Friday, July 28, 2017

Chris Adamo Invents a 24" Deco Bubble Balloon Stuffing Tool!


Everyone loves Qualatex® Deco Bubbles. These personalised Deco Bubbles filled with 5" balloons are a top-selling line for many balloon businesses worldwide.





Chris Adamo, CBA, of Balloons Online in Sydney, Australia, is always looking at ways to make his production systems more efficient, and once again he has invented a natty device that will help when inflating 5" latex balloons inside a 24" Deco Bubble using a Conwin Dual Split Second Sizer. If you do not own this type of equipment, you could use a trigger valve outlet on a hose to achieve a similar result.

Let's start by watching Chris's video that will show us how the tool works! Afterwards, we can see the steps on how he constructed it.







Chris is certainly the master of invention when it comes to making production a little easier.

Here are some other fabulous tools that Chris has very generously shared with the balloon industry!

Balloon Industry Design and Calculator



A huge thank you to the wonderful Chris Adamo for sharing his awesome inventions with the Very Best Balloon Blog!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

Monday, July 24, 2017

Spot on Trend!





Everyone loves dots! 

Fashions come and go, but the wonderful polka dot remains a firm favourite in many industries, including the party sector.

Some people consider polka dots to be childlike, whereas others feel that they have a retro feel about them. With the introduction of the new Qualatex® Diamond Clear with Gold Confetti Dots and the Diamond Clear with Gold Big Polka Dots, we can add the words "trendy" and "sophisticated" to our list too!






Wow, what a stunning combination, my 2017 favourite 18" "Birthday Pink & Gold Dots" Microfoil® balloon, with the equally wonderful "Gold Confetti Dots" latex balloons. I can see us selling many of these gorgeous balloon bouquets!



11"— "Gold Confetti Dots" Diamond Clear #55450.
11" — "Gold Big Polka Dots" Diamond Clear #55452.

18" — "Birthday Pink & Gold Dots" #49164








If you have not seen the fabulous 2017 Qualatex Autumn and Winter balloon range yet, you can view it now by clicking HERE.



For decor, how about this fantastic Big Dots & Glitz Birthday Arch designed by Luc Bertrand, CBA, of wAw Balloons in Vichte, Belgium. 

This magnificent milestone Arch is perfect for anyone entering a new decade of life with "Big Dots & Glitz" Microfoils.


Tina Giunta, CBA, of Shivoo Balloons in Melbourne, Australia, wows us with her Baby Toes & Tassels design. She pairs colourful polka dots with coordinating tassels with this on-trend arrangement.


Polka dot balloons are so very versatile and work with so many different themes and occasions. They also coordinate wonderfully with many Qualatex Microfoil balloons!

Don't forget to check out the fabulous new Qualatex website for more amazing design ideas in the NEW Inspiration page.

I would love to see your favourite designs using Qualatex Polka Dot balloons! 

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

SaveSave

Thursday, July 13, 2017

From Traditional to Contemporary Jungle Party Decor Ideas.

Black & White African Party Theme.
Designer unknown 

When it comes to designing a theme party, this event designer has ticked many boxes for me! I love how the balloon stylist has created this fabulous African-themed children's party using black and white balloons, with helium balloons on the ceiling and a few air-filled balloons scattered on the floor mixed in with paper honeycomb balls. I love the addition of the Qualatex® Black & White SuperAgate® balloons mixed within the clusters that sit neatly below the awesome 3' Giant confetti-filled balloons! Some might say that this is not very representative of a toddler's second birthday. However, it's not uncommon for a parent to throw a trendy, lavish children's party, especially for first and second birthdays.  Unfortunately having discovered this photo on Pinterest, I cannot find the original designers name. If you know who created this beautiful decor, please let me know as I would love to give them full credit.

When it comes to creating fabulous decor, here is another wonderful designer - Tope Abulude, CBA, of Balloon Inspirations Design Studio, Brentwood, UK. Tope recently designed and decorated this stunning "Tropical Jungle"-themed party for a baby's first birthday in Lagos, Nigeria. 


Tope really nailed it with this fabulous organic style entrance decor!
The purpose of entrance decor is to set the scene and welcome guests to the party.
This entrance looks simply stunning, exciting, and very memorable!




Once inside the venue, Tope continues to thrill the guests with his fabulous designs. 















Tope blends all the shades of green Qualatex Quick Link and round balloons to create great variety and contrast with his fabulous trees.












The organic ceiling filled with greenery and lighting looks awesome!






Here are some more fabulous examples of "Jungle Party" ideas. 





I love this fantastic entrance Arch created by M & M Balloon Co. of Seattle, U.S.A. The monkeys and the giraffe add so much fun and life to this fabulous design. This design will create a fun and exciting welcome for party guests and a great photo opportunity, too!

Lily Tan, CBA, of Myairtitude, in Singapore, shows her wonderful design skills creating another awesome jungle-themed entrance design. I love how Lily builds much of the detail into the base of her Arches. The design flows throughout the whole Arch, making it exciting and fun to look at.



When it comes to adding animals to our jungle designs, we have a great selection of Qualatex animal shape balloon heads to work with!




39" "Ellie the Elephant" #16987 — #16136 (pkgd.)

30" "Tickled Tiger" #31041 — #16189 (pkgd.)
14" Air-filled #41808


35" "Mischievous Monkey" #40194 — #16097 (pkgd.)
14" Air-Filled #41793

32" "Zany Zebra" #35404 — #16166 (pkgd.)
14" Air-Filled #41805


32" "Jolly Giraffe" #31035 — #16095 (pkgd.)
14" Air-Filled #41790

29" "Lovable Lion" #16860 — #16154 (pkgd.)






Have you checked out the Inspiration page at Qualatex.com? It is perfect when you are looking for ideas and inspiration! There are articles, videos, bouquets, and decor ideas, too! The search feature is awesome; simply search either the bouquet or decor page using a search term and filter your results by occasion and theme. You can download the design image for future reference, and if you are a QBN member, you will find that many of the designs have downloadable recipes!


Here are a few of the design ideas that I found in the new inspiration pages. The Mischievous Monkey is super cute and is always a number one favourite when made into these lovely little balloon sculptures. For QBN members, there is a downloadable recipe once you log into the member's area on Qualatex.com.

















I recently showed this design in a post about Balloon Arches, but it deserves to be shown again! This is another fantastic use of the small animal heads. Keith Stirman, CBA, and Dominic Cassidy, CBA, of All Things Fun in Country Durham, U.K., have created a design that is fun and full of excitement and visual energy. It's not a huge Arch, but it would be perfect for a children's party and, once again, would make an ideal photo opportunity.





Lily Tan has used both sizes of the Zany Zebra balloon to create these fabulous centrepiece designs. She also uses the Zebra Stripes from the 5" Safari Assortment balloons #87144 to complement her design. 











Mike Harris, CBA, of Every Occasion Balloon Artists Ltd. in Rhyl, U.K., puts a contemporary twist on the jungle theme with this Quick Link Zebra Stripes Balloon Wall. The addition of the Starpoint balloons adds a new dimension to this style of wall.

I love to design theme parties and the jungle theme is a great one to work with. It can be traditional, or as both Tope and Mike have shown, they can have a more contemporary look, too!

To conclude this post, I am adding a couple of fun animal design recipes that you could use for this party theme. You can download these by visiting the RECIPE section at the top of this blog page.



Tiger Design by Sue Bowler, CBA.

For more great ideas on this theme, check out an early post - Animal Magic - some great balloon designs with an animal theme.

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com




SaveSave

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Balloons and Photography - Nicci Rene Shares Her Two Passions.

When I look at all the amazing balloons and designs posted on Facebook and Instagram, the photographs that stand out most are those that have been taken in a creative way — the photo captures the emotion of the event, or makes the balloons look exciting and fun! Balloons are very much a product that is sold on emotion. We don't sell a Column or an Arch; we sell the "Wow!" factor. Balloons are "trendy" and used in a variety of adverting campaigns as well as many different types of events.





Nicci Rene.

I recently interviewed Nicci Rene, of Balloon Boutiques, London, U.K. I have known Nicci for a number of years and  had the pleasure of working with her on several occasions at events in London. Nicci was part of the team that recently worked on the incredible Chelsea Jungle project at Chelsea Flower Show earlier this year. Balloons at Chelsea Flower show — wow, another amazing first! Even more proof balloons are on-trend!  Not only is Nicci a very talented balloon artist, but she is a very competent photographer, too. 




Nicci started to work with balloons when she worked as a Saturday girl in a party store. Her boss did not believe in training and left Nicci to her own creative devices. Twenty-nine years later, Nicci is still working with balloons but in a very different way.


Earlier this year after twenty-five years of working at and then later owning a party store, Nicci decided it was time to close. 
"I felt that I had out grown my shop and wanted to take my ideas and business to a different level. The shop was holding me back. Retail shops were struggling, and the location I was in was not busy enough. I noticed a significant decline in sales, and it was becoming worrying. 
It was the perfect time to close. Over the past 5 years, I started to change the way I designed events with balloons. I had built a good name and reputation as Balloon Bouquets and this gave me the confidence that I could work from home and make a living. At first I was really out of my comfort zone and it took a bit of getting used to, but now I absolutely love it — I feel free!" 
I asked Nicci what she believes has helped her to grow her business.
"My business is growing every day through the help of social media. Facebook was great for me when I had the shop, but I discovered Instagram a few years back and this has proven to be amazing. I love it! It connects you with like-minded professional people, be that companies or independent people. For me, I felt Instagram was more classy, and people's profiles were more elegant and of a higher standard. It was perfect for me with the new direction I wanted to take my company. It has connected me with lots of corporate companies and private clients.  In my own experience, I have found people connect with you more on Instagram than Facebook.
Currently, with the way I have changed my business direction from party and classic décor to detailed elegant pieces that range from simple designs to the organic style, I am finding that my clientele love my style and are always looking for something different, from personlised bubbles and centerpieces with the addition of lots of non-balloon materials. Big balloons and organic is very popular at the moment. At this time, the most popular colours vary from gold, silver, pinks, and ivory, plus different shades of greens and blues."


What do you believe is the secret to success?
"A successful business needs lots of great qualities. I’m very conscientious in the way I present my balloons, and I do my best to deliver a high standard at all times. It is important to me from the start, when the client first contacts you through to the very end of having a highly professional attitude and service. I love having a good relationship with my customers and making them feel comfortable with anything they need. I set the standards high from the beginning; I do not lower my standard or devalue myself doing things too cheap. Presentation is very important from how you deliver your work right through until the photographs and showcasing, either via my website or through social media, and I like to keep my style consistent."


What are your favourite Qualatex® balloons to work with?
"Some of my favourite Qualatex products currently are Deco Bubbles, as I love the amazing things you can do with them and the fact that they look stunning and elegant. Big 3ft. balloons are one of my favorites, too — the impact when you fill a space with them are just wow. And Superagates are so pretty. I love adding these to design, and my clients love them as they are very unusual."


Where do you find your inspiration?
"I get my design inspirations from many different places. I am always looking at balloon artists from around the world, seeing what they do, and how they stylise their decor. I also look at the floral industry and get inspiration from there. I love the pretty side to balloon designs. I make a lot up as I go along. Once a client contacts me, and I know what they want to achieve, and I've seen the venue and know what the event is, then I get creative!"
How important is taking a good photograph to you?
"I decided to teach myself photography as I would produce some amazing designs and take pictures on either a standard camera or my smartphone. When it came to showing the photographs, they just didn’t do the balloon decor any justice and you could never get the true feeling of how amazing the balloons actually looked.  I wasn’t happy in showing them to clients or happy about putting them on my website or on any of my social media channels. I knew the look I wanted and it was all part of my change in direction for my business. I bought a good professional camera and started to take pictures the way I wanted the balloons to look. I create different looks and styles of pictures depending on what the event was. You still need to have an eye for shooting pictures. I always think about angles and always have the editing in mind when I'm shooting. I always shoot in raw* so when it comes to editing the pictures you can do so much and create different effects. I really enjoy the photography and editing part of the balloons. It’s changed my whole image and would highly recommend it to anyone." 



I totally agree with Nicci; learning to take a good photograph could really help your business stand out against other balloon companies. A great photograph is worth a thousand words and in our very visual industry, it is important that we find the best way to take those amazing photographs. There are some great articles that you can read, and of course, you could take a course.

A huge thank you to Nicci for sharing her very inspiring story. Moving her business from the high street to being home-based is a big decision, but certainly for Nicci it's proven to be the best move and the opportunity to follow her dreams. Her dream job would be to drape balloons from all the windows at Buckingham Palace, organic style!

Happy ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com


RAW is a file format that captures all image data recorded by the sensor when you take a photo. When shooting in a format like JPEG image, information is compressed and lost.