A Somerset County woman is taking her business to new heights after opening a balloon shop in North Plainfield during the pandemic.

“I like making people happy,” says Nita Aviles, owner of Balloon Palace.

Aviles has been making people happy for 30 years.

“We provide unique balloon décor,” she says. “I started for my daughter’s birthday and then I actually did my sister’s wedding and then people started asking and I started doing a lot more research.”

The certified balloon artists used to design the displays out of her home, but she says that now the COVID-19 pandemic had caused her to expand the business. She has now moved into a brick-and-mortar store.

Aviles says that she is trying to focus on some of the good that has come out of the pandemic, while also adjusting to a new way of doing business.

“A lot of people I’ve decorated for, I’ve never met because all transactions have been non-contact. We basically do everything online,” she says.

She has also created a safe working environment inside of the store with plexiglass shields, sanitizer and masks.

“We try to do as much as we can to bring smiles in such troubled times,” Aviles says.

Aviles is also a dental assistant. She says if Balloon Palace keeps growing, she would like to pursue this full time.