Inside the party industry's latest trend: Bold and beautiful balloons

WEST MICHIGAN — When you picture balloons, you might picture colorful bunches from Party City, floating against the ceiling during a child's birthday party.

But for Norton Shores resident Lisa Higgins, balloons mean something else entirely.

"People don't realize balloons can actually look really classy and elegant," Higgins, owner of West Michigan Balloons, told The Sentinel. "I started my business in Texas about two years before moving to Michigan in 2018."

Back in Texas, Higgins had competition. But when she sold her business down south and started fresh in West Michigan, she found the state lacked infrastructure for balloon decorators.

"People didn't really know what it was," Higgins said. "They just knew Party City helium balloons. It was hard to get going. But I really got busy in 2019, before COVID happened in 2020. Everything changed then, because everything was canceled."

Higgins coped by providing home deliveries, sometimes with balloon buffets.

"People were looking for unique ways to show they cared, even when they couldn't leave their house," she said. "These days, I do a lot of corporate and business events, but I also do baby showers and bridal showers and weddings."

Higgins has three children on her priority list, but still manages to tackle 10-12 orders per week. She recently changed the name of her business from Lakeshore Balloons, after expanding her service area to 150 miles.

"I was getting so many calls from Grand Rapids," she said. "I've quadrupled my business each year that I've been here, even with COVID."

What, exactly, is balloon decor?

"It falls into two categories," Higgins said. "Classic, like archways, and organic, which is really trendy right now. Organic means putting balloons together in different ways — there's lots of sizes and colors. When people ask for balloon art, that's basically what they mean."

Whether she's making traditional archways or columns, designing larger-than-life ice cream cones or gumball machines, or highlighting marriage proposals, Higgins believes balloons can be used to add ambience and excitement — no matter how long it takes to piece together.

"Two columns might take 10 minutes," she said. "But when I make an elaborate organic balloon wall or garland, it can take three hours. For a big event, it might take five to eight hours of setup, and that doesn't include inflating the balloons."

But balloon decorators don't often use helium, and Higgins never provides balloons for send-offs.

"I'd say 80 to 90 percent of what I create is air-filled," she said. "Sometimes for birthdays, that'll be helium, but doing so much air-filled is great, because you have a lot less of them floating away.

"And then there's the helium shortage. It's not really a shortage, but it's harder to mine. When I started in Texas, a tank was $100. The same tanks are $370 now. It's important to note balloon helium isn't the same as medical-grade helium, I know people have been concerned about that. But either way, I don't have to use much of it."

Higgins hopes to continue providing color to residents and businesses along the lakeshore.

"It's such a happy thing," she said. "It just makes everybody smile."

Learn more at westmichiganballoons.com.

— Contact reporter Cassandra Lybrink at cassandra.lybrink@hollandsentinel.com. Follow her on Instagram @BizHolland.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Inside the party industry's latest trend: Bold and beautiful balloons