Sue Bowler: The Balloon Expert

Designer: Barbara Biagioni CBA T his year 2015 Balloon Arts Convention Italy saw a return  to Florence, the amazing home  of Renaissance Art and of course balloons too, to celebrate it's 23rd year of this world renowned balloon art  convention.  With it's unique Italian style, this event was filled with a fantastic range of classes, and included  the introduction of a number of new and very popular business classes. Competitions are always a major part of BACI and this year saw the return of the Medium Sculpture category, bringing new challenges to the competitors. Designer: Carlo Vavenotti, CBA With the 'theme' Love, we were certainly treated to some truly stunning competition entries, with each designer interpreting the theme in very different ways!

We all love Qualatex Deco Bubbles. But when it comes to putting a latex balloon inside one, especially shaped balloons such as hearts and the Qualatex  Mouseheads, it can be a little daunting the first time that you do it! Luc Bertrand, one of our leading industry instructors has made this great step-by-step video clip that shows you how to inflate both a Qualatex  Mousehead and an 11" round balloon inside a Qualatex  Deco Bubble and how to close the balloons and add a little finishing touch!

L ast month I was very excited to make my first trip to Brasil to spend a week working with Team Pioneer Brasil at their Head Office in Jundiai. During my visit I had the opportunity to visit Cenário Balões and to meet up with owners Luiz Carlos Da Costa Silva and his wife Rosana along with their very talented team at their amazing facility in Sao Paulo! Giant Teddy Bear by Cenário Balões Cenário Balões was founded in 2002. Luiz was already involved in the party sector, renting out bouncy castles for children's parties and decided to include balloons as part of their service. But after attending his first basic balloon course he discovered his passion for balloons and decided to make them his main business. Party Decor by  Cenário Balões

I will be decorating a wedding later this year. The bride has been pretty specific with her decor ideas with thanks to Pinterest ! Don't get me wrong, I love Pinterest and think that it is a great source of inspiration. But I think that many of us are aware that a great deal of the shots, especially wedding designs are staged and therefore are not always as practical as they appear in the picture! So what do you do when a bride asks you to provide large helium filled balloon bouquets that are to be positioned outside the entrance of the venue that you are decorating? Unfortunately, unlike my bride,  I don't see beautifully arranged sets of helium filled balloons. I see a tangled mess of balloons flying horizontally! Honesty being the best policy, I decided that it would be in both our best interest to explain all the potential problems of putting balloons outside, but also gave some great ideas and suggestions of what would work well instead. So what are the potential p...

I often get asked ‘how much should I be charging for my time’? If you were looking to become a hairdresser, lawyer, plumber or florist, I could probably tell you roughly what you could expect to earn or at least point you towards internet guides that gives this type of information. Unfortunately the job title Balloon Artist is not listed on any of these guides. I would imagine that if you are reading this blog, you are self-employed or considering becoming self-employed. Working out what we should charge for our time is very much our own decision but having a guide to help us especially when we first start out would be helpful. So what is our job? Knowing what our job is and entails will help us to determine what we are worth. Are we an event decorator, party planner, retailer, entertainer or all of these? Questions such as “are we qualified, have we invested in our art”, will also help to determine how much we can charge. Can someone just starting out without any ex...