2013 was it a good year for the balloon industry?

It is when the year is coming to a close we look back and consider how it was for us and our business's?

With many countries in recession and others in the very early stages of recovery, it is always hard to feel optimistic during these periods, however, it has also been proven that in recession people party harder, birthdays and celebrations are still extremely important and although they may not always be on a grand scale they certainly are still looking for balloons and decor to brighten up their events!

Superstition has also played a big role this year with many wedding couples opting not to get married in 2013, some business's have seen their wedding sales drop by more than 30%! 

Helium shortages has also been very challenging, but I believe that many balloon business's have adapted really well, dug deep and found great air-filled solutions, a trend that I believe will grow and grow.

To get a better overview of how 2013 has been for balloon business's around the world, I asked a few of our Qualatex Facebook Group members to help me, I will be posting their responses over the next few days.

I would like to start with Joette's Giardina of Party People Celebration Company.

Party People Celebration Company is a family run business based in Lakeland Florida. Joette  started creating balloon decor for friends, church groups and family in 2000. In December 2003, she expanded her business and became the new owner of Party People Celebration Co., a Special Event and Balloon Decorating Company.

In August 2008 Joette became a Certified Balloon Artist, an internationally recognized certification through Qualatex.

Joette Giardina, Owner Party People Celebration Company

Lakeland, Florida

    PartyPeopleCelebrationCo.com

Joette & Brian Giardina

A Christmas Snowman - Step By Step by Sue Bowler - updated

Colourful Snowmen by Sue Bowler, CBA.

A few winters ago during one very snowy day, when snowed into our home, I decided to make a collection of snowmen for my garden (picture below). I expect many of you will remember the picture! They were amazing. They lasted for two weeks — long after the snow had melted. These little guys were made from 5" balloons, and with their brightly coloured hats and scarves, they looked fabulous! 

I have since gone on to create many different sizes and variations and have now created an easy to follow step-by-step recipe.

Material List:  All Qualatex balloons, of course!

8 x 5" White (double stuffed for the water weight base)
1 x 16" White
1 x 12" White QuickLink™ Balloon
1 x 11" Printed balloon for the hat
1 x 260Q or 350Q for the hat
1 x 260Q for the scarf 
1 x 5" Orange for the nose - or you can draw the nose.
1 x 5" for the pompom if you want to add a pompom to the hat!

Method:

1. To give this design stability, I use four water-weights at the base. You could use sand weights if you prefer. I size the balloons to measure approximately 3" or 7cm's.
2. I recommend that you use a White 16" balloon for the body and use an Apple Twist to give it a more donut-like shape. Add 260Qs at each end of the donut-twisted balloon to allow you to connect the body to the base and the head to the body. 
3. Inflate the 12" White QuickLink balloon for the head. Make sure that it is in proportion to the body! Connect the head to the body.
4. For the nose, you can either under-inflated a 5" orange balloon and connect this to the face using a r
Raisin Twist, glue dot, or draw on a carrot-style nose.
5. The eyes, mouth, and cheeks have been added using a pen (see below for detail). If you have a die-cutter, such as a Silhouette Cameo, you could cut out the eyes and mouth.
6. To make the hat, use an 11" balloon. I like using polka dots as they look really fun. Create an Apple Twist in the hat balloon and secure this to the head using the link.
7. Inflate either a 260Q or a 350Q to wrap around the hat to create the brim. Connect using a pinch twist and remove any excess balloon.
8. Use a 260Q to create a scarf to wrap around the snowman's neck.

Pens for face - the Pink pen that I use for the cheeks is a ZIG Art & Graphic Twin. It has a double end with one end almost like a paintbrush.
The other pens are Sharpies and edding markers, for the eyes and mouth.

Snowmen faces, hand-drawn by Sue Bowler

If you have never made a snowman before, you will love making this design! 


Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler

QuickLinks Santa Mural - a Christmas gift from Luc Bertrand CBA

Each year the lovely Luc Bertrand very kindly creates and gives a new design to the Very Best Balloon Blog to share with the 'balloon community', and this year he has designed this wonderful 'super easy' Santa mural that is so quick to make using Qualatex Quick Link balloons!

This 225 cm high Santa could be used in so many ways to decorate parties, shops & stores, showrooms, shopping malls and more, they can be used as backdrops or suspended from ceiling, their use is endless and look at how few balloons it takes to make!

Qualatex Quick Link Santa Mural by Luc Bertrand CBA

These step by step instructions are very easy to follow, all the Qualatex Quick Link balloons have been inflated to 10", and all the other balloons used within the designs each size is stated in each of the instruction sheets below, Luc has also shown how to create each of the chains required to make each of these wonderful designs!

Is working with balloons a hobby or a career worth investing in?

Attending a convention is a huge investment, and I suppose if you have never been to one it is hard to understand why you even should consider going? 

Taking classes from some of the best instructors, teaching their latest and greatest designs and techniques is just awesome and such a huge learning curve and having the opportunity to learn skills that would take me years to master without the hands-on tuition!

This is a selection of classes from JBAN earlier this year. Classes are action packed with like minded balloon artists having the opportunity to learn different skills such as making balloon dress's, how to create amazing Quick Link designs and decor for Halloween and all in a just a few hours, think what else you can learn in 3 days!

It is easy for us to think that we have gained enough knowledge by going on a variety of one day courses, buying a DVD or that everything is available on the internet through You Tube or Facebook, all of which are great and very very helpful resources!

So I would like to tell you from my own experience how by attending those first few conventions change my balloon career path to where it is today!

A Balloon Wall backdrop perfect for Christmas!

Balloon Walls make the perfect backdrop! Great for entrance decor, window displays and as a photo opportunity at events! The great thing about balloon walls is that they can be made to any size subject to the size of balloons and inflation size that you decide to work with!

You may have already secured your Christmas decor designs with your clients, but maybe you are still looking for inspiration?










Earlier this year I attended JBAN, and taught a Christmas decor class, where I showed a number of different designs including how to create balloons walls featuring a 'Santa Face'.

Thinking outside of the box, some great ideas!

To find my inspiration I rarely look at a balloon design or decor to get my inspiration, in fact I prefer not to! There are many things that I see on a daily basis that I think "that could be made with balloons"!

To show you what I mean - a few years ago I made these lovely little snowmen, they were actually the result of being snowed in a home for a few days!

Snowmen by Sue Bowler CBA

The 'Noodle' Balloon - balloons inside a balloon!

The art of putting balloons inside balloons is something that has evolved over the years, many balloon artists have found their own preferred ways to do this, there is no right or wrong way!

'Noodle Balloon' by Sue Bowler CBA

I have been spending a little time recently 'exploring' Pinterest and all the wonders that it holds and came across a picture (pinned on someones board) of a design that I created a number of years ago... The Noodle Balloon!

I was working for Conwin when I designed the 'noodle' balloon to demonstrate the use of the Conwin 'Insider Tool', the end result proved to be fun and very visual, with the 'how did they do that' factor!

When I found the picture I posted it onto my own Facebook page and it had a great reaction, it looks like a few people have not seen this design and have asked me how it was made.