Who is Wildwood's The Beach Ball Lady? Meet the woman making eye-catching pieces for your home
WILDWOOD, N.J. (CBS) -- The colorful beach balls that greet you as you enter Wildwood are a sure sign you've reached the shore. A similar version sits in front of Yolanda Roman's house.
"I was sitting here one day in the summer with my brother and I'm like 'Oh Lee, you know, I'm a corner property. I want some beach balls,'" Roman said.
Roman decided to take matters into her own hands to make eye-catching pieces for her yard, inspired by the city she loves.
"I never worked with cement in my life, but I went, I bought it and I bought these basketballs," Roman said. "What you see outside are the original basketballs filled with cement."
This was in the summer of 2019.
Roman had recently retired from her pharmaceutical job in Philadelphia, moved to Wildwood for the summers, and started painting as a hobby. Word of her handmade concrete beach balls spread quickly.
Neighbors would knock on Roman's door asking where she got them and how she made them. It soon turned into a business called AnchorHouse Beach Balls.
Roman developed a cement mold for the balls and bought a mixer to meet the demand.
"I didn't feel comfortable having people wait months and months," she said, "but they didn't care. They waited and they're like, 'I got them, I got them.' And I'm like, 'Oh my god, you've been waiting since May and it's like Aug. 31.'"
At 66, Roman creates each beach ball by hand from scratch. She buys the cement, pours it, primes it, and then paints. It takes about two weeks before a beach ball is ready.
Roman's beach balls have been a hit over the last five summers. Her waitlist last season had over 200 people, and her one-day sales sold out within minutes.
Around town, Roman is lovingly known as "The Beach Ball Lady."
"I do this because I love it and it makes me happy," Roman said. "The city makes me happy when I see theirs and people are happy to have these little ones on their lawns."
A happy customer and owner of a few of Roman's beach balls, Maria Chetalo of Rio Grande said, "It's been awesome to have a little bit of the shore in front of our house."
Chetalo has her beach balls on her front lawn where everyone can see them.
"I want people to be jealous," Chetalo said.
To meet the overwhelming demand, Roman is now selling her beach balls as she completes them on her website.