Courtesy photo
Children play in a combo unit bounce house with a small slide and pool, supplied by Mad Marbles, a new Escanaba-based family business that offers entertainment services.
ESCANABA — A new business is bringing colorful and inflatable fun to the local area.
Mad Marbles Entertainment Services L.L.C. provides body marbling, bounce houses, balloon twisting and a balloon dome for events, available for rent by the day or hourly, depending on the type.
Kelsey Spriks and Kyle Hunter of Escanaba founded Mad Marbles after getting into the craft of body marbling, which produces organic-shaped swirls of temporary body paint on the skin when an arm (or other body part) is dipped into water that has paint floating on the surface. A similar process is used for dying paper and fabric.
“It was something that we were playing with… and we were like, ‘oh, this is actually really fun, and it’s really captivating, and people really enjoy getting it done,’” Spriks said.
Mad Marbles had been signed up to appear at last year’s Memorial Day celebration in Rapid River, before the parade and some festivities ended up being cancelled due to rain.
In the little over a year since, the small business has grown and is no longer just for marbling.
During this year’s Memorial Day parade in Rapid, Mad Marbles appeared on a float with a balloon dome — a transparent, inflatable, igloo-shaped bubble house. When rented for parties, it is filled with 100 balloons that fly around the space, making for cool photos and a neat experience when people go inside.
“It’s really fun. My kids love it,” Spriks said of the balloon dome. Her four children are aged six, six (twins!), three and one.
Two other inflatable structures are also part of Mad Marbles’ repertoire. There’s a classic bounce house and then a “combo” unit that includes a slide that leads to a small pool.
Spriks said that the small business had decided to invest in a bounce house after finding that there was a need.
“I had seen a Facebook post about somebody looking for a bounce house rental, and the closest one is in Iron Mountain. So I was like, ‘I can do that,’” she said with a laugh. “So I did that.”
Mad Marbles became an officially registered LLC in May and is beginning to gain momentum now that it’s summer. They were hired for a graduation party in Ford River, then some bookings over the Fourth of July weekend, and have several more lined up in July and August, including for Great Lakes First Federal Credit Union’s member appreciation day on Aug. 1, Spriks said.
Family get-togethers, kids’ birthday parties, and special events are where Mad Marbles shines. Spriks has also gotten into balloon twisting lately, making some simple balloon animals and other shapes.
Mad Marbles would like to see an increase in rentals for weddings, showers and more. Spriks noted that the balloon dome could be a good avenue for displaying certain colors of balloons for gender reveals.
In the future, probably next year, Mad Marbles may add another piece to their collection — they’ve been eyeing up inflatable slides.
It’s fun to see how excited children get, Spriks said — they’ll gather around in anticipation as the bounce house is being prepared for use.
“I do love showing up to places and getting the unit set up,” Spriks shared, recalling with obvious joy that during a recent graduation party in Ford River, kids who had been hovering around the inflating combo bounce house all leapt in as soon as the hose was pulled out of the pool.
To book any of Mad Marbles’ entertainment services or inquire about pricing, interested parties may reach out to 906-261-9126 or madmarbles906@gmail.com. The company is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
