TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Artist Eddie Lin has been making waves using his unique talents to thank essential workers in the U.S. amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
The 22-year-old Taiwanese-American from Edison, New Jersey has been creating balloon art to show his appreciation for those working in healthcare, grocery stores, and the post office.
Talking to Taiwan News, the family said Lin got the idea from his friend Kay, whose mother is a grocery store manager, when she asked Eddie if he could make something for her mom as a tribute to essential workers.
(Ausome Balloon Creator)
His family has been sharing photos of his work over Facebook and Instagram, where he goes by the name Ausome Balloon Creator. Eddie was diagnosed with autism when he was a child.
Eddie first started making balloon art when he was 10. According to his older sister Cindy, one day he asked for long balloons and then just started making pieces. At first, he taught himself by watching videos on YouTube.
"When balloons entered Eddie’s life, they went with us wherever we went,” Cindy told Taiwan News. “When we’d travel to Taiwan as a family, we needed balloons to be in our luggage so Eddie could make things.”
(Ausome Balloon Creator)
During one Taiwan trip, Eddie ran out of a specific color balloon, so his aunt took him to a nearby balloon shop (5279 Balloon Deco) to get more. Eddie was amazed by all the balloons in the shop and really hit it off with the owner, Wesley.
In 2014, on another trip back, his mom Jenny reached out to Wesley to get some formal training for Eddie. Wesley arranged for Eddie to learn from his store’s best balloon twisters.
To get over the language barrier during the classes, Eddie’s mom was there to translate when necessary. But since Eddie is a visual learner, he was quickly able to pick things up just by watching.
(Ausome Balloon Creator)
At first, Eddie just made balloons for family and friends. It wasn’t until his mom lost her job that they decided to turn his hobby into a business. Jenny got things started by setting up a Facebook page, an Instagram account, an email address, and business cards. And that’s when Ausome Balloon Creator really blew up.
The great thing about the business is that the whole family is passionately involved. Eddie and his mom work closely together to design bigger sculptures for centerpieces or decorations.
Younger brother Jim is Eddie’s right-hand man at events that require tabling, where guests come up and request balloons from a list. Jim helps Eddie make balloons at these events.
Cindy, with her background in marketing, handles the social media. Eddie’s mom also takes customer orders and helps organize his schedule. Eddie’s dad is an investor, who also doubles as a delivery man.
(Ausome Balloon Creator)
Eddie makes balloons for all types of occasions. Birthdays, weddings, showers, school dances: he does them all.
When asked what character he likes to make the most, Cindy told us that it was the Hulk hands down. As for his favorite Taiwanese foods, those would be oyster omelets (蚵仔煎) and boba milk tea (波霸奶茶).
