image by Geronimo Balloons

Jordan Ferney interviewed LA based artist Jihan Zencirli. This snippet of the interview describing Zencirli's start as a Certified Balloonatic is lovely and utterly reinforces my love for helium filled spheres.
Real Simple: How did you become a “Certified Balloonatic and Master Balloon-Trooper ?”

Jihan Zencirli: A year ago, in a pinch for a birthday surprise for a friend I was meeting for dinner, I reached into my stash of random internet finds and came out with a 36″ round balloon. I ran to have it filled with helium at a party store– not realizing the enormity of the balloon and quite overwhelmed with this big mass! When I arrived back home, I thought it just looked lost and sad on curling ribbon so I whipped together all my favorite ribbon and made a long dramatic tassel of orange and purple. I arrived a few minutes early to the restaurant and I’ll tell you– every single person turned to look at me as I wrangled the balloon through the door. There was dead silence. After a few seconds, a man from across the room yelled, “Now that’s a balloon!” and started to clap, with the entire restaurant laughing and clapping with him. It was a really magical night- and in addition to my friend feeling very special, the mood and tone of the evening was very joyful and happy. People smiled big as we left- and I certainly don’t recall a more lovely evening with smiles and more social interaction between tables. After this electrifying social interaction, I decided to bring balloons to all my dinner dates, celebrations, gallery openings,etc. After a month of perfecting my balloons to hold more frill, and expanding my balloon colors, I was asked more times than I can count “Where did you find this balloon?”. After explaining that I made them myself, people started requesting to order balloons for their own parties and events. I would come home from my day job as a creative marketing director and go straight to my basement to make balloons all evening. After moving to LA in late April and falling into a perfect studio space, I’ve been lucky to be able to devote myself full-time as Master Balloon Trooper for Geronimo!