42 THE QUEENS COURIER • BUZZ • JUNE 4, 2020 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
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Glendale’s Candy Twisted Balloons spreads smiles during quarantine
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Candy Brigham, owner of Candy
Twisted Balloons, is determined to help
people celebrate special moments like
graduations and birthdays during quarantine
with incredible, personalized balloon
creations by prioritizing sanitation
and social distance.
“Th ese events are really important to
people and they’re more important now
than they ever were before,” Brigham said.
Brigham began her business seven years
ago, aft er transitioning from an administrative
job to entertainment. She began
with magic shows then her hand-craft ed
balloon pieces took center stage.
Th e 50-year-old runs her business from
her home in Glendale, where she’s lived
for more than 20 years, with the help of
her family and husband Ade Brigham.
Brigham said this time of year is the busiest
for her, whether it’s booking events
at Rego Center mall or graduations —
but once New York went on lockdown in
March, that all changed.
“Every single event in May got canceled,
and then aft er that all of my events for the
rest of the year were canceled,” she said.
But Brigham kept creating and working
within the community. Slowly, more and
more people have reached out for her services.
She’s currently working on a giant
arch for a school out on Long Island, aft er
school administrators saw an Eiff el Tower
she created in celebration of a 16-yearold’s
birthday.
“Th ey want a a double car drive-through
arch,” Brigham said. “Th ey’re going to
have a drive-through graduation so the
kids are going to drive into the arches and
it’ll be like a little parade.”
Although Brigham makes the arches
and columns people usually associate
with balloon art, what makes her creations
special is the customized approach
she adds to every piece.
“Th ere’s a personal connection to the
balloons,” she said. “Usually I incorporate
something about the person, and if
it’s not the person themselves, their hobbies,
their interest, their favorite movies,
theater shows.”
One of her recent pieces include a Metsthemed
birthday balloon, which her client
said “makes even a 50-year-old feel
special.”
Another client, Lisa K., recently ordered
a Minecraft -themed balloon piece for her
son’s eighth birthday, who she said was “so
happy to share it with his classmates virtually”
and is “still playing with balloons
a week later.”
“Since my son Alexander’s birthday
party was canceled due to the current
COVID-19 pandemic, I knew that I wanted
to do something extra special for his
eighth birthday on May 16,” Lisa K. wrote
in a testimonial, adding that she didn’t
show Brigham any photos of what they
wanted but just gave her an idea.
“She was very creative with making the
Minecraft character Steve and a Creeper.
She created an awesome sword that was
later easily removed, which my son loved
playing with. Alexander was absolutely
surprised and thrilled with his Minecraft
balloon sculpture!” Lisa K. added the
piece was still intact a week later.
In order to safely continue the business,
Brigham said she did extensive research
about how to properly sanitize balloons,
which involves wiping down the balloons
with Lysol and alcohol. It hasn’t been easy
for her to secure supplies, as there have
been shortages as well as delays, but being
a certifi ed balloon artist has helped her
fi nd what she needs for the time being.
“Th e CDC actually has formulas out
there for you to make proper hand sanitizer,”
she said. “I saw how I can make an
alcohol-based spray that I can use and it’s
wonderful. I spray my balloons down with
it before I deliver them, so I feel totally
comfortable and safe with handing a balloon
to a 90-year-old lady.”
She also uses acrylic paint for her art,
as Sharpie (which she’s seen used in other
balloon pieces on social media) dissolves
with alcohol or Lysol. Brigham is careful
to wear masks, gloves and take 10 steps
back when dropping off the balloons at
people’s doorsteps. She said as someone
who has elderly people and people with
pre-existing conditions in her family even
before the COVID crisis, hygiene is “of
the utmost importance” during this pandemic.
And so is bringing people in quarantine
with some sunshine.
Brigham plans to off er driveway and
yard social distance fun and magic shows
with sanitized balloons for the summer.
“To get through this whole thing, so
we don’t have a second wave like they’ve
experienced in other places, we have to be
safe. We have to be careful,” Brigham said.
“And it’s good to stay within your community.
I’m building up trust within my
community so people feel safe, and they
feel comfortable.”
For more information, visit Candy
Twisted Balloons’s website at www.can-
Photo courtesy of Candy Twisted Balloons dytwistedballoons.com.
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