From the outside, it looks like any other warehouse in Kent’s industrial area, north of downtown (well, except for the climbing walls and train caboose out back).
But inside, the shelves are stocked with colorful bags, filled with giant inflatable toys and labeled like a kid’s dream.
Air hockey, pool tables, Spiderman, “muscle beach combo,” “pirate club combo,” and, of course, “assorted balls.” Boxes overflow with giant boxing gloves and a Dance Dance Revolution game is pushed off to the side.
There are half-inflated toys around and one of the workers is assembling a glow-in-the-dark mini golf course while a portable mechanical bull surveys it all from one corner.
Welcome to Clowns Unlimited.
Like his warehouse, owner Bob Washburn’s relatively normal exterior hides a fun interior. As Leo the Clown, Washburn has been entertaining kids of all ages all over the Seattle area since 1981.
“It was a hobby, really,” said Washburn, who said he “got the bug” during a clown class at the University of Washington Experimental College.
Washburn got his start entertaining as manager of the KING Haunted House where he was told to put on a costume and entertain those waiting in line.
He loved it.
“For those two weeks, I was all over the place,” he said. “It was exhilarating.”
Looking for a way to continue clowning full time, Washburn founded Clowns Unlimited, which began as he tried to create a one-stop place for entertainers and performers.
The business has changed since then, expanding into corporate events and parties.
“We introduced in this are the corporate world to company picnics,” Washburn said.
In the early 1990s, the inflatable business really took off with giant slides and other rides, all of which can be rented from the Kent 11,000-square-foot warehouse.
Today, the rides and attractions make up the core of business, from birthday parties to the largest of companies.
Among his clients, the biggest is probably Microsoft. Clowns Unlimited is a preferred vender at the Redmond company’s yearly picnic, sending 80 employees and more than 30 attractions.
Clowns Unlimited was also called in to Key Arena to set up the mechanical bull during a halftime show for the Seattle Sonics.
Washburn said finding the newest attractions is the key to his job today.
“My job is to find the things that are cutting edge,” he said.
Aming those currently are the Airbots (a 21st Century update of the Sumo Suits) and the Monkey Motion Machine, a four-person bungee contraption, and the only portable ropes course on the West Coast.
“We’re much more than what the name says,” Washburns said.
Along with the attractions, Washburn said his company can handle all of the party planning for any size, from attractions to food and eveything in between.
“We are a one-call,” he said.
Surrounded by family and friends, many of whom have worked with him for more than 15 years, Washburn said he loves what he does, especially the clowning.
“Thirty-four years later, things haven’t changed a bit,” he said.
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