A little last minute Valentine's Inspiration.

One of my New Year's resolution's is to be more organised and to take every opportunity to plan ahead rather than give myself last minute stress that I could have so easily avoided! 

Balloon Images Oct/Nov/Dec 2014

I was reminded of that when I picked up my Oct/Nov/Dec 2014 Balloon Images magazine and on opening the Trade Secrets pages "It's Never Too Early for Love", it reminds us to 'Get a Head Start' and offers us some great suggestions on how to get our creative juices flowing! So just in case you missed this great article I am sharing some of these tips with you today!












STEP ONE: GET INSPIRED! Here is a list of resources that can help you to get started, for immediate access to the relevant pages just click on the links, all links will open in a new page/tab.

• Check out the Valentine's Day Business Booster on Qualatex.com

Valentine's Day Business Booster

• Enhance your websites and your Facebook Business pages with these great seasonal bouquet ideas on Qualatex.com

Valentine's Seasonal Bouquet Ideas

• Love Pinterest? Then check out the Valentine's pinboards on the Qualatex Pinterest Page

Valentine's Pinterest Boards 

• If you are a member of the Qualatex® Facebook Groups you can use the search feature just below the pages cover photo to search for "Valentine's Day", I have added a red arrow to indicate the box you need to type your key search words into, this is a great tool when looking for specific ideas.

Qualatex Facebook Group 

• And of course don't forget to check out The Very Best Balloon Blog, click the Valentine's label on the sidebar, (I have indicated this with a red arrow), this will bring up all the blogs that relate to Valentine's day including some great step by step designs and recipes!

The Very Best Balloon Blog

STEP TWO: DESIGN YOUR OFFER
Now that your inspiration is flowing, it's time to start preparing your designs.

• Select designs at a variety of pricing points, so that you can appeal to customers with any budget.
• Include a couple of options that are suitable gift ideas for family or friends, not just significant others.
• Brainstorm catchy names to make it easier for people to request a specific design.
• Remember that 9" and 14" air-filled Microfoils make great add-ons, grab-and-go gifts, or party favours.

STEP THREE: GET READY

Once you have decided on your offerings, start making a list of the products you'll need to stock. Order your stock NOW to ensure availability. When ordering general love-them balloons, remember that these can be sold year-round not just on February 14.

Don's forget to show your staff the Valentine's Day offerings you've chosen, and print out any necessary instructions sheets so everyone will know how to create them.

If you have the opportunity I recommend that you check out the whole article as there are some other great pointers to help you to get the most from this fantastic 'ballooning' day!

'It's Never Too Early For Love" Balloon Images Article

Happy Valentine's Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Are you ready for 2015?

Firstly may I take this opportunity to wish you a very happy, healthy and of course prosperous 2015!

I expect like me you are wondering where 2014 went? Every year seems to pass me by so much quicker than the previous one!

My 2014 ended in style as I was given the opportunity to create New Year's Eve decor for one of London's top hotels! Designing decor for an elegant venue has it's challenges. For me it was important to enhance the venue's charming function rooms without taking anything away from it's very famous characteristics. And after 3 days of preparation and installation, I was extremely happy with the end results!

The elegance of Starpoints truly complimented this stunning function room.

Now it's time to turn our attentions to 2015 and all the opportunities that it can bring us. It's time to get planning and organised so we maximise each and every opportunity that comes our way!

We can all get started by preparing for our seasonal campaigns, Valentines Day is merely a few weeks away, closely followed by Easter and then there is the wedding season and communions too! It's never too early to start planning especially if you are looking to promote your company for corporate events, Halloween, Christmas and New Years planning starts early in the corporate world so don't miss out!

I am very excited about 2015, my year kicks off with a trip to Israel for a 3 day event from 18th - 20th January with the very talented Pieter van Engen at Balloonland in Jerusalem, swiftly followed by Spring Fair at the beginning of February which is one of Europe's largest trade fairs where I have the honour to design, create and install the 'inspiring' window displays for Pioneer Europe plus I will be demonstrating some exciting new designs and sharing some of my window display tips on the Qualatex stand and The Stage on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd February.

Education is a very important part of any businesses growth and development, so look out for Qualatex classes and events in your area. And don't forget to start planning and saving for the World Balloon Convention in 2016, don't underestimate the power of attending this convention, not only will it stimulate and excite you, it will help you to gain new skills and knowledge and of course grow your business!

And finally, I look forward to another year of writing new blogs covering a whole host of topics from reviewing new products, creating new step by step recipes, discussing business issues, event coverage and featured artists throughout the year plus anything else that I think will interest, inspire or help you!

Let's make 2015 a fabulous ballooning year!

Sue 
www.suebowler.com

Seasons Greetings from The Very Best Balloon Blog.

Wow, I cannot believe that it's almost Christmas, where does the time go!

2014 has been an exciting year, with my personal highlight being the World Balloon Convention which was held in Denver earlier this year. I love the energy and excitement, meeting up with friends old and new, the awesome decor, and the fantastic camaraderie between instructors and delegates. How can you fail to go home fully charged and ready to take your business to the next level? It works for me every time! 

So on a WBC note, I hope that you have all started to save for WBC 2016 in New Orleans, Louisiana, this is going to be one amazing convention, you won't want to miss it!

Earlier this year The Very Best Balloon Blog celebrated reaching over 500,000 page views, which for me was so exciting! I love writing the blog, sharing ideas, designs, business tips,  and the opportunity to interview some of our ballooning superstars! I get such great feedback from you, so thank you for taking the time to read the blog and for leaving comments, it is very much appreciated! 

Finally, I would like to wish you a Happy Holiday and a very Merry Christmas! Let's look forward to an exciting and prosperous 2015!

Happy Ballooning and see you next year!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

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Be ready for the BIG job! The Design! Part 3/3

The Design!

So finally the design. Last year the theme for this Christmas event was not Christmas but all the glamour of Hollywood...“A Night at the Oscars”! No helium balloons (what a relief as this would just be added complication especially during set-up) so all the balloons are air-filled! 

I would like to talk about how I started my design process for last years centrepieces.

I always start with ‘Google’ and do an image search. This will give me lot’s of ideas to work with; however, Pinterest is also a really great source of inspiration too!

Be ready for the BIG job! 2/3 Price and contract

Here is the second part of my 'Be ready for the BIG job'... looking at the business side.

Before we talk about the design, let’s looks at the business side of a job like this and everything that we need to include when working out our costings. We need to make sure that we have accounted for everything!

Material Costs

Labour Costs

Other items

Material Costs - all the elements that we use to make the design, including balloons, accessories, design structure - such as Lomey products or containers.

Labour Costs that include preparation & assembly time - the time that it takes to prepare all the elements for each of the centerpieces. How many people do you need to work, how many hours of prep?

Van Hire - I will need a large van to transport as many pre-made centerpieces as possible, however, some will require ‘finishing’ on arrival.

Van loading - loading and unloading 80 centerpieces will take time, especially if you want them to arrive safely in 1 piece!

Travel time to venue

Unloading - (see van loading the same will apply).

Finishing and repair time on site - there are bound to be a few casualties so be prepared!

Parking Fee - check out parking at the venue, especially if you have a van and review any fee’s.

Refreshments - keep your troops happy, with food and drinks.

De-rig - the removal of any remaining centerpieces after the event, which will also include labour time & mileage.

A Wonderful Step by Step Snowman Balloon Wall from Luc Bertrand CBA

I love balloon walls and the fantastic impact that they create! A balloon wall can be used in many ways; as a backdrop for an entrance or stage, they are also great for photo opportunities, everyone will love to have their pictures taken standing in front of it! Balloon walls and Qualatex Quick Link Balloons® are the perfect combination making them easier and faster to build!

Luc Bertrand CBA, WaW Balloons, Belgium shares his wonderful Qualatex Quick Link & 5" Balloon Snowman Wall.



 

Be ready for the BIG job! 1/3 Organisation

Does the thought of creating and supplying 80 centrepieces instead of 8 for an event fill you with dread or excitement?

I love to create exciting and detailed centrepiece designs, but these are not always practical, especially when you need them in mass! I have had the honour at previous events such as IBAC and the World Balloon Convention to design and create the "Final Night Gala" table centrepieces and have learned a number of very valuable lessons along the way:

• Keep your design simple but stunning.
• Don’t use too many complicated techniques.
• Use elements that can be prepared in advance like air-filled 4” & 9” Microfoil® balloons. 
• Make sure that you can achieve what you set out to do in the given time!