Sue Bowler: The Balloon Expert

I too was busy this NYE, and like Matthew Lewis mentions in his blog 'Tips for a smooth New Year's Eve' , I was able to start my preparations earlier in the week. Pre-inflating over 1000 - 5" balloons along with other small jobs that all take valuable time. Six hours of preparing sand weights, attaching fixing points to stars as well as many other little tasks! We were also able to start working on our NYE decor at the venue on the 30th of December which was such a bonus. Another six precious hours that we did not need to work on the day! Our job was in London, England; it was a repeat of the job that we did last year. Exactly the same decor, but in different colours so that made it very easy for us and a great opportunity to make some changes and improvements, making the job even quicker than last year! Sue's Top Tips 1. Understand your customer’s needs and requirements. Space is a premium and most venues like to maximise their seating capacity to m...

L ast year I created a class called "Elegant Decor for Black Tie Affairs," that I taught in four cities around the U.S. as part of the Qualatex ®   U.S. Tour. The first stop on my leg of the tour was a visit to burton ®  + BURTON in Bogart, GA. It is always a wonderful treat when I get the opportunity to visit a wholesaler. Seeing all the gorgeous products that a wholesaler sells alongside balloons is inspiring, especially for me as I am based in the U.K. and visiting a U.S. distributor is such a bonus!  It was during this tour stop that I was introduced to an amazing product called "Diamond Mesh" by the lovely Peggy Williams, who is the education coordinator at  burton ®  + BURTON . Diamond Mesh or "Rhinestone Ribbon" as I have also seen it called, was a totally new product for me. With a little creative help from Peggy, I soon had some lovely ideas that I felt would really add a little glitz to our designs and also adds greater perceived value to our wo...

I am always in awe of the wonderful photographs posted on the  Qualatex ®  Facebook groups from balloon artists around the world. Last year Romana Kolenc, CBA, of Baloni Romana in  Šoštanj, Slovenia , posted some stunning photographs of decor that she had created for a shopping mall in Slovenia for its Valentine's campaign. Romana Kolenc , CBA. Romana first started working with balloons 16 years ago in 2000. With a creative background, and after a few years of searching for the "right job," Romana spotted an article featuring Niko Fric, CBA , in the newspaper. Three days later, she met up with Niko and bought her first balloon pump and some balloons! With Niko's help, Romana launched into the world of balloon decor very quickly, decorating a disco party within the first month of starting her balloon business! One month later, she made a large stork for her niece's newborn baby. In March 2000, she got her first big job, decorating for prom night at the loc...

New Year’s Eve is such an important occasion. Expectations are high! Everyone wants it to be memorable and the "best night ever!" Venues charge top rates for people to attend a gala or party, and many charge customers to even visit a bar or club that would normally be free. So there is huge importance and responsibility on the event decorator to get it right! Matthew Lewis, CBA , of No Ordinary Balloon Company  in Coventry, United Kingdom, is very busy leading up to New Year’s Eve (NYE) and mainly offers special effects to his clients. I asked Matthew if he would share some of his top tips when planning his NYE campaign.