Student’s balloon bouquets take flight

Daniella Ramirez doesn’t own a car, but her creations – brightly colored balloon bouquets that have brought happiness to her customers during the pandemic – are getting around, with the help of Instagram and her mom, who delivers them.
Last spring, Ramirez, 19, of Miami Lakes, was a house-bound senior at Mater Lakes Academy doing distance learning when she decided to turn her hobby of making inflatable arrangements into a home business.
And Ramirez says she has been very busy, as clients aren’t allowing the pandemic to halt celebrations of life’s big events.
“When I make these balloon creations, it brings me absolute happiness knowing that I will bring a smile to someone’s face, especially during these hard times,” Ramirez said.
“I put my all into making these arrangements come to life and I truly mean it when I say it’s ‘Made with Love,’” she said.
Ramirez said she studied balloon arranging on the internet and as Mother’s Day approached, she began to receive requests for her bouquets.
That led to building a business page on Instagram: DanisBalloonCreations.
Her mother, Susy Ramirez, delivers bouquets to customers and her stepfather, Martin Cardenas, allows her clients to pick up their orders from his restaurant in town, Cancun Grill.
Ramirez said juggling her business while attending school classes on Zoom taught her not to give up on her goals.
Nikole Rodriguez said she has ordered several arrangements from Ramirez.
“Every balloon garland I purchased was a surprise for someone special in my life, and Dani made my vision happen every time for them,” said Rodriguez. “Dani’s balloon creations have [taken] many of my small events during quarantine [to] just [the] next level.”
Ramirez charges $35 to $200, depending on the size and the number of colors the balloons have.
She has incorporated balloons into her bouquets that are in the shape of champagne bottles; crowns; an astronaut; stars, hearts and animals including a giraffe.
“No idea is too big or too small,” she said.
Her profits have allowed her to buy a Nintendo Switch gaming system and she is saving for a car.
In the fall, she will attend Miami Dade College.
As for her hobby that blown up into a cottage business, “I’m going to continue making balloons on the side, because I love it.”