NEW LENOX, IL — A New Lenox businesswoman is still coming down from a high after pitching in her talents from the rafters of Chicago’s United Center.
Stephanie Marquardt, of LGM Balloon Decor, LLC, was selected to be a part of the team creating the balloon drops at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It was a big moment for her homegrown business with its origins in her basement in 2018.
“… Politics aside, it was just a wonderful experience,” Marquardt said. “I started my company in the basement of my house. To be a female-owned business in 2024, and to experience something like decorating for a national event, was mind-blowing for me.
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“We typically shy away from being involved with anything political, this wasn’t something we were going to miss.”
As a Chicago-area, woman-owned business, Marquardt was asked to contribute when another, larger company subcontracted the job. That company, headed by well-known balloon expert Treb Heining, also sought to pay tribute to a beloved name in the industry. Tommy DeLorenzo, of Balloons By Tommy, is currently battling cancer and recently underwent a stem cell transplant.
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“… This project is about more than balloons,” Marquardt shared. “We are dedicating our work to a fellow balloon artist and dear friend, Tommy DeLorenzo of Balloons by Tommy, who is courageously battling cancer.
“Tommy has been a beacon of inspiration to many in our industry, and we want to send all our love and support to him as he fights this tough battle.”
More than 50 balloon artists from across the country were on-site, inflating 100,000 balloons to drop from the rafters at the United Center at the event capped by Kamala Harris accepting the Democratic nomination for President.
“It was two days of just non-stop inflation, filling the nets,” said Marquardt.
Creators arrived at the United Center each morning at 7 a.m., leaving time to make it through extensive security checks. Beginning at 8 a.m., what Marquardt refers to as “The Inflation Crew” worked from the second story, readying the balloons for their big moment. They’d pack the balloons into the nets, then sew the nets closed. In an assembly line, the nets then were passed down to crews below, who would move them to their respective spots for the drop. Union workers were used each step of the way, she said.
“It was really cool to see the back of house production that goes into events of this magnitude,” Marquardt said. “The security alone was extensive.
“… Painters, carpenters. The amount of union help that was there at the United Center was so amazing. We were actually utilizing our Chicago unions—Teamsters to operators, carpenters, painters. It was amazing to look around and be surrounded by all of those workers.”
The work was exhilarating, and a moment unlike anything Marquardt had yet seen for her business. Marquardt started the business in 2018, when a need for childcare prompted her to leave her job at McDonald’s corporate offices. Her daughter Grace was 1 year old at the time. The business name combines the initials of her children—Lucas, Grace and Mom, for LGM Balloon Decor LLC.
“I had a financial deficit that I had to make up,” Marquardt said, of the reality of pursuing a business from home.
She had previously explored balloon decor on a smaller level, among her family. Slowly, she branched out and began offering her services on Facebook.
“I decided to start a little business on Facebook, just really targeting birthday parties,” she said. “And now we’re doing events like the DNC.”
After starting the business from her home, she later relocated to space in a strip mall on Maple Street. The business then outgrew that space, and has since moved to a warehouse on Illinois Highway. Her work has appeared at events held by Silver Cross Hospital, McDonald’s, University of St. Francis and Amazon. She was also hired for actor Matthew McConaughey’s niece’s quinceañera, in Texas. The DNC was her first event of a national scale.
“It was unbelievable,” she said. “Regardless of what side of politics you’re on, to be there was just an unbelievable feeling. It was just kind of a ‘pinch me, I cannot believe that I’m sitting here doing this right now,’ moment.”
It was a massive accomplishment for Marquardt, who has juggled growing the business with being a mother to Lucas, 13, and Grace, 8.
“Balancing a business that’s growing at a rapid pace, and two young children that are in travel sports, is quite challenging at times,” she said, laughing.
She realizes the event is designed to rally Democrats, but hopes her own supporters can see the significance to her.
“It makes me very proud,” Marquardt said, of her contributions. “It’s a true testament to hard work and dedication to yourself and your business. Dedicating yourself to something you believe in really does pay off. When you’re passionate about something, your work shines through, and you can really be successful at it.
“It was not about politics for us, and anybody who can’t see that for a female-owned business that started with $200 in my basement, it was an opportunity we weren’t going to pass up.”
Marquardt is next on to organize—and revamp—the Lincoln-Way Area Business Women’s Organization’s annual Christmas auction, to be held at the New Lenox VFW on Dec. 4.
The organization seeks to raise money to fund scholarships for young women who reside in New Lenox, Frankfort, Mokena, Manhattan or a graduate of Lincoln-Way District 210 High School. The auction is the group’s most essential fundraiser, and helps determine the dollar amount and number of scholarships awarded each year. For more information, see the organization’s website.
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