to meet the person who created the concept of balloon garlands or balloon décor. His name is Threb Heini and although I thought that I would never meet him but I was able to hear his story and hear the back-ground story behind balloon decors from the person himself. I even took pictures with him and he explained that back in 1970 he came up with a way to connect balloons together on a paper clip and create garlands. If he would not have done that then who knows if the balloons garlands and columns that I am making would be around today.
GRT: When did you get started with your balloon business?
Shanta: I got started with my balloon business in 2017 and my motivation was to simply create something for myself. I have always been a hard worker for other people and I just wanted something for myself because I wanted financial stability for me and my child so that is really what pushed me to start a business for myself. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do but I knew that eventually I would be doing something for myself in an entrepreneurial space. In the past I have sold food and other things but balloons seem to be my niche.
GRT: What is your vision for the future of your business?
Shanta: My vision is to have a team of strong, motivated individuals who love and enjoy doing balloon decorations and creating smiles for individuals. I want to have a space eventually like a Party City store but we will be selling arrangements and having meeting space for clients and warehouse space to prep for events. So I just want to have a team to spread balloons all over, taking on as much as we can and making an even bigger impact than we have made.
GRT: What kinds of events do you provide balloons for?
Shanta: We provide balloons for corporate and social events. We recently came from the DeVos serving a corporate client that wanted balloons for their client. We also do balloons for event planners, which would be in the corporate space as well. In the social space we have of course birthday parties, family events, kids parties and retirement parties. So we typically service those types of events.
GRT: What advice do you have for young people who may be aspiring to be and entrepreneur?
Shanta: I would say that you have to stay driven and strong because a lot of people want things to happen over night and it doesn't. You have to have a vision and be willing to see it come to pass. I would also say that before jumping into anything, make sure that you have a clear vision of what you are trying to do and know who you are trying to serve.
GRT: How can people get in contact with you?
Shanta: We can be reached via social media through our website at: (www.balloonafide.com) or by phone at 616-965-1720 or by Instagram at: (Balloonafied_LLC)
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