How to Design a Window Display From Concept to Creation - With Bonus Tips and Tricks Videos

Each year, I have the privilege to design the window displays for the Qualatex trade stand at Spring Fair, NEC, Birmingham, U.K. It truly is a job that I love doing, although challenging, I find that I can really allow my creative juices to flow!

Baby Boy Window Display by Sue Bowler. CBA.

Designing a window display is definitely worth pre-planning. Otherwise, you can end up filling a space without really knowing what you are trying to achieve. My role at Spring Fair is to showcase a range of new Qualatex balloon designs in a way that makes them look exciting and striking. 

Probably one of my favourite displays this year was the "Baby" window. I love the NEW "Baby Stripes" balloons; the beautiful pastels with gold and white are so elegant and completely on-trend!

18" "Baby Boy Blue Stripes"
also available in 9".

18" "Baby Girl Pink Stripes"
also available in 9".

Designing my displays

Sometimes I find the process quite easy, but not always, and so planning is especially essential for me. I start by creating a design board. I want to be sure that the ideas I imagined will be functional as well as pretty. I often use this same technique when I am proposing a design to a client, and have found that it really helps them to get a good understanding of what they will get. Below is the design/mood board that I made when working on this window. It helped me see how the balloon would look with a crescent moon shape and garlands. Although I did not re-create exactly what I had originally designed, I really did not deviate too far - that's pretty unusual! 

The ability to be able to download images directly from the Qualatex website in a png format (clear background) has made designing so much easier. I simply download all the balloons that I want to feature and then play around building shapes. If you are working on Columns, Arches or balloon walls, you can use Chris Adamo's fabulous design tool that will help you to produce good look design images every time! Designing the crescent moon was fairly simple. I import shapes into a Word or Pages document and build the shape that I am looking to make, add circles and fill them with the colours that I want to use. 

Making the design

The display was created from two main elements - the crescent moon and the air-filled garlands. Using air-filled balloons in window displays is the key to longevity. The garlands are extremely long lasting and could be easily stored and re-used for a future display. The crescent moon has a limited life but to ensure that it looked its best for the entire show, I double-stuff all the latex balloons or treat with hi-float.

The crescent moon frame was made from a length of 6mm aluminium rod bend into a crescent moon shape. I actually used one of my hoops from another display as a template to ensure that I had a good curve. I secured the frame to a NOT base, which worked perfectly for this design. If you look at the finished design you will note that the base is white. I like to spray my bases with a white, quick-drying floral paint when I am creating pastel and light-coloured designs. 

Colour

To achieve the beautiful pastel blue that has been used for the Baby Boy Blue Stripes balloon, I double-stuffed Caribbean Blue with either White or Pearl White on top. Using both whites and mixing them into the design gave a subtle change in texture, some of the balloons looked a little more shiny whilst others had a subtle softness.

I also added a few under-inflated 11" Chrome Gold and some Gold Confetti-filled balloons too! If you are wondering what the tiny gold balloons are, they are a mix of small gold baubles and the inflated tips of 260Q Gold Chrome balloons! Excepting the 11" Chrome Gold balloons and the 260Q bubbles, all the other balloons are 5" inflated to different sizes.

Air-Filled Garlands

Making the garlands takes a little time, but the effort is truly worth it! My garlands were made from 4" Metallic Gold Stars, 9" & 18" "Baby Boy Blue Stripe" balloons. These were all air-filled and heat sealed as required. Each balloon was connected together using a very fine monofilament line. The finishing touch was to decorate each balloon with a tiny hand-made satin ribbon bow - it's the finishing touches that makes the difference!

The Display

The window space is quite small, so to make the best of the space, I use a layering technique to ensure that each element stands out in its own right. The long garland with the 18" balloon at the base was positioned towards the front of the window. The crescent moon was centred and slightly angled, and the shorter garland was positioned towards the back of the window. This gave the display a visual balance as well as the opportunity to see each of the elements very clearly for every position. The gold glitter balloons added an elegant twist to the design and reflected the confetti that is printed on the balloons.

Tips and Tricks

Here are two very short video clips that will show you how to make the mini 260Q Bubbles and how to make 5" Confetti-Filled balloons using Hi-Float, both of these techniques I used for the crescent moon design. 

Getting both window and in-store displays right are critical for the success of a business. They are the opportunity to show your brand and to promote products or seasonal themes. 


Happy Ballooning!


Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler

Qualatex goes "A Little Bit Spacey" at the Nuremberg Toy Fair and Spring Fair Birmingham

The start of the year is always a very busy time in Europe with the Spielwaremesse - Nuremberg Toy Fair, Germany and the Spring Fair, N.E.C., Birmingham, U.K. This year saw both stands take on an "Out of this World" space theme with the stand decor designed and create by Luc Bertrand, CBA, Fiona Fisher, CBA, and Federico Onida, CBA. 

Nuremberg Toy Fair Decor by Luc Bertrand

Spring Fair Decor by Fiona Fisher and Federico Onida

The trade fairs are a fabulous opportunity for customers both existing and new to see the full range of balloons, party ware and accessories that Qualatex^® sells- there is nothing better than to be able see all the products close-up, you cannot always fully appreciate how fabulous they look in real life! 

The truly remarkable artist Alberto Falcone, CBA, also waved his magic wand over the Qualatex stand at Spring Fair, creating some wonderful displays that without doubt will inspire so many! It's amazing when you add theme balloons such as the adorable new "Precious Panda" Head and the Northstar "Emoji's" and the superb range of Dinosaur balloons to a wall or a display that takes the balloons to a whole new level! Each one of Alberto's amazing displays can easily be reproduced for theme parties! 

Panda with organic tree display by Alberto Falcone

Emoji's Wall by Alberto Falcone

Volcano with Dinosaur's by Alberto Falcone

Here are some more lovely displays from both fairs, featuring some of our amazing new balloons!  If you were unable to attend, I hope that it will give you a little inspiration! 

Both Luc and myself had the opportunity to create beautiful designs using the NEW "Graceful Swan" balloon, Luc managed to sneak in the gorgeous "Tropical Philodendron" balloons too! 

Graceful Swan Designs by
Luc Bertrand (left)
Sue Bowler (right)

Window display by Sue Bowler, CBA

The fabulous colours in the "Rainbow Swirl Ice Cream" and the "Birthday Pastel Ombre & Stars" look truly stunning - I think these will be extremely popular this year - I am loving all the NEW 9" and 14" balloons too! 

Window Display by Luc Bertand

I love Luc's Ice Cream display. He cleverly shows a fabulous range of new products. The base is made using the new "Colourful Dots" latex balloons - I have yet to play with these and I can't wait! He then displays the "Rainbow Swirl Ice Creams" with a beautiful bouquet of "Birthday Metallic Ombre and Dots" topped with the fabulous "Colourful Confetti Dots" Deco Bubble!

This wonderful "Loveable Llama" display was created by Louise Hedges, CBA,
of Pioneer Europe.

Kerry Ferguson, CBA, of Pioneer Europe created some truly
inspiration balloon bouquets! I loved this "Hot" tropical design!

This was one of my favourite displays to make!
I love designing balloon hoops and by simply adding
Northstar "Scripts" take them to a whole new level! 

Who could not adore this beautiful Llama baby display by
Federico Onida. Federico made this design during one of
The Stage demonstrations that are held each day at Spring Fair.

Both shows were brimming with fabulous new products and many exciting displays. If you have never attended one of these shows then I highly recommend them both! 

2nd -6th February 2020

Spielwaremesse - Nuremberg Toy Fair

29th Jan - 2nd Feb 2020

And finally, just in case you missed it, Keith and Dominic reported live at Spring Fair on Q Corner - this is a great way to truly see the amazing Qualatex stand!

Hope to see you at a ballooning event somewhere in the world this year!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler

2019 Wedding Trend: Glamorous Balloon Greenery

Greenery decor at weddings looks classic and chic. At this year's Spring Fair at the NEC, Birmingham, U.K., I had the opportunity to show a few decor ideas, using some of the newest products from Qualatex^® that I believe will excite and inspire 2019 brides! 

Shades of green worked really well with the beautiful new "Graceful Swan" balloon. I used a selection of double-stuffed custom coloured latex balloons to create the organic style decor that framed the design.

To achieve the colours of balloons that appear in this design I used:

Outer balloon colours: White, Pearl White, Pearl Ivory and Ivory Silk 

Inner balloon colours: Green, Spring Green, Pearl Forest and Wintergreen.

I also included a few Qualatex 11" Chrome Green and the fabulous NEW 11" Tropical Greenery latex balloons, both of which added an exciting new visual texture - I also double-stuffed some of the Tropical Greenery balloons with Ivory Silk and Spring Green to change the colour slightly, again allowing each of the balloons to blend beautifully within the design.

The frame that I used was a combination of products. The base of the frame was made from the PlexiPoles System and are called End Plates. PlexiPoles are a high quality acrylic & plexiglass product and are available from www.PlexiPoles.com. To give me the height that I required for my frame, I bought some acrylic tubing that I sourced online. I cut it to the size that I wanted and connected them together at the corners with plastic corner/elbow joints. I knew what I wanted to create, and I was lucky enough to be able to source the right products to make it! Using acrylic made the frame light, airy and very elegant. To complete my design I added some faux silk greenery and flowers.

I created this centrepiece as one of my stage demonstrations at the Spring Fair! And although all the balloons had been pre-inflated, I managed to construct this design in less than 15 minutes! I think that the new "Elegant Greenery" Qualatex Bubble Balloon is going to be a true hit! As the Bubble is air-filled and weight was not a concern, I filled it with a selection of double-stuffed shades of green 5" latex balloons, and also a few under-inflated 11" Gold and Green Chrome™️ balloons too! 

Deco Bubble - "Elegant Greenery"

I am very much looking forward to working with all these fabulous greenery style balloons in future decor! I hope you like the displays! 

Happy Ballooning!

Sue Bowler

www.suebowler.com

#suebowler

Get Ready for the Big 14 Day Countdown to Valentine's Day!

There is no long lead up to Valentine's Day sales, most people buy last minute, usually less than a week before the 14th! So what can you do leading up to Valentine's' Day to promote sales?

1. When posting on Social Media, think about the headings you use. Try something a little catchy like: 

• Need some help this Valentine’s? 5 perfect gift ideas for her/him
• ❤️ 5 perfect Valentine’s gift ideas for her/him (all under £30) ❤️ - the heart emoji will attract more attention!
• “Valentine’s Day treats for you and yours."
• "Bring a little Smiley Love this Valentine's Day."

or how about using a Valentine's quote

• “Where there is love, there is life.” – Mahatma Ghandi, Civil Rights Lead

• "They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything." - Bil Keane

Next, make sure the content of your post is appealing enough to drive customers to your store, web-shop, or to start a conversion.

2. Run a Valentine's Day poll or ask a question. This will get your customers interacting on your Facebook or Instagram pages. You can run a different poll every day leading up to the 14th! Interaction is really important to grow your following and it's not a one-way street. Make sure to respond to any comments. Remember, every comment you get means someone took the time to stop, look at your post and share their thoughts. After all that, why wouldn’t you respond?

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

What would be your perfect Valentine's Day gift?

Which balloon reflects your Valentine's personality?

This is an idea that you could use to post on one of your social media channels - you are
welcome to use this example, just right click to save the image. Make sure that you either start a poll, or simply ask a question - "Which balloon reflects your Valentine's personality?" or whatever comment you think will get your followers talking.

3. Add romantic flair to your social media covers and profile images. Help your online audience get into the spirit of Valentine’s Day by updating your social media covers and profile images with a bit of romantic flair. Ideally the flair should still be visible when your profile image is resized, but be careful not to obscure your original branding too much – you still want your audience to be able to recognise it. Did you know that you can download some great Valentine's images from the Qualatex website! Click HERE for a direct link to the Organic Heart Decor article.

4. Hashtag it! Using seasonal hashtags and keywords is a simple way to expand your reach.

#bemine, #bemine2019 #bemyvalentine, #candyhearts, #galentinesday, #hugsandkisses, #secretadmirer, #SinglesDay, #sweetheart, #thatslove, #valentine, #valentines, #valentinesday2019, #whoneedsavalentine, #willyoubemyvalentine

5. Run a Valentine's competition - ask people to post their funniest Valentine's Day stories. Once again this will create interaction on your social media channels and create something fun for your followers to read and engage in - maybe get your followers to choose their favourite stories by counting the number of likes?

6. Offer a special promotion for early orders - you could offer a free gift-wrapped heart with every order made.

Here are just a few last minute ideas that should help with your Valentine's sales! 

Good luck!

Happy Valentine's Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

How to Avoid having your Instagram Account Disabled, or worse, Lost Forever!

Breaking the "rules" on social media is easier than you may realise!

Are you committing copyright infringement and don't realise that you are doing it?

Last year a ballooning friend of mine told me that her business Instagram account had been disabled before Christmas for violating Instagram Community Guidelines  - her account was never restored and she never found out why - but a cheeky little "Elf on the Shelf" had something to do with it! 

There are several things that you can do to cause your Instagram account to be disabled or worse, lost forever! 

Banned Instagram Hashtags

As we all know, hashtags get your posts noticed, but did you know that there are many banned Instagram hashtags! Some of the bans are permanent - others are temporary, usually when someone has reported content that may not meet Instagram's guidelines. These come and go so be careful when using hashtags that they are permissible to use at that time.

How do you know if the hashtags that you are using are okay to use?

• In the search bar, type the hashtag you want to use.
• If it does not appear in the search results, it usually mean that the hashtag is banned. The hashtag could be banned temporarily or indefinitely. This means that one day it might be blocked, another day it might be usable.

I've read several articles on this subject and was really surprised to see that words like #Valentinesday and #newyearsday were both listed as banned hashtags, so I checked and saw that they have both been re-instated. I suppose if someone posts something inappropriate and it's reported, that hashtag is temporarily disabled.

There is a great article A Complete List Of Banned Hashtags You Should Avoid In 2020, I recommend that you take a look.

Infringing the Copyright of other people or businesses - please read this as you could be easily infringing copyright or trademark laws.

Under Instagram’s Terms of Use and Community Guidelines, you can only post content to Instagram if it doesn’t violate the intellectual property rights of another party. The best way to help make sure that the content you post to Instagram doesn’t violate copyright law is to only post content that you’ve created yourself.

You might also be able to use someone else’s content on Instagram if you’ve gotten permission (for example, a license), or if your use is covered by fair use or some other exception to copyright. It’s generally a good idea to get permission before posting content, and to get that permission in writing.

The key words in the above statement are licenses and copyright. 

How many balloon artists regularly copy licensed characters without permission? This is where a balloon artist creates a character entirely out of balloons and does not used a licensed balloon such as the Mickey Mouse Bubble as shown below. I see it all the time on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest! Not only do they copy the licensed characters, they hashtag them too, which makes it really easy for the license owners to catch people using their license without the relevant permissions required.

It might bring an artist kudos to re-create famous character designs, but is it worth having your Instagram account disabled for posting those photos? 
Here is an article on Legal Use of the Disney Characters - by Marilyn Linblad

It's not just Disney, there are so many characters and other famous things that are heavily licensed and trademarked, such as the Olympics and anything Oscar related to name just a few... there are many!

Making designs like the Mickey Mouse design using licensed balloons does not break any licensing rules.

Making designs using licensed balloons is perfectly acceptable
and does not break any licensing rules. 

With so many balloon companies using vinyl cutters, we are seeing many licensed designs and fonts being copied, again this is breaking copyright and licensing rules.

If you are ever in doubt, simply search "is 'xxxx' protected by licenses or trademark laws" and it will give you all the relevant information.

Be warned, re-creating anything that is licensed or has a copyright can get you into trouble - posting it on social media and hash-tagging it simply flags it for all to see.

So let's go back to Elf on The Shelf - as I mentioned right at the beginning of this blog post, a ballooning friend of mine had their Instagram account disabled and is really struggling to get it back. 
They were informed that Instagram had removed a post for copyright infringement - this was a video that they had made showing their Elf On The Shelf stuffing balloons, the video had been hash-tagged "elfontheshelf". Thinking it was because they had used the hashtag, they continued their Elf on the Shelf marketing campaign by posting photographs of the elf being naughty each day, but this time without the hashtag, sadly after a few more posts their account was completely disabled, and it's really hard to find out why.

It's difficult to understand what's okay and what's not! The words "Elf on the Shelf" are trademarked and I suppose around Christmastime they are checking to see if it's being use appropriately. I saw so many Elf on the Shelf campaigns it's hard to know which of those were legal and which broke the rules. Or was my friend just one of the unlucky ones that got noticed?

Last week I noticed that a company had posted a photograph of mine (without permission) on their Instagram account to promote their business - which incidentally is not a balloon decor company! 

Here are the rules on this:

To repost someone else's Instagram post, you first have to obtain that person's permission to re-use their content. Then, you can use an external app such as Repost for Instagram, Instarepost, or DownloadGram.

The company that used my photo did neither, they did hashtag my name but that does not constitute as obtaining permission.

If someone has posted a photograph of yours that you took, you have to decide if you are unhappy that they are using one of your photos to promote their business, and to be honest it is probably best to contact them directly and ask them to remove the photograph, which in most cases they will. If they refuse, then you are well within your right to report them to Instagram, Facebook or Pinterest.

And there are even more reason why Instagram might block you!

• Mass Following and Mass Liking
• Excessively Frequent Publications
• Images/Videos Violating Social Network Rules
• User Complaints
• Different IP addresses and Devices

Rather than going into more details regarding the above reasons, I will guide you to a great post - 6 Reasons Why Instagram Blocks You. To-Do Actions if You Get Banned - by Julia Minnie who explain each of these really well.

To be completely honest I was unaware of many of the reasons for having an Instagram account disabled, and researching for this blog has really opened my eyes. When it comes to copyrights and trademark laws, I am always very careful, as it's so easy to break these rules. When in doubt always check!  For example did you know that you are not allowed to have an "Oscars" theme party but you can have a "Hollywood Nights Party" - even words are protected by copyright laws! 

Keep your Instagram and other social media accounts safe by not inadvertently breaking any rules.

Happy Ballooning!


Sue
www.suebowler.com
Follow me - #suebowler

Have you Considered Joining or Starting a Ballooning Networking Group?

Working on your own can be tough and a little lonely sometimes. Many balloon artists, like myself, are sole traders - a one man band without the support of a team to work with. Dealing with day-to-day problems and issues can seem daunting or the thought of getting asked to work on a big job fills you with terror rather than excitement! Does this sound familiar?

Fortunately, we have the power of the internet and can easily connect with other balloon artists around the world through Facebook groups, Instagram, and other social media channels, but there is nothing quite like networking and meeting like-minded people that have the same interests and passions as you face to face.

Working together with Amanda Armstrong, CBA, Cheryl Skoric, CBA, and Matt Cerre, CBA, building the fabulous Pioneer 100 Anniversary party decor.

Networking 

Networking is one of the best ways to build great relationships with other balloon artists. Meeting up at training sessions, events, and conventions is probably one of the most important reasons for attending. It's not just about making friends, it's about building relationships with other balloon professionals who can help each other with advice and support when it is needed or can physically help when a job proves to be too big!

Have you considered joining or starting a network group? 

Meeting up at training courses is great, but sadly they are not always that frequent. So why not see if there are any ballooning networking groups already set up that you are able to join or if not, start your own. If you have started to build a group of friends within the industry, why not suggest that you form a networking group. You don't have to meet physically, although it's always a good idea to try and find opportunities to get together, you can easily "meet" using an app such as Google Hangouts.

Working together as a team with other balloon professionals.

So how does a networking group work?

• Firstly, I would recommend not to make your group too big. You want to be able to allow everyone the opportunity to get involved and participate. 
• Meet on a regular fixed date - like the first Monday in the month. Choose a time that suits everyone and when business is usually quiet and people have time to talk.
• Network with those who are not in conflict or competition with you or each other - a successful group needs to be able to share ideas, advice and support and not feel threatened.
• Know what you want to talk about - have an agenda or discussion outline. It's important to ask group members each month if they have any specific topics that they want to discuss in advance. You will need a group moderator to set up the meeting and to steer the conversations, especially if there are time constraints and a busy agenda. 
• Limit your meetings to a manageable length, if they take too long people will start to lose interest and get side-tracked.

Team work makes the dream work! 

What are the benefits of a networking group?

• Allows the opportunity to exchange fresh ideas! We are very much a trend-led industry, it's good to know and share what's hot and what's not! Coming up with new marketing ideas is never easy, knowing what's working for others can really boost another person's confidence to have a go themselves.
• Allows you to help others.  A problem shared is a problem halved, or so the saying goes! Working as a group can help to answer questions, bounce ideas off each other, resolve problems together, or already have the knowledge or experience to share.
• Share and opens the door to new opportunities. How many of us lack the confidence to take on a "big job" or have never had the experience working on a large balloon installation? Or it might be that it's you that has the big job and need good team members to work with you. Being part of a network group can give you greater opportunities to work as part of a team. It might be working for one of the group members or an opportunity that one of your members has introduced you to. Working as part of a team has many benefits - it's a fabulous learning opportunity, as well as stimulating and rewarding plus it's very social, which is something that most of us lack when working alone.
• Allows you to express an opinion. Unlike your friends and family, a professional network is there to share opinions about the industry and exchange information. This is a great opportunity to discuss industry related matters that you have been thinking about or that may have had an impact on your business.
• Expands your support network. You may only meet up once a month, but knowing that you have a group of friends that you can always turn to when you're feeling fed up, in need of advice, or a few friendly words is worth so much! 

Working together to build a sculpture at a convention with a network of ballooning friends from the same country is great way to build a networking group and wonderful friendships.

Happy Networking! 

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler