With the first balloon order, this business immediately outgrew home premises - then came the World CupIN A small store at 85 Guyton St profits are, well, ballooning.
Karlene Gould runs Airgarmi, a balloon business which has become a leading provider of football balloons for New Zealand's premier rugby event this
year - the World Cup.
Her first order was 2100 balloons.
Then and there she decided her days of working from home, her "factory", were over.
The 44-year-old mother of three consulted with her accountant husband about opening a shop and she took ownership of the keys to 85 Guyton St - "a perfect site" - a month ago and the orders keep mounting.
Each week orders can range from 50 to 4000 balloons.
Parties, weddings, shop decorations ... no task is too big or small for Karlene and her team of three. But the rugby contract takes some topping.
Just when you start to imagine Karlene pushing her lungs to the limit inflating all these balloons, she's got it sorted.
She buys the US-made balloons - shaped like a rugby jersey - from a distributor and sends them around the country complete with hand pumps and instructions.
For the past few months they have been decorating shopping malls promoting the Cup.
"It shows that anything is possible in this city," Karlene said.
"If you love what you do and you're prepared to work hard and put yourself out there you can realise your dreams."
Her passion for balloons began several years ago while she was working as a director in the credit management industry for CCMNZ.
A Wellington client suggested she should get into balloons.
Karlene and her husband enjoyed hosting themed dinner parties, where balloons were a centrepiece, so she was urged to let her creative juices flow.
Now she's making a living out of thin air.
There are only three balloon businesses in New Zealand and Karlene is the only one between New Plymouth, Taupo and the Kapiti Coast.
Her balloon arches, bouquets, releases, clusters, floor drops, helium ceilings, table-top decorations and topiaries are spectacular.
Karlene says there is no place in the country where she can't deliver a helium foil balloon carrying a personalised message, complete with gift box.
