As Halloween draws near, many students and residents are trying to find a costume or make arrangements for a fun night out.

But for Jayne Ball-Saret, it means putting out decorations and setting up shop because it is her busiest time of the year.

Surrounded by a variety of characters and costumes ranging from Middle Age armors to Pokémon, this is a place full of fantasy and amazement.

Ball-Saret is the owner and designer of the Grand Ball Costumes, located at 609 Sixth St. She is also an Eastern alumna and majored in theatre.

She said she used to work for “corporate America,” but was very unhappy despite making a lot of money.

So when it came to opening up a costume shop, Ball-Saret said she wanted to return to her roots as a theatre major.

“This is what I studied, this is what I wanted to do,” she said.

However, she said she was afraid she could not make a living at first.

“Then when the Internet came along, that let me reach the people I needed,” she said.

“If I was trying to rely on Charleston to keep me open, it wouldn’t work. But now I can reach out over the Internet, and they just get my measurement sheet over there,” she said.

Yet, despite the fear of small business risks, she said there are benefits to living in a small town.

“I can be located in the small town where I want to live without having all the crime and traffic and all the smog,” Ball-Saret said. “I can afford a larger warehouse here and less rent than Chicago or New York or L.A.”

But even though Ball-Saret is doing business in Charleston, she still has business access to the whole country by shipping the product.

“They don’t really care where I came from, and as long as you get them what they needed, it’s the right price and they are happy,” Ball-Saret said.

Grand Ball Costume has an incredibly large warehouse.

Charlene Edwards, a sewer at the shop, said the hardest part of the job is finding costumes because she has no idea where they are and what they are.

Damita Lewis, another employee at Grand Ball Costume, worked in the theater department before working in the shop.

For three years, she has used her experience to help customers find the right accessories for their costumes.

“If they want to be a police, they need a pair of handcuffs; if they’re going to be a pirate, I’ll help them become a pirate,” Damita said.

Damita said it is important to know the trends and consistently follow them, especially when it comes to the shop.

“We hope people can have fun in our things and send pictures on Facebook or something that we can see them having a good time,” Ball-Saret said.

Qian Cheng can be reached at 581-2812 or qcheng@eiu.edu.