The artistry of MKE Balloons and the business of celebration

Photos credit: MKE Balloons

From left to right, Sherife Hamdia and Merita Rexha grew their business quickly, learning from each event. They invested in their own balloon blower and environmentally-conscious balloons.

A party is in good hands when MKE Balloons decorates the jubilation. Since 2021, co-owners Sherife Hamdia and Merita Rexha have created extravagant, themed balloon displays for all kinds of occasions, from birthdays to graduations to weddings to holidays to the grand opening of a new space. The Franklin home-based business serves clients across the Greater Milwaukee area, and further, for a small travel fee.

“Every festivity that people want to celebrate, we’re there for you,” Hamdia says.

Hamdia and Rexha are sister-in-laws; Hamdia grew up all over southeast Wisconsin, and Rexha moved to Wisconsin from Kosovo in 2012. Given their line of work, one would think that Hamdia and Rexha have been big party people their whole lives, but that is not the case – they stumbled into the balloon business as the COVID-19 quarantine lifted.

“I was in nursing school, and then I did hair and makeup for a bit,” Hamdia recalls. “Then I got pregnant and I couldn’t do that anymore.”

Hamdia and Rexha were both focused on raising their children at the time. One day, Hamdia stumbled upon two women online who had started a balloon business together. “They were big…they had like 300,000 followers,” she remembers. “It seemed fun, so I literally went to Dollar Tree the next day and started buying balloons.”

She practiced building balloon displays at home. Rexha joined her shortly after. Before the two knew it, they were decorating for friends and family, officially kicking off MKE Balloons as a business.

“It’s been a trip,” Hamdia affirms. “There are good days and bad days for sure.”

The first-ever party MKE Balloons decorated had been a safari-themed children’s birthday celebration for a family friend. “It was challenging,” Hamdia laughs. “We put more money into it than we got paid.”

But Hamdia and Rexha continued decorating more parties, learning as they went. They invested in a balloon blower and name-brand balloons like Qualatex, Sempertex, Tuftex, and Kalisan. To be environmentally conscious, Hamdia and Rexha only use organic balloons.

“Qualatex is the best one, but they actually just went out of business after like 50 years,” Hamdia notes. “They were our pricier balloons, but they lasted the longest.”

She continues, “Cleanup-wise, we have to make sure we throw the balloons out correctly, because we have gotten complaints when the balloons have been left with the customer.”

MKE Balloons recently upgraded to helium for their balloons as well. It typically takes Hamdia and Rexha about 45 minutes to create one balloon stand, which follows a color scheme according to the type of event. They occasionally use flowers in displays sourced from the online retailer Angela Flower.

Since parties happen everywhere, all the time, MKE Balloons is busy year-round. Ramadan is an especially active time of year for them, immediately followed by Mother’s Day and graduation season in spring. Then they usually get a quick breather in the summertime.

“Everybody kind of goes back home or on vacation in the summer,” Hamdia explains. “September and October start up bridal showers and engagement parties and stuff like that. People love fall.”

Winter finds MKE Balloons decorating sporadically for holiday parties, which they are currently trying to do more with. “It’ll be fun for us to switch it up a little bit and get some new content and ideas out there,” Hamdia contends.

MKE Balloons has built a loyal clientele. Hamdia fondly shares about a particular customer, “Her name is Sparkle and she’s a wonderful person who celebrates everything. Her baby shower was our largest setup, and every time we work with her, it goes fantastically. She was talking about opening a little event business herself and collaborating with us, which would be fun because her eye pays attention to detail.”

Another massive display, created for a credit union party in Madison, took Hamdia and Rexha about a week to design and prepare, and three hours to construct. “It was a lot, but they loved it all,” Hamdia assures.

MKE Balloons is also supportive of community and humanitarian causes. After their events during Ramadan last year, Hamdia and Rexha donated all their funds to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF).

Whether it’s for a business opening or personal message, MKE Balloons designs a look to enliven the celebration.

As time went on, Rexha incorporated more party supplies and decorations, like themed plates, cups, and napkins, into the MKE Balloons repertoire. Acquired from a wholesaler, Rexha has adapted these items into the business’ aesthetic and style.

Hamdia mentions future plans, “We’re hopefully planning to open up a store. Merita pushed me to look into party supplies because Party City was closing down so it was a good opportunity for us. She’s taking over that wing. We’re just letting our kids grow a little bit more before starting a party store.”

The women are looking into Oak Creek for their ideal store location. They hope to be open by next fall.