![]() ![]() They now purchase commercial grade balloons and can get 100 assorted shapes and colors for about $6. "It's been a lot of balloons," Dawn said. ![]() He estimates he crafts 30 or more every week. ![]() His older sister, Troi, 15, hosted a birthday party and Jaron made special creations for everyone in attendance. ![]() He has a birthday list and he makes a special creation of each person's choice. And he's made a big impression with his classmates. He's even designed his own sports themed creations based on soccer, football and basketball.įor a cousin's wedding, he created a bride and groom. He likes to work with themes such as holidays and cartoon characters. "Every holiday it's a new batch of critters," Dawn said. "If we added up his catalogue, it would be over 100 different things," said his dad, Calvin. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't," he said. He said he can't make a balloon person from looking at someone just yet, but he can if he has a photograph to go by. He said he will look at a stuffed animal and then figure out how to re-create it in balloon form. And that's where Jaron excels.v NO LIMITATIONS Jaron said the numbers describe the balloon sizes with the first digit representing the diameter and the second set of numbers the length.įrom these half-dozen sizes and shapes comes any number of creations, limited only by a twister's knowledge, skill and expertise. The more traditional balloons used for twisting are the long tubes and they come in four sizes, known as 160, 260 (standard), 350 and the jumbo 646. "I use hearts to do mouths of some animals and rounds for eyes," he said. The balloons themselves come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Jaron said the simple creations are made from a single balloon while more complex creations consist of three or more balloons. He's also made Super Mario characters ? which can take up to 10 minutes to craft, as well superheroes like Ironman, Captain America, the Hulk and Spiderman. For the holiday season, he's made Santa and elves. He enjoys the challenge, saying that people are the most difficult. Jaron has already moved well beyond tutorials and now challenges himself to make his own creations, using the techniques he has perfected. He likes the more challenging efforts the videos provide. He tried to see what he could learn from books, but said those were geared more for the basics. Dawn said he watches a video once and then he knows how to make that animal. He watches videos to learn how to make new creations and to learn new techniques. His mom picked up a starter kit at Rite Aid and she said within half an hour he had made his first creatures. "You could make a mistake and keep going, where with origami if you made a mistake you had to start over." Jaron said the balloon folding looked easier to him as it was just twisting. He was looking for videos about origami folding at the time, as he had been making origami art since he was in kindergarten. The world of twisting balloons is still relatively new to Jaron, who started in February after watching some videos on YouTube. His mother said they sat down together to craft a business strategy when they realized, "it was a lot of candy money for a kid that was sitting around." She noted that Jaron was the one who decided to set aside a fixed amount for charitable contributions. "I put 25 percent aside for the business, donate 10 percent to charity, 30 percent goes in the bank and the rest is for spending," Jaron said. His business model covers his expenses with enough left over for a small profit. Though his main commodity may be air-filled balloons, his business plan is not inflated with lofty unrealistic goals, but is based on sound and realistic expectations. In a nutshell, he twists balloons into characters and objects ? an art form that goes back decades. Jaron runs his own business, JC Balloon Creations, that he started ? with some assistance from his parents ? earlier this year. The youngest of two children of Dawn and Calvin Carter of Gig Harbor, Jaron is a straight-A student with a drive and determination that is rare among his peers. Most 11-year-old boys are obsessed with video games, sports or television and find little time or interest in the business world of supply and demand, profit distribution or scheduling appointments.īut Goodman Middle School sixth-grader Jaron Carter is not an average 11-year-old boy. Contact him via email at or call (253) 851-7048. JC Balloon Creations is available for private parties and events. ![]()
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