Partner Spotlight: a paid placement by a neighborhood business, not editorial coverage.
Pita del Toro started by decorating her daughter's birthday in Texas. In Charlotte, friends kept asking, and the hobby became Vive POP.
Pita del Toro says the job that changed things was a school building opening. For Socrates Academy's inauguration of its new high school building, she did her first big decoration with marquee letters, and by her account the space was filled with balloons from top to bottom.
"Seeing it all come together for such a milestone event, in front of the whole school community, is something I'll never forget," she says. "That project showed me this wasn't just a hobby anymore."
The hobby began in Texas, with her daughter's birthday. She decorated it herself, she says, and her girls loved it so much that it became a family habit: birthdays, holidays, any excuse to celebrate. Word spread to friends and family, and she kept saying yes.
When the family moved to Charlotte, friends here started asking her to decorate their events, too. "That's when it clicked," she says. "This wasn't just something I loved doing for my family, it could be something I built for my family."
That became Vive POP, which she describes as a family business, doing balloon decor and fabric draping for birthdays, weddings, baby showers and other celebrations in Ballantyne and around Charlotte. It began with balloon designs for friends and family. As clients asked for more, she added draping, which she says lets her transform an entire space instead of adding a few balloons to it. Every design is custom, she says, with colors, themes and styles matched to what each client is celebrating.
Her advice to anyone planning an event is to start early. "Don't wait until the week of your event to start planning your decor," she says. The best designs, in her experience, come from having time to talk through colors, themes and the small details that make a space feel personal. "Book early, and be open to letting your decorator bring in touches you hadn't thought of."
Both originally from Mexico, Pita and her husband, Omar, came to the United States when a job opportunity for Omar brought the family here. They became U.S. citizens on July 4, 2025. Their family's story ran here in September.
Vive POP · Balloon decor and draping for celebrations in Ballantyne and around Charlotte · (972) 795-1607 · vivepop8@gmail.com · vivepop8.com · Instagram @vive_pop8 · See her partner profile
This Partner Spotlight is drawn from Pita del Toro's own account and from our September story on her family.
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