I’m Ron Fowler, also known as Flower Clown, and some of you may know me from my early YouTube tutorials or my Balloon Bags. But there’s much more to my story than just bags. What I aim to do with my Bagalloon business is help people who are struggling. All the products I design are made in Nepal, and for the most part, they are made under fair trade conditions. This means I pay my workers a living wage, not just the lowest wage I can get away with. This is especially important because Nepal is a very poor country, and in 2015, they were devastated by a major earthquake. When you purchase one of my products, you're not just getting one of the best-designed bags around—you’re also helping a Nepali family rebuild their life.
My first trip to Asia was in 1996-97 when I spent a year traveling across eight different countries on three continents. During this trip, I fell in love with Nepal and ended up staying there for four months. After going full-time with clowning and twisting in 2000, I returned to Nepal and, on a whim, had a new costume made. It was beautiful and not very expensive. The next year, I returned to Nepal and had my tailor make a copy of my Big Balloon Bag. For the next 15 years, I made nearly annual trips to Nepal, spending 2.5 months each year learning tailoring, designing costumes, and making bags for local twisters. Over time, I developed close friendships with my Nepali tailors.
In 2006, I attempted my first export of bags, but it was a disaster. There were so many problems that I almost lost all my bags to customs. When I finally got the bags, the color choices had been lost in translation, and I had to sell them at a significant loss just to unload them.
In 2013, I brought back extra bags from Nepal and offered my designs to twisters outside my area, thanks in part to the help of the internet. In 2014, I received some encouragement from another bag maker to fully commit to the bags and the business. This was the turning point where I started focusing on both the products and learning about importing. My biggest boost came from other twisters who shared their ideas about what makes the perfect balloon bag. After just three years of collaboration, we finally came up with the ideal setup: the Zuca cart with the Aloha Balloon Bag on top.
In April 2015, my wife, daughter, and I had been in Nepal for two and a half months. I was working on designing and fine-tuning some of my older products, preparing to pack everything up and head home. But just three days before our departure, everything came to a halt. We were hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. I paused the Balloon Bag business for a year, spending the rest of 2015 fundraising and helping my friends and the Nepali people rebuild.
In 2016, when things started to return to normal, I returned to Nepal to volunteer and start designing and making bags again. My design team came up with new ideas, and we put the tailors back to work. They were in desperate need of work, and I ordered as much as I could. During that time, my wife and mother planned a trip to Disney in Florida for January. But wait—Twist & Shout was in Orlando in January too! When I checked the dates, I found our vacation ended two days before T&S started. It was just too much of a coincidence, and the timing was perfect. I decided to give exporting another shot and stock up for my first time vending at a balloon convention. If you were there, you might have noticed I was a little busy! Sales were great, but the best part was talking to people about what they wanted from a balloon bag. Two weeks later, I was back in Nepal, taking all that feedback and creating the Aloha/Zuca setup.
In 2017, I took another big step by starting to do custom orders, including hand-done embroidery on many of the bags and covers. This was done in between my summer gigs, and I spent a lot of time taking orders, helping people design their custom bags, and working with four different factories to make sure everything was running smoothly. Like any new venture, there were a few problems, but overall, everything went really well.
As my business has grown, so has my commitment to supporting the artisans in Nepal. I’ve always focused on ensuring fair wages and respect for the people who make my products. Currently, around 40% of my production is fair trade, and my goal is to increase that to 100%. This isn’t just about selling balloon bags—it’s about creating a positive, sustainable impact on families and communities in need. Looking ahead, my vision for Bagalloon is to continue empowering artisans, preserving Nepal’s rich craftsmanship, and supporting its recovery from the 2015 earthquake. When you purchase one of my products, you’re not just supporting a small business—you’re contributing to rebuilding lives and fostering fair trade in Nepal. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your continued help and support. Together, we’re helping to transform lives, one balloon bag at a time. — Ron Fowler, Founder of Bagalloon