Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 19, 1990 TAG: 9004200234
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: AMANDA BARRETT STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
However, Vickie Carlisle and Larry and Diane Hanson have introduced a new concept of balloon gift-giving to the Roanoke Valley.
Their idea is to stuff items inside a colored or transparent balloon so that the balloon is a type of gift wrap instead of just a present in itself.
The idea of balloons as gift wrapping was conceived by a man in Salt Lake City. The balloons are made in Canada, but there are a few distributors in the United States.
The balloon is stuffed by being stretched over a round disc, called an expander, which holds the balloon open. It is set in a machine that creates a vacuum and held in place with special clips. While the balloon is in the machine, items are stuffed through the opening and into the balloon.
"Anything that will fit through the opening can be put into the balloon," says Vickie Carlisle. Bigger items may be stuffed in the balloon if they are soft enough to be forced through the opening, said Carlisle.
A tiny tube inserts small items such as small stuffed animals and roses. After the balloon is stuffed, a foot pump is used to fill it with air and the balloon is sealed.
The balloons are made of a high-grade latex and last from four to six weeks. Larry and Diane Hanson of Stuffin-A Balloon say that some customers have had balloons last longer than six weeks.
The reason the balloon lasts so long is because the air is room temperature, said Carlisle, owner of Balloons Plus.
Carlisle has been working at home and out of a booth at Happy's on Williamson Road. She's been in the balloon business about three months.
She said she first saw the balloons at a business trade show. Her initial investment was about $5,000 for the machine, stuffed animals and balloons.
Carlisle said she had little instruction on how to operate the machine. "It was a matter of trial and error."
She is sure that she will get her initial investment back out of the business. However, "right now, sales go right back into the business" so that she may build a large inventory.
Also, she is taking classes in floral arrangements so that she can learn to put plants and other live arrangements in balloons.
Carlisle's balloons vary in price from $9.95 to $24.95, in addition to a delivery charge. Customers can choose from her gifts or have their own gifts stuffed in balloons.
"I am trying to keep the price of the balloons down so that everyone can buy one," said Carlisle.
Carlisle has received a few strange requests.
"One lady wanted to know if I could stuff a live animal in a balloon. I wonder how she thought the animal would stay in the balloon and not claw its way out?"
"Another woman wanted to know if I did balloons that could be put on graves. I tried it and it actually looked different and very nice," said Carlisle.
Carlisle likes balloons because they can be used in so many ways. "A man could propose by putting a ring on a stuffed animal's hand [inside the balloon]. Or you could use it to give a special present."
Carlisle, a meat cutter at Food Lion, would eventually like to open her own independent shop.
The Hansons have been in the balloon business since January 1989. They also saw the marketing technique at a trade show. They say that they got into it because it was such an unusual idea.
The Hansons, who work for a non-food-item distributor to convenience stores, had a booth at Tanglewood Mall during the Christmas season and will be working at Sears at Valley View Mall for special occasions.
Their other all-occasion balloons vary in cost. If the customer chooses from the Hansons' gifts, the cost is the price of the gift. The gifts range from stuffed animals to roses and cost from $4 to $25. They charge $2 to stuff the gift in the balloon. If a customer brings his own items to put in the balloon, the cost is $6.50.
In addition to their regular stuffed balloons, the Hansons offer balloon wedding centerpieces and "Candyloons," bags of candy with a greeting balloon included. Candyloons are sold at convenience stores.
Larry Hanson said he enjoys working with the balloons. "It is a creative expression. It allows you creative freedom that other jobs might not give you," he said.
For the Hansons, the balloons have become a family project. "We [make the Candyloons] while we watch television," said Diane Hanson.
Also, daughters Amanda and Julie Hanson stuff the bags for Candyloons and keep an eye on the stuffed animals at the booths.
The Hansons said their balloons have been sent to Korea and one to the Soviet Union.
The Hansons have put several imaginative items into balloons. One customer had a pair of size 10 Converse tennis shoes put into a balloon. An organization sponsored a "Guess How Many Chocolate Kisses in the Balloon" contest, and another man put 401 dollar bills inside a balloon.
"One lady blew up some condoms and had us put them into a balloon," Larry Hanson said.
The Hansons said that the balloons are a strong impulse item. "Peoples' imaginations run wild when they see them," said Diane Hanson. "Adults are just as taken with them as children."
The Hansons say they are happy with their business venture. Even though they have just started, they feel their business has been well accepted.
"It is worth the work. The balloons are a business that is unique and different but doesn't require much capital," Larry Hanson said.
But it does require a wide variety of balloons for all occasions, he said. "The key is versatility. I feel that we have had such success because of our selection."
by CNB