Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephany Vargas
Hi Stephany, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Stephany Vargas and I am the owner and creator of Paper and Fringe. I am a mother of two, a wife, and a full-time Social Worker; however, balloon art has quickly become my passion. I was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic but immigrated to New York City in November of 1992.
I have a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a master’s degree from Fordham University. I’ve been a social worker for over 10 years however, I always felt like something was missing. I’ve been a creative person all my life, but I never imagined I would one day own a balloon company. Although I fell in love with crafting instantly, it took me a bit longer to discover balloon art. To be honest, I was terrified of balloons because I hated the sound of them when they popped! One day I decided to try and make my son a balloon garland for his birthday, and I’ve been obsessed with balloon art ever since. I’ve been playing with balloons since the summer of 2019, and I am loving them more and more with each project!
Paper and Fringe was born from the love I have for creating. There is nothing more exciting to me than bringing to life my client’s visions and making their day special. No matter the type of event, we work hard to ensure our clients vision is executed to perfection. Our team works with clients all over the United States and internationally as well. We specialize in creating custom-colored balloons to match any color pallet.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The journey to entrepreneurship has not been an easy one for me. As a mother, a wife and a full-time employee, it has been hard work to be able to start this small business and keep pushing myself to follow my dreams. Most of the events we work on take place during the weekends which means that we are usually missing out on family events/functions and other important events. Thankfully, I have an amazing ordinary husband and family who support my dreams and encourage me daily. In this journey I’ve learned that it truly takes a village, and I am so grateful for mine. I could not do this without the support of my husband, my children, my in laws, my parents and my friends. I have an amazing team of women that I work with. I take pride in my team because they work so hard to ensure that our installations are flawless, and our clients visions come to life. I will be honest though, some days things can get a bit hectic, but I remind myself of all of the hard work that it took to start this business, I think of the example I want to be for my children and I think about the wonderful team I get to work with.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
In 2018 I discovered my love for balloons, and I’ve been Paper and Fringe for the last 6 years. Paper and Fringe is a bespoke balloon decor company that specializes in unique and custom balloon decor for all types of events. We pride ourselves in creating one of a kind balloon installation for our clients. We specialize in custom colored balloon décor to match any theme or color pallet. Our clients always have the best color combos and themes, however we often struggled to find the exact colored balloons to match the décor elements they were using. We began to “double stuff” balloons by hand and found this task to be super tedious and time consuming. Double stuffing occurs when you take a single balloon and you insert it in another balloon of a different color to create a custom shade, like mixing colored paint. Although the process of double stuffing” took hours and sometimes even days, I absolutely loved the outcome of creating my own balloon colors. In 2023, my husband and I created the Balloon Stuffer which is the first custom color tool in the balloon industry that allows creators to “double stuff” more than one balloon at a time. The Balloon Stuffer has had such an amazing response from balloon artist all over the world who love the tool and use it on a day-to-day basis to create custom colors for their clients. I am so proud to say that we are currently patent pending and are working to make the Balloon Stuffer assessable to all creatives globally. We currently service clients in New York City, New Jersey, Florida, the Dominican Republic and beyond.
In 2022 I decided I wanted to connect with my following on social media on a much deeper level and so I launched Beautiful People the Podcast, which is a podcast hosted on YouTube. On this podcast, I had the pleasure interviewing fellow creatives in the event industry and learning a bit more about their stories. Hosting this podcast was such an amazing experience for me. We discussed so many things that we experience as creatives in this industry and learned so much about different roles in the event industry. I am looking forward to sitting with new creatives and discussing more about the different elements and dynamics of providing a service or owning a small business in the event world, in future episodes to come. In the meantime, I encourage you all to catch the first seasons of Beautiful People the Podcast now live on YouTube.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up in Brooklyn I was surrounded by so much culture and art. My parents separated when I was 7 years old, so life wasn’t always the easiest however my brothers and I were raised with an enormous amount of love and encouragement. My parents showed my sibling and I the meaning of hard work and dedication. We watched my mother work multiple jobs at the same time in order to provide us with the opportunities she didn’t have. Growing up I always loved and enjoyed school. I was always super social and talkative. I remember telling my mother I wanted to be an artist and doodling in any piece of paper I could find. In school I loved art class because I would have the opportunity to draw and use different paints, chalks and glitters. Although I don’t create traditional art, I believe that balloon art was always in my destiny. I love the fact that I get to work on creating everlasting memories for my clients and I believe that with every balloon installation I create, I am honoring my parents through my hard work and making my family proud.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://WWW.paperandfringe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperandfringe/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beautifulpeoplethepodcast
Image Credits
Photographer: Aleksandra Florez Photogrpahy
Instagram @aleksandraflorezphotography
