Not to make us sound old or anything but let’s go all the way back to 1999 🥹 Viv moved to Canada from Uruguay in fourth grade. We were backyard neighbours and soon became close friends. In sixth grade, along came Tiera, followed by Cinthia in eighth. Somehow, the universe conspired to make us besties, and it’s been that way ever since 👯♀️👯♀️💖
We were always big on celebrating… birthdays, holidays, life in general. So when Cin mentioned she wanted a giant rainbow balloon garland for her baby shower, we were obviously going to make it happen. Ten hours later, fingers ACHING but spirits high, we had ourselves a pretty decent balloon installation. That’s when it dawned on us… Why not turn our love for celebrations into a business?
We threw around name ideas like Sparkle Inc, Project Balloons, and yes, even Self Made Balloons (LOL). But even early on we had this weird sense that there was more to explore than balloons… and we didn’t want our name to limit us to the confines of our initial idea. Enter CONFETTIMYPARTY ✨
With $500 each and a whole lot of ambition, we slowly transformed the coziest corner of Cinthia's basement into our creative hub. Then, COVID blindsided us all. The world hit pause, and suddenly, our fun side project felt like it might be slipping away. Everything was so weird and no one knew WTF was going on. Whether it was to help us from going insane or to just pretend like things were normal, we decided to offer something for Mother’s Day 2020.
If you've been with us since the beginning, you'll remember the iconic Mother’s Day bubble. I mean… she was a moment. A clear bubble balloon filled with feathers (feathers meticulously HAND PLUCKED off boas we sourced from the dollar store 😭) personalized with your own special Mother's Day message.
We made two bubbles, headed downtown for a photoshoot, and crossed our fingers. And you know what? We sold out that weekend 😱 We surpassed our expectations and proved that even in ~uncertain times~ celebrations must go on. It was that moment that transformed our “little business” into something tangible 🌱✨… but that wasn’t the only thing that changed.
Tiera had a moment of clarity and decided the whole entrepreneur thing wasn't her vibe. Cue the tears and heartfelt confession about wanting to bail on the business but not wanting to risk our friendship. Can you believe she even thought that we would drop her after over a decade of being besties because of a career choice 🥲 At this point, I don’t think anything could break our bond! Tiera might've stepped back from the business, but she’s still our top cheerleader, rooting for us from the sidelines 💖
After the Mother’s Day rush, we really shifted our focus to helium balloons. With COVID came a surge of balloon businesses in Toronto. We knew we had to differentiate ourselves. We sat down and created the CONFETTI POP PACKAGES ✨ Unique balloon bouquets with cute names to match. Since then, it’s felt like a whirlwind – For three years our POP PACKAGES ✨ kept us busy.
Everyday seemed like a blur of back-to-back orders. It was chaos, but in the best way possible. Our client base and Instagram following were steadily growing and the three of us were committed to CONFETTI full time. But like all good things, our basement HQ had its limits. We had outgrown Cinthia’s basement and we were literally overtaking into every nook and cranny of her house. We needed to establish a space of our own and it was definitely time to give Cin her home back.
Renting a unit seemed like the logical next step, but for us, it was an opportunity to dream bigger. If we were going to be investing in rent, we may as well open a whole party store right? Go big or go home! Half a year of searching and we found the perfect spot. 65 Densley Avenue - Unit 1… a blank canvas that we transformed into the CONFETTI HQ. A little slice of party heaven that reflects our true passion for celebration 🥳 We filled it with all things fun, bright, trendy & unique. Okay, we might be a tad biased, but we genuinely believe it's the happiest party shop ever!
Over a year into opening our storefront, we've been schooled in more ways than we could have imagined. Seriously, every day is a different crash course… sometimes in entrepreneurship and marketing but sometimes also in fire extinguishers and ant traps 🤪 Despite the hurdles, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Each day brings a fresh challenge or lesson, but it's also an opportunity to be creative, connect with incredible clients, and play a part in life's magical moments.
Cheers to our first blog post and a little glimpse into our world. We're thrilled to have you along for the ride!
xoxo, Elyssa