Our Team

Allison is the imagination behind the brand, and loves working side by side with her sons and daughter-in-law. She was a funeral director/embalmer before becoming the owner of a balloon factory. Her choice TUFTEX color is Fog. Her favorites are her kids & grandkids, riding her bike along the shores of Lake Erie, a good yoga or spin class, and doing headstands.

Mike helps the TEAM streamline our vision of growth. Purchasing a balloon factory was his idea, and he is happy being able to provide our area of the world with job opportunities that make a difference for local families. He thrives when helping TEAM TUFTEX be more efficient & effective, is extremely competitive, loves Pearl Seafoam, and a good sneeze best.

Doc has a hand in almost all things TUFTEX. He makes the production schedule each week and is the one in the lab creating new colors, tasked with trying to relay Allison’s color dreams into reality. He’s currently undecided as to whether he likes Blue Slate or Teal best. Four kiddos, a wife & doggie keep him busy & happy outside of the factory.

Meg stalks all balloons Insta pages, reporting it all to the TEAM, and allots product to each distributor every day. She spends some of her free time as @_theballoonbabe. Her favorite TUFTEX color? It’s a tie between Gray Smoke & Canyon Rose, but we all know it’s Gray Smoke. She is momma to a balloon princess, has a husband, and a big pup named Miley.

Gage joined TEAM TUFTEX in 2023 and is tasked with ensuring all the manufacturing processes are running smoothly every day at the factory. He loves hitting the links on the golf course, walks with his wife, being a dad to three energetic kids, and is the oldest of Mike & Allison’s five sons. Metallic Forest Green is the color he likes best.

Diana began working at the factory just out of high school and has the most intel on what has worked (and what has not worked) for TUFTEX over the years. She is the manager of our customer service department, keeps the lines of communication flowing with our distributors, and has by far the best taste in shoes in the building. She fancies Lime Green and Red.

Kendall is the newest member of our TEAM and is quickly becoming accustomed to the fun & crazy balloon world! When she’s not taking care of our brand through her work in Facebook and planning events, she enjoys walking her dog Moe, spending time on the lake boating, and getting lost in TJ Maxx. She prefers Willow if forced to choose.

There are about 65 other awesome TEAM TUFTEX members in our production, packing, maintenance and shipping/receiving departments in our Norwalk, Ohio facility. They’re proud to be manufacturing the only latex balloons that are 100% “Made in America”. Our production teams are making the highest-quality balloons on the market 24 hours a day, about 360 days every year.

The Nieves sisters have been in the balloon industry since 2012 and recently developed the Professional Balloon Designer diploma from the Florida Dept. of Education. Originally from Venezuela and now based in Miami, they have garnered many international awards including two Emmy’s for “Our Story: My Sister” and the Mara de Oro International Award. Their favorite TUFTEX color is Pixie.

Confetti Castle, based in Charlotte, NC, opened up shop in 2019, and Tiffany and Allison quickly found out their business mindsets aligned. She represented TUFTEX at FLOAT 2024 and not only was a headliner instructor at TUFTEX EXPERIENCE ’23, her team made sure that Opening Night was as colorful as possible! She loves Hot Pink and (cue surprising fact) Malted.

Delloons established their décor business in 2020, servicing clients in NJ/NY. TUFTEX’s Favorite Balloon Couple have been instructors at both NYC Balloon Balls, FLOAT 2024 and not only instructed at the first ever TUFTEX EXPERIENCE, but also got to deck out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland with TUFTEX Balloons! They love Blue & Hot Pink.