Diving into the world of balloon pins at Balloon Fiesta

Diving into the world of balloon pins at Balloon Fiesta

First-time Balloon Fiesta attendees got to pick up on the lore of pin collecting and we took a deep dive into this world.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — People from across the world come to Albuquerque to see, of course, iconic hot air balloons take to the skies.

The balloons are massive but there is a way you can take one of them home with you, no matter where you live.

“They’re quite a collector’s thing. You can’t take a whole balloon home with you, but you can take the pin home,” said Britt Lee Smith, the sales manager at Plano Pin Co. “We get a lot of people that are decked out in multiple lanyards. Or they have hats covered in them, or jackets and pin cases.”

Since 2006, Smith has worked at Plano Pin Co., the official Special Shapes pin maker. They work with the pilots and Balloon Fiesta officials to create these pins.

“They kind of come to us with what they have in mind for designs, and we work with Fiesta as well to help develop the designs. And then everybody approves it, and we develop and make the pin,” she said.

Among those pilots is Smith’s mom, Diane Karlsson, who is flying Bandit and is the reason why she is so into ballooning. Bandit is one of 108 Special Shape pins you can get this year.

“My mom’s actually the owner of the company, so I’ve kind of been coming on my mom since I was little,” she said.

While locals may be used to the pin craze, some newcomers are a little unfamiliar.

See what they said to say in the video above.