Sue Bowler: The Balloon Expert

Wow, I cannot believe that it's almost Christmas, where does the time go! 2014 has been an exciting year, with my personal highlight being the World Balloon Convention  which was held in Denver earlier this year. I love the energy and excitement, meeting up with friends old and new, the awesome decor, and the fantastic camaraderie between instructors and delegates. How can you fail to go home fully charged and ready to take your business to the next level? It works for me every time!  So on a WBC note, I hope that you have all started to save for WBC 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana , this is going to be one amazing convention, you won't want to miss it! Earlier this year The Very Best Balloon Blog celebrated reaching over 500,000 page views, which for me was so exciting! I love writing the blog, sharing ideas, designs, business tips,  and the opportunity to interview some of our ballooning superstars! I get such great feedback from you, so thank you fo...

The Design! So finally the design. Last year the theme for this Christmas event was not Christmas but all the glamour of Hollywood...“A Night at the Oscars”! No helium balloons (what a relief as this would just be added complication especially during set-up) so all  the balloons are  air-filled!  I would like to talk about how I started my design process for last years  centrepieces . I always start with  ‘Google’  and do an image search. This will give me lot’s of ideas to work with; however,  Pinterest  is also a really great source of inspiration too!

Here is the second part of my 'Be ready for the BIG job'... looking at the business side. Before we talk about the design, let’s looks at the business side of a job like this and everything that we need to include when working out our costings. We need to make sure that we have accounted for everything! Material Costs Labour Costs Other items Material Costs   - all the elements that we use to make the design, including balloons, accessories, design structure - such as Lomey products or containers. Labour Costs that include preparation & assembly time  - the time that it takes to prepare all the elements for each of the centerpieces. How many people do you need to work, how many hours of prep? Van Hire  - I will need a large van to transport as many pre-made centerpieces as possible, however, some will require ‘finishing’ on arrival. Van loading  - loading and unloading 80 centerpieces will take time, especially if you want them t...

I love balloon walls and the fantastic impact that they create! A balloon wall can be used in many ways; as a backdrop for an entrance or stage, they are also great for photo opportunities, everyone will love to have their pictures taken standing in front of it! Balloon walls and Qualatex Quick Link Balloons® are the perfect combination making them easier and faster to build! Luc Bertrand CBA, WaW Balloons , Belgium shares his wonderful Qualatex Quick Link & 5" Balloon Snowman Wall.  

Does the thought of creating and supplying 80 centrepieces instead of 8 for an event fill you with dread or excitement? I love to create exciting and detailed centrepiece designs, but these are not always practical,  especially  when you need them in mass! I have had the honour at previous events such as IBAC and the World Balloon Convention to design and create the "Final Night Gala" table centrepieces and have learned a number of very valuable lessons along the way: Keep your design simple but stunning. Don’t use too many complicated techniques. Use elements that can be prepared in advance like air-filled 4” & 9” Microfoil® balloons.  Make sure that you can achieve what you set out to do in the given time!

Balloon Arch by Balloon & Party Events, California Everyone's talking about the AeroPole System and how easy it is to use with fantastic results every time! No more risks of 'failed' Arches due to insufficient floating time or bad weather bashing them to the ground! Matt & Celini McKinney of Balloon & Party Events , California, are great advocates of the AeroPole System , and they have very kindly agreed to share their experience working with it. Balloon Arch by Balloon & Party Events, California "Our balloon business has run much easier since investing in the AeroPole System. Now we can create ‘helium looking’ Arches that last longer and hold up better, even in the wind and the rain. The AeroPole System is a real time-saver; allowing us to book more  jobs simultaneously . Because we can pre-inflate and build the modules ahead of time, we can transport and set-up more events on the day  of the event . Assembly is so fast, our clients...