Chelsea Jungle

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show has been held on the grounds of the Chelsea Hospital in London, U.K., every year since 1913, apart from gaps during the two World Wars. It is considered to be the most prestigious flower show in the world. This year, Chelsea saw its first ever design that showcased Qualatex^® latex balloons and greenery in the now very familiar organic style. The design was named the "Chelsea Jungle." This fabulous installation was the collaboration between two artists, garden designer Catherine Chenery of Catherine Chenery Garden Designs, and balloon stylist Fiona MacOwen, of Riot Balloons.

Chelsea Jungle 
Photograph by Nicci Rene

CHELSEA JUNGLE
CATHERINE CHENERY X RIOT BALLOONS

This year at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, as you walk through the tunnel which connects Main Avenue and Ranelagh Gardens, you will find yourself entering a jungle dream with a canopy of exotic leaves and colourful balloons. 

By immersing you into an imaginary jungle scene, the designers aim to embrace the lighter side of life and the importance of escaping reality every now and then, if only for a moment.

The tunnel gives you an opportunity to let your mind wander into a dreamscape, as though you have let yourself drift into a daydream of luscious plants and clouds of colour, 

before re-entering reality at the other end.

The installation encourages us to take our time, not rushing to our destination but enjoying the journey. 

Chelsea Jungle
Photograph by Nicci Rene

As with many projects like this, it takes a team, and through BAPIA - the Balloon and Party Industry Alliance, Nicci Rene, of Balloon Boutiques, London, jumped at this unique opportunity.

Nicci Rene (back second left) with designers Catherine Chenery, Fiona MacOwen and John Bowler of BAPIA and team!

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! 

A "BACI" Alice in Wonderland Extravaganza!

Designing and planning a theme party is challenging, but also a great deal of fun! We are very lucky to be part of this industry, and I am very fortunate to get the opportunity to attend so many wonderful theme parties when I travel to teach at conventions around the world. I think half of my wardrobe is filled with fancy dress costumes!

Cheshire Cat by Alberto Nava, CBA.
Photograph by Luc Bertrand.

At BACI - Balloon Arts Convention Italy this year, our party theme was based on Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, a slightly different take on the original theme. Luc Bertrand, CBA of wAw Balloons, in Vichte, Belgium, was appointed the gala party coordinator and tasked each of the BACI instructors with a project that would be completed by them with the help of delegates on the day of the party. One of the biggest challenges was to transport all the decor from one side of Florence to the other, a factor that certainly had to be taken into consideration when making the designs. The venue was very quirky, with greenery, wood, and foliage hanging from the ceiling. This worked extremely well for our theme. For me, it looked like the rabbit hole, which was absolutely perfect!

Here is a photograph of the venue before we transformed it.

And after!

Centrepiece Designs by Enza Mondello, CBA, and Jośe Luthman, CBA.

Photo by Silvia Ingrid Cotellessa©TheDarkRoom.

Enza Mondello of Balloon Express Shop in Patty, Italy, and Jośe Luthman of Fiesta Mulhouse in Mulhouse, France, were both asked to design centrepieces. Enza chose two different designs for her delegates to make; one with fabulous polka dot teapots and the other with the Queen of Hearts/ Ace of Spades playing card Microfoil balloons. Jośe worked on an intriguing mushroom design created from double stuffed 6" Quick Link Balloons®.

Nicolas Fiault makes the perfect Mad Hatter! 

Photo by Silvia Ingrid Cotellessa©TheDarkRoom.

Mad Hatter hats! These awesome hats were made by delegates as part of a twisting class led by the very talented Alessandro Patanè, CBA, of Balloon Express Shop in Giarre, Italy.

Olga and Olga with their beautiful entrance decor.
Photograph by Luc Bertrand

Olga Baranova, CBA, and Olga Samoilova, CBA, of Sonlnechny Veter in Samara, Russia, took charge of the stunning entrance decor. Not only did it make an exciting entrance piece, but a beautiful photo opportunity, too!

Ted and Betty Vlamis of Pioneer Balloon Company came suitably dressed to the party!
Photograph by Silva Ingrid Cotellessa ©TheDarkRoom

Design by Federico Onida
Photograph by Luc Bertrand

Instagram — Are You Using It To Grow Your Balloon Business?

Instagram is one of the social media groups that I have not really got to grips with. Since I set up my Instagram account, I have used it mainly to post personal photographs, rather than balloons or business related items. It was only when Shannon Kilford of Born to Party in Sydney, Australia, made a really interesting comment regarding Instagram on a recent blog post, I decided that I should really find out more about this social media platform. 

"I am also a passionate Instagram user! This social media platform has literally changed my life and my business! 90% of our customers use it and come to us with pictures off our Instagram account requesting a particular design. I also find it useful for instant messaging and sending images back and forth to my clients. Not many days go by when I'm not using direct messages to communicate with my clients this way! As our account grows, so does our business. It's definitely not a coincidence. You are welcome to check out our Instagram here; www.instagram.com/borntopartyshop

We also use Facebook, and in the beginning it was a great tool for growing our business. But since Facebook made changes to its reach for business pages, it is not nearly as good as it used to be so we don't focus on it as much as we used to."

To read Shannon's full article on "Modern Balloon Styling," click on the link below;
Giant Balloons, Confetti Balloons, Tassels, and Organic Decor — Modern Balloon Styling by Shannon Kilford, Born to Party, Sydney, Australia.

Medium Sculpture Competition BACI 2017

I have just returned from BACI — Balloon Arts Convention Italy, held in Florence, Italy, from the 24th to the 26th April 2017. Once again, we were wowed by some truly inspiring and talented balloon artists who took part in this year's Medium Sculpture Competition. This year's theme was "Once Upon A Time," and all the entries interpreted the theme in very exciting and different ways.

The balloon sculptures had to be built within twelve hours, with a maximum of seven people in each team. The space allocated for each sculpture was 2 x 2 x 3m high.

This year's winners were the Russian team headed up by team captain Vadim Shushkanov, CBA. 

• Title: "The Eye of Sauron"
• Description: Captain: Vadim Shushkanov
• Copyright: © Silvia Ingrid Cotellessa ©TheDarkroom

Photo by EVGENY BAGRETSOV ©Darkroom

To experience a little of the fun and excitement from this competition, check out the video below!

Here are all the other amazing entries.

Giant Balloons, Confetti Balloons, Tassels, and Organic Decor — Modern Balloon Styling by Shannon Kilford, Born to Party, Sydney, Australia.

We are all becoming a little organic crazy!  And it would appear that in Australia, they are pretty good at it!  

Shannon Kilford's ballooning career started when she applied for a job to manage a little party shop called Born To Party, in Sydney, Australia. Little did she realise that on her first day that she was going to be learning how to make balloon Topiary Balls and that one day the shop would be hers!  

I recently met Shannon through working on one of my blogs, A Look At Colour Trends for Spring 2017. Whilst doing my research, I discovered some of Shannon's fabulous designs on Instagram, and I was very inspired by her style.

"My very first organic design was to decorate a stand at one of Sydney's largest makers markets that happens twice a year. I inflated way too many balloons, so I took them back to the shop and made them into Garlands for our table and to float off a giant balloon. This was two years ago. It took off from there!" 

"For this Garland, we were approached to create a super glamorous embellished Garland in navy, white and silver for a client's 40th birthday. We used a combination of Pearl White, White, Silver, Pearl Midnight Blue, and we double stuffed Onyx Black into Jewel Sapphire to create the shiny navy balloons. We then embellished the Garlands with honeycomb balls, silver tassels, silver fringing, and 16" silver confetti balloons! Originally our party girl only wanted one Garland but because of the layout of the room, we had to go for two gorgeous Garlands for symmetry. We finished the room off with giant silver confetti balloons decorated with mini organic style collars and our handmade tassel garlands. I love walking back into the room when we are finished packing up. If I am in love, I know our client will be too!" 

Shannon Kilford

"Eighteen fabulous years ago I first started working with balloons. I did the beginners workshop through Qualatex^® Balloon Company in Australia and got to attend my first Australian Balloon Convention in the first year of being employed at Born To Party. Once I knew the basics and a few advanced techniques, I was able to figure out a lot of the designs for myself and I grew from there by experimenting and taking time to 'play' with balloons. I always try out new designs and ideas and use them in our shop window displays. There is so much education happening this year in Australia. It's super exciting! After so long in the industry, it's exciting to be still learning and enjoying all the new trends in balloon world!"

I asked Shannon to tell me a little about her business.

"Born to Party is a brick and mortar store that has been open for twenty eight years this year! The shop specialises in boutique partyware and modern balloon styling. We still do classic decor, but we have chosen to focus on the modern goodies for now. I am the shop's fifth owner and have now owned it for nearly twelve of those twenty eight years. I have five employees. One is my newbie and is full-time. The other four are permanent part-time, and all have been with Born To Party for the long haul. We are a family-run store and our staff are like family, too. My dear Mum works with me, as well as helping in the shop, helping look after my little ones. She also does the admin side of things for me as it is not one of my hidden talents. She is my godsend! I couldn't do this without her or my other staff members for that matter, either." 

What do you believe has worked well for you to grow your business?

"We worked hard at getting the word out that we specialise in the more modern type of balloon decor that is sending Pinterest and Instagram crazy! We do expos, work on collaborations with some of Sydney's most loved stylists on styled shoots, and got involved with an influencer/blogger. We are currently working on a complete makeover. We've just launched our new logo. We are also having all of our stationary re-designed and our new sparkly website is currently under construction. I want our new website to take us to the next level, so watch this space! 

Alberto Falcone, CBA. Is On The Road For The Qualatex World Tour!

I love this display. Alberto created this for an exhibition trade stand for a baby clothing company. The use of his fabulous flowers is pure art and
injects so much colour and vibrancy to the display. 

Who cannot love the fabulous work of the very talented artist, Alberto Falcone, CBA? Alberto's balloon career started 20 years ago after attending an event organised by Balloon Express in Florence, Italy. For the first few years, like so many of us, Alberto's balloon career started out as a hobby. But after many requests for event decor, Alberto felt it was time to take his hobby more seriously!

Alberto loves to work with all Qualatex^® balloons, but at this time he favours Quick Link Balloons™. When I asked him why, he told me that he has so much to discover, each time he uses them it is a surprise for him.