It’s party time at JoJo’s Place

As the owner of one of the largest party supply stores in the area, Jodi Sipiorski specializes in making people happy.

From birthdays to weddings to holidays and graduations, JoJo’s Party Place, located at 2258 Calumet Drive in Sheboygan, truly has it all.

The three-room, 3,000-square-foot store features thousands of paper products, plastic-ware and Styrofoam, party supplies, holiday decorations, wrapping paper, festive attire and balloons for all celebratory occasions.

After nine years in the human resources and corporate recruiting field, Sipiorski jumped at the opportunity to own her own business last spring.

“Although I enjoyed what I was doing, I wanted to do more,” she said. “Make more of a difference. Owning my own business was always a ‘someday’ dream.

“When I had heard through a friend that Wilke’s Party House was up for sale due to the previous owners, Ken and Phyllis Wilke, passing away, I couldn’t pass it up and called to inquire about it.”

Concerned that the popular business could fall by the wayside, Sipiorski took a chance on a big new endeavor.

“Due to their (Wilke) passing, the store was almost on the verge of closing,” she said. “I, and others I knew, had shopped at the store so many times and thought it was a great place to find what you needed for just about any event. I just couldn’t see it close after all these years.”

In May 2009, Sipiorski’s dream became a reality, when she reopened the well-known party supply store with a new name – JoJo’s Party Place.

“I knew the store had so much potential to grow and become even better than it was,” Sipiorski said. “That’s what excited me the most at the start.

“We’ve worked really hard since last May to make the store brighter, cleaner and just more appealing to the customer. We’ve added a lot of new products and rearranged things a bit to make it easier to locate items in the store.”

In addition to adding to the existing offerings in the standard party supply areas, Sipiorski recently opened new school-spirit and teacher-supply sections.

“People really like to get dressed up and support their team to the fullest for sporting events, so I thought a section geared toward school spirit would be a nice addition,” she said. “We have pom pons, shakers, beads, car and face paint, hats and so many other accessories for sports and school-related functions.

“We have all the area schools’ colors, so everyone has a place to find items to celebrate their school’s accomplishments.”

The special teachers’ section features classroom items like stickers, name plates, calendars, cutouts and progress charts.

“Teachers don’t really have a place to go in this area to get some of those special items for their classrooms,” Sipiorski said. “You would normally have to travel to Appleton to find some of the teacher items we now have here.”

Sipiorski and her five-person staff strive to make the customer feel completely at home.

“We do all we can to make our customers feel welcome,” she said. “We all have a passion for taking care of people.

“If someone doesn’t find something they are looking for in the store, just let us know. We will take the time to search for it and follow up with what we can find. I think that personal one-on-one attention is very important.”

Sipiorski truly appreciates and values the customers who have continued their support and loyalty to the store.

“They have been wonderful and it’s great getting to know them and their needs,” she said.

She also credits her staff (Michele, Sharen, Mary, Katie and Amber) her husband Jaydee and her parents Marv and Jan with helping to make JoJo’s Party Place a success in its first year in business.

“Without any of them, we couldn’t be here,” Sipiorski said.“The staff and my family are absolutely fantastic.

“I want to thank them for all of their time, support and dedication. We have a great team here. Everyone is willing to jump in and help out with anything. I couldn’t be happier to be so fortunate.”

With three large rooms, each filled with hundreds of items, Sipiorski feels some people may not realize how much the store has to offer.

“When the business opened, it originally specialized solely in wrapping paper and paper supplies being confined to just the front room,” Sipiorski said. “Over time that changed and it moved more into the party supply side of it and expanded into the other two rooms in the building.

“There are a lot of customers who know it as a paper-supply place,” she said. “We definitely aren’t just a paper place anymore. We have so much to offer. We really have something for everyone and any and all occasions.”

According to Sipiorski, balloons have become one of the mainstays of the business.

“Balloons are extremely popular,” she said. “You can use balloons at so many different occasions and we have them in all colors, themes and styles.

“Piñatas have become big as well. It is hard to find piñatas around here, and we have 40 different varieties.”

In addition, kids and milestone birthday items are prominently featured in the birthday supply section.

“People really get into celebrating all birthdays,” Sipiorski said. “We have tons of items and a brand new line of them just came in.”

Other unique items include: bingo markers, silly string, yard signs, banners, bachelor and bachelorette party supplies, ticket rolls for raffles, wrist bands, name tags, and so much more.

“I think when people come in and look around, they are surprised by some of the things we have here,” Sipiorski said. “It is a nice feeling to see people pleasantly surprised by something they see in the store.”

Holidays are certainly not left out of the celebratory mix at JoJo’s Party Place.

“Every month we feature a different holiday,” she said. “For March, of course we have St. Patrick’s Day and then Easter in April.”

“At the end of a particular holiday season, we typically have closeout sales to clear out our items, so we can bring in new things for the following year.”

Although she realizes times are tough and money is tight for many people, Sipiorski plans to keep prices low enough for customers to enjoy celebrating special occasions in style.

“The economy is difficult for everyone right now,” she said. “We are working on lowering prices to keep things affordable for our customers.

“I know people are cutting corners where they can now a days, so we want to help. There are enough negative things in life, and I believe people should continue to see and celebrate the good.”

Looking forward, Sipiorski is excited about what the future might hold.

“My intention is to continue to make the store better, with new items, updated patterns, cosmetic improvements, new displays and layout, and top-notch service,” she said. “So far, the reaction from our customers has been awesome.

“Many people have told me how much they like the way we have rearranged, cleaned up and generally decluttered the store. We love the feedback and are always open to suggestions and ideas. The input pushes me to make the store the best it can be for everyone.”

To contact JoJo’s Party Place call 452-5022.