Dave's confetti shop is a hit

When a Durban man's stockpile of small bits of colourful paper grew taller than him in two years‚ it was time to take his confetti online.

Dave Schmidt‚ a 30-year-old born with Down Syndrome‚ has sold about 520 handfuls of confetti since his online shop went live on Sunday afternoon.

Schmidt has become a sensation on social media for his love of making confetti. "It's nice colours. I like to sell it because they want it. I can watch Blue Tube (YouTube) when I work‚" an excited Schmidt told TimesLIVE.

His sister-in-law Derryn Schmidt explained that when she started a bridal company with a friend‚ they thought it was a good idea for Schmidt to make the confetti for the poppers.

"After two years‚ he had a massive stockpile of confetti. Once his pile of boxes grew taller than him‚ we decided it was time to expand our target market beyond the wedding industry - hence our decision to create a company for him‚" she said.

Derryn said Schmidt's job suits his lifestyle. "One of the reasons why making confetti works for Dave's lifestyle is because he loves to watch wrestling and soap operas. This he can do with his earphones in‚ while cutting confetti. And he does it all day long."

But Dave is not doing it alone. The whole family has been pulled into the confetti business. "His mom and dad have an office for him at home and they keep an eye on his stock. They are in effect production managers."

"His sister‚ Robyn‚ is his financial manager and helps keep track of online orders. His brother‚ Mark‚ is his trusted advisor and financial backer and I am basically his social media manager."

Schmidt hopes to raise enough money via his online store to visit his sister in Cape Town‚ but he is more focused on just sharing his confetti with SA.

"Dave just loves to make confetti. When we tell him how many people have purchased or how many followers he has on social media‚ he just says 'Wow‚ that’s cool'… it could be 10 or it could be 10‚000.

"Having a job‚ having his own business and going to Cape Town are what is important to him‚ not the money or the followers‚" Derryn said.

She was surprised at the response to Dave's Shop on social media. "I knew that our friends would be very supportive‚ but it’s been great to see how many strangers have reached out to us. It’s given us a great appreciation for the human spirit and we‚ the family‚ are all overjoyed and feeling so proud of our Dave."