Little did former nurse Maria Widaman know she'd become a balloon artisan. However, during May 2023, she made it a whole new business, based from Dardenne Prairie, Missouri.
"For as far as I can remember, I've always wanted to use my creative side in a way that would bring joy to others. Sometimes when I had downtime as a NICU nurse, I'd decorate the rooms of premature babies who would be hospitalized anywhere from one month to even a year," she recalls. "I'd also decorate the rooms of patients in the ICU during holidays or birthdays to brighten up their stay."
After Maria's second daughter was born, she says she decided to put her nursing career on hold. "I missed being able to express my creative side and started targeting my energy toward learning how to plan budget-friendly parties and celebrations for my friends and family. This included learning how to make these amazing balloon garlands I kept seeing that were becoming a staple for most events."
Maria now offers custom balloon installations for corporate and commercial spaces, as well as events such as baby showers, birthdays, Grandparents Day, Halloween, galas, baby gender reveals, graduations, bridal showers, Mother's Day, anniversaries, engagement parties, proms, fundraisers and baptisms.
"This allows me to do something I love while being a present mom and wife. I love all the people and relationships I've made from this business. I enjoy hearing people’s stories, and being a small part of whatever it is they're celebrating. I also like that it allows me to de-stress from the busyness of everyday life once I get my balloon pump going," she says.
Her installations and backdrops include design, installation, breakdown and cleanup.
She says she produced her first balloon garland during winter 2023, while offering to do events for discounted rates. She also reached out to small businesses, churches and nonprofits to do events free of cost.
She adds that the physics of balloon decorating drew her to the industry, noting that properly built balloon structures won’t fall down or fly away. “Balloon work requires a lot of design forethought and balance."
The most current trend, or most popular setup, Maria explains, is a half balloon arch with a personalized chiara-style backdrop because this allows for a beautiful photo op while making any event pop. "Some other trends are shimmer backdrop walls, faux or real florals added to balloons, big and small bow accents, and what's known as balloon ropes."
Maria says she likes to go above and beyond to ensure her final product matches clients' visions. "Sometimes this entails 10-plus emails back and forth, phone conversations or walk-throughs. I'm a perfectionist and I ensure my work reflects that."
Due to customer and business growth, the Widamans are exploring bringing on part-time support to maintain the high level of service expected. They also plan to add more inventory marquee letters and other unique backdrops.
"We don’t take being hired for any event lightly. I'm always very honored and grateful that people trust me with their events. My husband and I feel very blessed and grateful to have what we do and love to give back. Therefore, we offer either pro bono services or very steep discounts to nonprofits, charity organizations and fundraisers," she states.
As a veteran-owned company, she says they offer a 10% discount to any active or retired military client. "We love the doors this business has opened for us."
balloontifulthings@gmail.com
908.906.8399