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




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Setting The Scene with Fabulous Balloon Arches.

Design by David Saker, CBA.

As a balloon decorator, Balloon Arches are a big part of our everyday business. David Saker, CBA, of Balloon.co.uk, regularly sells multiple Garland Arches for sporting events such as this recent cycle race that was held at Windsor Racecourse in the U.K. David was commissioned to build fifteen Arches to mark the start and finishing line of the race. Each Arch was built using the AeröPole System, a fantastic system for creating air-filled Arches that still gives the free moving appearance of a helium-filled Arch, and is perfect for outdoor events!

Arches are such a fabulous way to set the scene, bringing attention and colour to an event. When used outdoors, they work fabulously well for sporting events, the opening of new stores, and to indicate where an event is happening! Indoors, they are often used for entrance decor, welcoming and greeting guests as they arrive at their function. For theme events and parties, they can create a big statement and are often used as backdrops and photo opportunities.

The great thing about Arches is that we can make them in so many different ways. Here are some great examples of balloon Arches that have been "embellished" — which is to be made more interesting by adding extra decorative detail, which is something that I love to do with my Arch designs.

"Flower Embellished Arch."
Design by Sue Bowler, CBA.

This Arch is very elegant, and perfect for formal black tie events. The pattern created by the placement of the red latex balloons creates a wavy, asymmetrical line that shows perfect rhythm and motion within the design. The use of the Qualatex^® Taper balloon flowers adds a whole new dimension to this Arch using Microfoil^®  balloons and shape, as there is a huge contrast between the roundness of the latex balloons versus the pointedness of the Tapers.

"Colourful Candy Suprise."
Designed by Cam Woody, CBA.

When I first saw this Arch it was love at first sight, and I could not wait to have the opportunity to make one myself! Making an Arch solely out of Microfoil balloons is challenging. Firstly, you need to step out of your comfort zone of the formal placing and sizing of latex balloons, much like the organic style decor we see much of today, but there is also the technical issue of securing the balloons to the frame. 

"Game-Winning Goal."

This is another version of an all Microfoil balloon Arch! Once again, this design has a huge visual impact by using a range of Stars 36", 20", and 9" Stars and the 36", 18" and 9" Soccer Ball round.

Mickey Mouse Polka Dot Arch
Designed by Cam Woody, CBA.

Who could not adore this fabulous Mickey Mouse-inspired Arch! Cam has used one of my favourite latex balloons, 11" Polka Dots to add fun and excitement to this awesome Arch! I expect you're wondering how the 3' balloon is so neatly placed in the centre of the Arch? A little bit of balloon magic, of course! 

The Importance of Continuing Education

I cannot believe that we are already ⅔ of the way through 2015! What an exciting year it has been for education in the balloon world and there is still more to come!

1st Place Large Sculpture
 2014 Moscow Balloon Festival
Alexander Solomatin CBA

For me, I am getting ready to head off to Russia for the 15th International Moscow Balloon Festival. The first Moscow Balloon Festival was held in 2000, and my first trip to this event was in 2002. I feel very fortunate to have seen how balloon artists in Russia have developed and grown within this relatively short time, and I am very excited to see what incredible designs and sculptures await me later this week! 

Being a talented balloon artist and running a successful balloon business does not just happen. It takes a great deal of commitment and investment to ongoing education - and not just learning new ballooning skills, but business skills as well. That was almost my downfall.  Fortunately with help from the Qualatex Balloon Network and attending my first balloon convention, I was able to profitably operate my balloon company.

Personalising Balloons Using a Die-Cutting Machine: Part 2

Following on from part 1 of this series of blogs, I asked a few of our lovely industry professionals if they would kindly share a little of their experience working with their die-cutting machines.

"Personalising balloons has become an integral part of WOW Balloons. We would not be without our 'little Silhouette'.

They have become so popular, if you show anyone a personalised 3 foot column,  9 times out of 10 they will buy it! We often find that they will buy 2 so that they can be positioned at the entrance of the venue. It's certainly added another W to our 'WOW', so from my point of view, it was money well spent."

- Debbie O'Neill, Wow Balloons, Essex, UK

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Dominic Cassidy of All Things Fun, County Durham offers these thoughts:

Pros 

The ability to say "yes" to our customers! Having the right balloon at the right time is pretty hard at times, however being able to customise with vinyl means we can do pretty much anything. Fast, create a simple design and cut within minutes. The up-sell, adding names and ages to balloons gives us a great opportunity to add extra value for the customer with extra profit for us. Unique Selling Point (USP) Gives your business that added extra that the large multiples do not do. Gives us another avenue to be creative. Consistency, Being able to make both eyes the same is one of life's simple pleasures! Additionally if your customer would like half a dozen of the same design… no problem!

A short overview of this year's Spring Fair & Nuremberg Toy Fair 2015

Stand Decor by Fiona & Rodney Fisher

The NEC Birmingham, England has been the host of Spring Fair since 1976. Spring Fair is Europe's leading presentation of gift and home products and the largest trade exhibition in the UK. From 1st February to 5th February 2015, Qualatex proudly wowed customers with fantastic displays of balloons and decor along with with their fantastic range of balloons and accessories, and introduced many new and exciting products for 2015. 

Qualatex have been exhibiting at Spring Fair for 20 years and I have been part of the Qualatex Spring Fair team for quite a few of those years. It is truly a team effort that makes the stand look so impressive, which we know is very important for visiting guests and prospective customers.

This years stand decor was designed and created by Fiona & Rodney Fisher with the help from the Pioneer Europe team! The colours and design were awesome, impressive giant flowers and garlands using Caribbean Blue, Wild Berry with a hint of 'Fashion' Rainbow Super Agates was simply stunning and stood out from all the other trade stands!

Here's what one of our customers said:

"The stand was beautiful. It was vibrant , colourful , fresh and created alot of ideas to work with in our own business . The spongebob display was a great idea for childrens parties , the pink champagne bottle is a perfect product to add to the hen section or just a girls night out or party , I think it will be a great success . '"- Sonya from Partyworld, Ireland

The great thing about attending a show like this is that there is so much on offer. Not only can you visit your favourite suppliers and find new ones, you get to see firsthand all the great new products that will be available during the year. 

There are great demonstrations and seminars including The Stage where Keith Stirman, Dominic Cassidy and myself presented a range of designs using some of the fantastic new Qualatex balloons, including the beautiful new Wedding Butterfly that adorned both stands! 

After I had finished my stint working at the eduction centre on the Qualatex stand, I took the opportunity to walk around a few of the other exhibition halls. I always like to see what's exciting and new in other markets, especially if I feel that it might be the next big thing that can be used with balloons. You also get the opportunity to see the latest trends too! I discovered some other great seminars going on and was lucky enough to sit in on an e-commerce seminar 'Secrets for e-commerce success', which I found really informative and picked up some really great tips. I think that next year I will try and plan to attend a variety of the seminars especially some of the more creative one's such as display techniques and creative gift wrapping which I feel would be very beneficial in our industry.

Every year Spring Fair and the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg, Germany run almost at the same time giving International customers the opportunity to attend both shows - which many do! Once again, the Qualatex stand was beautifully decorated with very elegant and eye-catching decor created by Luc Bertand with a little help from the Pioneer Europe export team.

Stand Decor by Luc Bertrand

Spielwarenmesse International Toy Fair Nürnberg, Germany is the largest international trade fair for toys and games held annually since 1949. Only trade visitors associated with the toy business, journalists and invited guests are admitted.








Here is a short presentation of photographs from both the Spring Fair and International Toy Fair.

Michelle Commerford, Head of Sales and Marketing at Pioneer Europe shared her thoughts on this year's shows.

"Nuremberg Toy Fair and Spring Fair International have been exceptionally good for us this year. The 2015 Qualatex Everyday Catalogue (European Version) is 40 pages heavier and all the new products have received great feedback from our customers. It was nice to catch up with old friends and see how their business is doing, as well as meeting new customers and help them start in the balloon business." 

To download a copy of the latest European Qualatex  2015 Everyday Catalogue CLICK HERE

Both Spring Fair and the International Toy Fair are trade shows that are exclusive to trade customers only. To attend either of these shows you need to pre-register, so why not register today for 2016!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue Bowler

www.suebowler.com

'I want that one' - a simple tried and tested trick to sell more balloons!

Last week I wrote a blog on how to turn the 'mini' Qualatex Microfoils into big profit earners, I suggested that the 'mini' Microfoil designs are perfect for counter top sales and impulse purchases.

Design by Sue Bowler CBA

Today's blog follows on from this point and was inspired by my husband John. John has worked in the balloon industry since 1991 and has held a number of different roles within the industry. We spend a lot of time talking about our industry, here are his thoughts on how we can inspire our customers to buy from us.

When we walk round stores, what makes us buy what we do? Do we always know what we want when we walk in or are we looking for inspiration?

So how can we discover the little tricks that will help us to sell our products and designs to the general public?  First of all I guess we need to know what it is that inspires the public to purchase a particular item.  Now there are many large corporations that spend millions of pounds, dollars and Euros on researching this very issue.  Clearly we don’t have that kind of money to spend on research so how can we get this information?  Well let’s not forget that we make up a section of the society that we refer to as ‘General Public’ and we can learn from looking at ourselves.

It is often said that the smartest ideas are the simplest ideas, and so it would seem.  

Design created by Keith Stirman CBA & Dominic Cassidy CBA

A very good friend of mine taught me an invaluable little trick a number of years ago and I have seen it work on many occasions and I am especially pleased to report that her business has flourished from its humble beginnings to become one of the most impressive balloon stores that I have seen and many others have made the same comment.  Oh the trick! Yes I’m coming to that now.   We are fortunate in our industry that we can offer a bespoke service of unique designs and deliveries rather than just a single product ‘off the shelf’. 



Firstly it is important to know that the majority of the ‘public’ will only ever buy what they see, they have little time for design and creativity and let’s face it, if we left it to them they would leave with a single balloon on a weight.   So, it is our role to inspire them and give them ideas, and the best way to do this is to have some 'ready to go' Balloon Bouquets and other ready made designs on display such as this adorable Minnie Mouse Bubble sculpture and the beautiful Tinker Bell & Fairy Friends Bubble design, never be afraid to make your designs impressive! 

Design created By Shirley Ray CBA

So, having impressed them the next thing is to make the customer feel that the product is value for money, now this is the smart bit!  The best way to do this is to show that others have already paid for the same design and therefore endorsing that it is value for money.  To do this, simply add a ‘delivery note’ and a personalised gift tag creating the impression that it is waiting for a customer to collect or the driver to deliver.  If the design is exactly what the customer wants you can offer to swap the gift tag and let them take that one and you will ‘make up another one’ or if they want it in a different colour or for a different celebration you can build one just for them. 

“But I want that one!” I think it is human nature for many of us to want what somebody else has and this, is the key to this little trick. 

With Halloween less than 2 weeks away, it's time to fill your store with 'ready to go' Halloween designs and try out this simple little trick!
Remember, you can do this all year round, every day someone is celebrating a birthday or a new baby arrives!
Dont forget The Qualatex Event, 5-7 Nov, Oxford, UK & The World Balloon Convention, 22nd-25th March 2012, Dallas, USA, where you will learn how to create wonderful designs such as the one's featured in this blog created by Shirley, Keith and Dominic and much much more!

Looking forward to seeing you at the Qualatex Event in 2 weeks time!
Sue