PARTY time is more than a few balloons around the room for Alan Lauder.

With his wife, Julie, he runs the Balloon Shop in Coventry Street, Kidderminster, and all their presentations are works of art.

You want a theme for your special occasion? The Lauders are equal to the challenge. Ask them to create a Las Vegas in the village hall and they are in their element or they might turn a very ordinary room into a romantic Moulin Rouge setting for a wedding breakfast.

"At the moment we are working on an Ancient Egypt theme for an American lady," said Alan.

"It all started when I had heart surgery in 1997. I was told to give up the work I was doing so, not being one to sit back and mope, we converted our hobby into a business and opened the Balloon Shop last January."

Now the couple have entered the Business Idol competition. "If we were to win," said Alan, "the £1,000 prize would enable us to enhance the business, with better advertising and better equipment."

If you think a balloon is a globe of rubber you just blow up to look pretty, think again. The Lauders offer balloons that sing "Happy Birthday" as they go down. With others, you can record your own message, which comes over loud and clear. There are some that explode to drop confetti and others shaped like hearts.

Just to enter the shop lifts the spirits. The place is awash with colour and party goods. Balloons, of course, plus ribbons and bows, greetings cards and feathers, confetti and more balloons.

"Colour coding is often an important aspect of an order," said Alan. "Recently a lady wanted bronze balloons. We were foxed for a while, then we found that by blowing up a brown balloon inside a gold one we got just the right shade."

As we left, a customer came in asking for green confetti for an Irish wedding. Alan was unperturbed. "Just give me a day or two," he said.