About Tobi
My real name is Taulbee McJunkin. Tobi is a nickname given to me by children that have a hard time remembering and pronouncing my name. In addition to entertaining at children's birthday parties and decorating balloon dancefloors, I am a mom and a wife. I have lived in the Phoenix Metro area of Arizona since 1994 and currently reside in San Tan Valley (SE of Queen Creek), AZ.
In 2007, I started clowning around with balloon twisting as a hobby. As an artist, I found this form of art very exciting. Although I could easily create a balloon dog or monkey, I was motivated by the abilities of some world reknown balloon artist, building full size balloon motorcycles, colorful balloon cars and other art. I was hooked and studied 40 hours a week on balloon design.
In 2008, I started performing as a balloon artist professionally. After taking several classes, I added face painting to my service options because I enjoyed it so much. Within weeks, I was in demand at local fairs and festivals.
In 2009, I was very busy and with a number of pool parties hiring me, I added glitter tattoos with my face painting services. They last three days and are a very popular with kids and adults. I also started teaching one hour classes in Ballooning and Face Painting at local schools. I enjoyed especially teaching the kids in the Champion program at San Tan Heights Elementary.
It's 2010, and this year I have focused on balloon decor and detailed balloon sculpting. This has greatly improved my quality at parties and my demand as well. I am booking over 90 days in advance and my tips have increased as well.
In 2011, I plan to dedicate most if my resources to the balloon decor side of my business once I purchase a van and become a Certified Balloon Artist. This means I will book fewer two hour parties and more festivals and fairs.