Sue Bowler: The Balloon Expert

I would like to start this post with a little farm barn trivia! Do you know why farm barns are always red? The practice actually started in the  late 18th century  with New England farmers applying a protective varnish to barn surfaces. The varnish usually contained some mixture of linseed oil, lime, or iron oxide, which, under the sun, would then turn to the red ochre hue that we have become so familiar with. Children absolutely adore farm animals, and creating farm theme party decor is a colourful and fun way to appeal to children of all ages!  Earlier this month, I created a range of window displays to showcase some of the new Qualatex balloons that were launched at the Spring Fair at the NEC Birmingham. When I saw the new Birthday-Farm range I knew exactly what I wanted to make and immediately started designing a Red Barn!  To design the barn, I used Chris Adamo's Balloon Pro.co  Design Tool. If you have never used this tool I strongly recommend that yo...

Last week I attended the  Spring Fair at the NEC Birmingham. Spring Fair is an annual B2B trade show where businesses go, and that includes many of the major high street and online retailers as well as small independent stores, to buy new and inspiring products to sell in their stores. The fair is not only balloon and party related, it covers an abundance of products from fashion to jewellery, cookware and thousands of other products! The next show will be from the 4th -7th February 2024, so don't forget to mark it in your diary if you are UK based!  So what does this have to do with Cupcakes? Each year, for more years than I can actually remember, I have been given the amazing opportunity to create balloon designs for Qualatex Europe's windows at this trade event! Each year I am tasked with creating and designing displays that feature new balloons and products from scratch. Balloon Cupcake by Sue Bowler, inspired by Dante Longhi For my first window, I was asked to feature t...