The idea to own a party shop started when I was still employed in the motor industry. I worked for a large company, but I knew I would never own it. The entrepreneurial potential which was nurtured at an early age was irresistible. My mother was a full-time Purchasing Officer at a bank and despite her demanding job she found the time to run a small bakery. My father was a civil servant. His job required a lot of traveling, but he successfully ran several retail shops. During the school holidays my parents encouraged me to take on holiday jobs which equipped me with entrepreneur skills at an early age.
Why a party shop? My love for people and celebrating family events were some of the driving factors. When my daughter was about to turn 21, we planned a big event to celebrate this milestone. The challenging search for helium balloons and party accessories around Pretoria East sparked off the interest to explore this venture and to potentially help people to organize events with ease and more importantly within their budget. We held the 21st celebration outside South-Africa and the service providers in that part of the world did not fulfil the dream of an unforgettable event. This further fuelled my determination to assist people in attaining the goal of having memorable events by pursuing the venture. Variatas Party shop indeed caters for a variety of events that occur throughout the year; birthdays, birth of a child celebration, graduations, religious events etc. Being a part of the moments where clients want to uplift others going through challenging times like illnesses or a loss of a loved one, emphasised the importance of my dream.
Variatas Party Shop was started in 2009 as a small family business. The planning and execution of Variatas was very exciting and usually resulted in brainstorming sessions with my younger sister until early hours in the morning. My daughter was the first employee when she was studying for her Honours degree. She was later joined by a young lady who took a gap year after her matric. The goal to invest in people was further realized as I employed more students whom I mentored and encouraged to complete their studies while working part time.
Variatas has become the family friendly party shop, a place where ideas and imaginations come alive, a place which is funky and fun, a happy place :) ! We owe this to our valued customers.
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