Showing posts with label trends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trends. Show all posts

Saturday, December 30, 2017

What Was Your Top Ballooning Trend In 2017?

As I write this, there will be many of you who will be working hard on your New Year's Eve events. The months of meticulous planning and preparation ensure that each job gets done and goes according to plan! I wonder how many of you get that sickly feeling in the pit of your stomach that does not go away until the last balloon drop has been released and you can go to bed feeling like you have done a great job! I wish all of you that are working on New Year's Eve decor every success!


Organic Decor by Georgia Petrou of Boutique Balloons, Melbourne.
Balloons by Georgia Petrou
of Boutique Balloons Melbourne, Australia



Well, this is it — the end of another exciting and very busy ballooning year! Organic style decor appears to be one of the greatest hits of 2017, with many fabulous examples of stunning decor created in this random and unique way!
Qualatex® SuperAgate® — marble effect balloons — are also on-trend and will continue to be very popular in 2018, too! The use of greenery with balloons also proved popular, and again, this is a trend that will continue.






Confetti Christmas Tree by Chris Adamo - Balloons Online, Australia
Design by Chris Adamo, CBA,
of Balloons Online, Sydney, Australia







What could be more spectacular than Chris Adamo's fabulous gold confetti Christmas tree! Confetti-filled balloons are certainly a big hit with customers, and this tree was simply F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S! I think we might see more of this type of work in 2018! I know that decor with "gold" accent details will certainly be popular in 2018! 














I know a little bit about confetti balloons, too! We recently made more than one hundred 3' confetti balloons for a Christmas party. They looked absolutely stunning! 


Silver Confetti Balloons by Sue Bowler, CBA.
Silver confetti balloons by Sue Bowler, CBA and her awesome team!
Photo by Nicci Rene.


Another big trend for 2017 was the highly fashionable unicorn. This lovey balloon sculpture was made by Michele Russo of Connecticut Balloon Creations.



Tania Torre, CBA, of Balloon Express Shop in Terme Vigliatore, Italy, creates a beautiful design, working with the "Magical Unicorn" Microfoil®, Crescent Moons, Stars, and a rainbow.





How effective is this
simple unicorn design! Working with an 11" Fashion SuperAgate balloon and accent details.







Rumour has it that mermaids will be the new unicorn for 2018! It appears that we have all become a little obsessed with mythical creatures and I love it! 

Balloon walls have taken a little twist in 2017— out goes the precision and in comes the random sizing! However, to do this well, you still have to consider the elements and principles of design. I love this design by Avital Shechter, CBA, of Balonir, Israel. 


Balloon Wall by Avital Shechter.



I loved designing this round balloon wall for the Qualatex 100th Anniversary celebrations. It was inspired by a design that Luc Bertrand, CBA, made earlier in the year for the Qualatex Booth at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. A huge thank you to Luc for sharing his creativity and another one of his fabulous designs.











We had some amazing contributors to the Very Best Balloon Blog in 2017. Chris Adamo shared his superb Design and Calculator Tool with the ballooning community. If you have not tried it out yet make sure that you do. It's awesome! He also showed us how to make a Bubble Balloon Stuffing Tool, tool! Kerry Ferguson, CBA, of Pioneer Europe Ltd. demonstrated how to make fabulous balloon tassels using poly ribbon and transformed an everyday product into something exciting and new! 
There were so many fabulous balloon artists from around the world who took the time to help me with many of this year's blogs, so a huge thank you to all of you!

So what will 2018 bring us? Well, if I knew, I would be a very clever and potentially wealthy person. However, I do know that Qualatex will announce an amazing new product very soon and I can tell you that I am very excited, and I know that you will love it! 



Later next year in the U.K., we are expecting the arrival of a new Royal baby. I wonder if Avital has got it right with her stunning "Royal Baby Boy" design?


"Royal Baby Boy"
by Avital Shechter.


I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2018! Maybe this is the perfect time to make some positive resolutions that will help your business to flourish and grow. It could be something as simple as reviewing your social media activities — and don't forget to measure the effectiveness of your efforts, too! 

I hope that some of you will be joining us at the World Balloon Convention, in San Diego in March. We would truly love to see you there! 

And finally, if you have any ideas or suggestions for future blogs, please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know - Suebowlercba@gmail.com

Happy New Year & Happy Ballooning!

Sue x
www.suebowler.com



SaveSave

Friday, September 29, 2017

Pineapples - A Delicious Fruit or a Top Trend?

No longer are pineapples just a delicious fruit, but also one of today's top trends! Check out Instagram; there are almost five million posts with the #pineapple!


44" Golden Pineapple


Historically, the pineapple started out as a status symbol, as it was one of the fruits Christopher Columbus and other European explorers were bringing back from the Americas. In the late-seventeenth century, having a pineapple in your home was a big deal!




The pineapple became part of a tropical trend, which is believed to be influenced by the 2016 Brazil Olympics and the growing interest in South America. Pineapples and the "Golden Pineapple" are regularly used in fashion, home decor, and of course, party!


Elegant or fun, this trend can work both ways!

"Birthday Luau"
44" "Golden Pineapple" - #57362 (package) #57359 (flat)
18" "Birthday Hibiscus Stripes" - #57280 (package) #57278 (flat)
11" "Birthday Shining Star" -
Assorted Pink & Wild Berry
#25588 (25 ct.)
#37500 (50 ct.)
"Cool as a... pineapple?"
18" "Mr Cool Pineapple" - #57271 (package) #57269 (flat)
11" "Smile Face" - #85986 (50 ct.) #39803 (25 ct.)



Luc Bertrand, CBA, of wAw Balloons in Vichte, Belgium, shares one of his newest designs, showing how to display the fabulous new "Golden Pineapple" Microfoil® balloon on an elegant Taper balloon pedestal - without breaking the California Law!




Material List:

8 - 11" Gold #43749
4 - 5"   Gold #43560
1 - 27" Metallic Gold Taper #17133
5 - 13" Metallic Gold Tapers #17125
1 - 44" Golden Pineapple #57362 (package) #57359 (flat)


Method:
  • Create a 4-balloon base cluster using the 11" Gold sized to approximately 8".
  • Create a second 4-balloon cluster using the 11" Gold sized to approximately 6". Connect both the base and the second cluster together.  Add a weight.
  • Air-fill the 27" Metallic Gold Taper and secure to the base using a scrap of 260Q.
  • Air-fill and heat seal the 13" Metallic Gold Tapers and add these into the base.
  • Create a 4-balloon cluster using the 5" Gold and inflate to 4". Secure this cluster to the top of the Taper balloon.
  • Helium inflate the 44" "Golden Pineapple" and secure this to a small weight that can be hidden easily inside the top cluster.  (See image 1.)
  • Hide the weight inside an uninflated 5" balloon. (See image 2.)
  • Attach to the design. (See image 3 & 4.)
This is such an elegant design, perfect for party decor. Thank you Luc once again for sharing one of your designs with the Very Best Balloon Blog readers! 

I hope that you are enjoying all the fabulous new Qualatex balloons that are being released. If you are looking for more inspiration don't forget to check out the Inspiration pages on the Qualatex website. It's packed with Balloon Bouquets and Balloon Decor ideas plus Trending Inspiration

Happy Ballooning!


Sue


Monday, February 25, 2013

Sweet trends... this years pretty pastel colours!

Spring is about to burst through for many of us in the northern hemisphere... and I think that we have all had enough of the snow and cold cold days!


On opening my monthly (women's) magazine I was excited to see such a stunning collection of fashion ideas for the Spring that reminded me of 'sugared almonds', a beautiful array of pretty pastel shades!



So, I flicked open my NEW Qualatex catalogue and selected the balloons colours that reflected the same stunning shades! And look at how beautifully they blend together! 





NEW Caribbean Blue
Pearl Mint Green
Pearl Peach
Ivory
Pearl Lemon Chiffon
Pearl Pink
Pearl Lavender


Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Spring Fair 2012 review with photographs...

Sue Bowler
2012 is a big year for celebration!
 
This years Spring Fair took place from the 5th-9th February at The NEC, Birmingham, England.

Against a backdrop of economic pressure and inclement weather (snow) it still attracted over 63,500 buyer visitors. The Spring Fair is divided into 13 main categories, 



Contemporary Gift & Home


Gift & Home


Volume Gift & Home


Greetings & Stationery


Kitchen, Dining & Housewares


The Summerhouse


Toys, Games & Kids Gifts


The Party Show


Festive & Floral


Art & Framing


Body, Bath & Home Fragrance


Fashion Jewellery & Accessories


The Jewellery Show

Balloons, costume and party goods were represented within the new 'Party Show' sector in Hall 3.
New 2012 Catalog


The Spring Fair for Pioneer Europe (Qualatex) is the perfect opportunity to launch the 2012 Everday Catalogue, to showcase the amazing range of Qualatex balloon products to new and existing customers.

With both the 'Education Centre' and 'The Stage' daily demonstrations, visitors were 'wowed' with the endless ideas and profitable designs being shown to them, the demo teams was made up by myself, Dee White, Dom Cassidy & Keith Stirman.

Me in one of the Education centre's... before the show had officially opened!


To give you an idea of the size of the entire show, 17 miles... yes miles of carpet was used to cover the endless walkways between the aisles and halls!

I have been part of the Qualatex Spring Fair team for many years. I have had the privilege and honor of designing and creating the stand/ booth window displays, showing a host of new products and design ideas. Working along side Jodie Norris & Dee White, who each year create the most incredible stand/booth decor, which I can honestly say makes the Qualatex stand probably one of the most colourful and professional looking stands in the entire show!
Spring Fair is very much a team effort, with a number of the Qualatex Sales team (Michelle, Mark, Debbie, Linda. Jag, Michelle) being an integral part of the stand/decor build as well as being on the stand once the show opens talking to customers and of course taking order!


Preparation starts earlier in the week prior to the show with stand builders building the stand.





Dee White adding graphics to an 8' Giant Cloudbuster- Chloroprene balloon



View of the completed stand/booth - Stand designers Jodie Norris & Dee White
                           
                           Retail display... Microfoils, Bubbles and Qualatex Retail Latex
New Microfoils & Bubble balloons

Beautiful new Special Shapes balloons
The Qualatex Hot Air balloons with Dee's fantastic Smiley Face men

New holographic balloons... they are lovely!

The Animal head shape balloons worked so well, especially with Dee's added touch for the 'ladies'!

View from the other end of the stand.



Sue Bowler
Window displays using the beautiful new holographic balloons!

Sue Bowler
Birthday Display!

Sue Bowler
Numbers Display!


If you would like to see a little more, I have put together a short DVD that gives you a great look at the stand, the fantastic new balloons and some inspirational design ideas!


Spring Fair 2013 will be 3rd-7th Feb 2013... mark the date in your diary!

If you attended the show please add your comments to this blog, we would love to hear what you thought of the stand decor, new balloons... anything really!

I walked around the show after I had finished my stint on the stand, I only actually managed to visit a few of the other halls. I saw some great new products that will work very well for balloon artists... watch this space as I hope to try out and review some of these soon!

Sue :)

Friday, December 9, 2011

My favorite balloons for 2011... what are yours?

With only a matter of a few weeks before we reach the end of 2011, I have started to reflect on the year that has passed... and oh boy was it quick!

I do not want to dwell on the less positive side of 2011, I think that our daily news reports do that very well and I am certainly not an expert when it comes to politics and economics!

So I thought that I would start this series of blogs reflecting on 'balloons'.
Like many of you, my life revolves around balloons and has done so for the past 20 plus years! I get very excited when I see all the new styles and designs each year and cannot wait to see what I and others can make with each and every one of these balloons!

Our favorite balloons for 2011

So, if someone asked you 'what was your favorite Qualatex balloon for 2011, what would it be and why"? I asked a few of my friends in the industry to help me out with this.

Tope Abulude CBA, Balloon Inspirations says that his best selling balloon for 2011 is:

Minnie Mouse # 27568
"I would say the Mickey & Minnie Mouse bubbles"




Mickey Mouse #27569






"I have made various types of arrangements/sculptures with them, and they have proved to be quite a hit for us this year!  The shaped head makes it possible for me to make simple, inexpensive sculptures for my client...so they get a unique piece of Art that's not available in Clintons (in your face Clintons :p) On the latex side, my customers really like the baby pink and wild berry happy birthday mix and polka dot wild berry":o"

Kevin Proctor CBA, Premier Balloons
Deco Bubble Scroll Filigree # 23593 20"
"Deco bubbles for us!
They're so versatile and work for any occasion or season! None of our competitors do them, they're cheap to us, the floating time is....yonks! They're all so easy to add value to them and they're just so different to a 'normal' balloon!

We use 'decos' a lot in bouquets as well as centrepieces. I'd say polka dot with an 11" inside would be the most popular but its a close call between that and the clear 20" deco with an 11" print inside.
Also....adding to the deco bubble praises, we use a lot in decor as well, great for indoors and out!

Colour of the year - I'd have to say 'bubblegum pink' (I've given it that name) which is a double stuffed jewel magenta with a std white inside, customers go crazy for it - try it, it looks so vibrant and bright!"

Colin Myles CBA, Smiley Balloons

"My favourite just now is the three foot super agate, any colour but preferably all the colours in a room design, I think I am in love with them"!

Enza Mondello CBA, Balloon Express Patti
"My is 11" super agate all colours"!!!!!

Andrey Osokin CBA
My favorite super agate ))
Roses & Butterflies 24" Deco Bubble # 29718




Mike & Sara Harris CBA - For Every Occasion

"Yep, most 'defo' the heart and butterfly deco bubbles for us - you can utilise them in so many ways and they are easy money! Big thumbs up but new designs would be greatly welcomed"!



Big Polka Dot Wild Berry 11"
Renata Fric CBA, Magic D.o.o
'Top seller for us was Polka dots balloons... and the colour wild berry. Great response was on the 24" deco bubble with print, as they really give great effect in the decor, specially as table decor and like Kevin says, they are great for indoors and outdoors, what is specially in a hot summer time very good and you can even deliver them in the van"










Neil Armstrong CBA, Sensational Balloons.
'The new bubble Festive Trees & Snowman has become a big hit with the 11" merry Christmas festive assortment plus also the 24" printed deco bubbles have been very good because you can attach a lot more to them and not worry about them coming down!'
Festive Tree & Snowman # 31851 22"



So now it's my turn, here are my favorites! I have a few actually...
Damask Accent Patterns # 34430 18"
I think that I would have to start with the NEW Diamond Accents™, a little bit of a late runner for 2011 as they did not make the 2011 Qualatex Catalogue, so I think they will feature in my 2012 list too!  For me, these are every designers dream! The shape of the balloon fits so well into a Balloon Bouquet creating beautiful lines, but it's also the strong designs that make them so very special! 
Over the past few months we have seen more and more ways of working with this fantastic shape balloon, especially for air-filled decor! 
Design created by Luc Bertrand CBA
I strongly believe that if you give a group of creative balloon artists a balloon, each person would come up with their own unique concept and way of working with them... and that has to be great for our industry!  Luc Bertrand created this New Year's design using the Qualatex Diamond Expression New Year Sparkle # 27673 18", but this same concept can be used for any of the Diamond Accent balloons. This design can be hung as a mobile that will freely turn with air currents or hung against a back-drop... and they last so long!
My other great favorite this year and I am sure that it will be the same for 2012 too, is the Damask print! I just love it! The combination of the Damask Accent with the Damask Print-A-Round latex, it's elegant and stunning!
Damask Print-A-Round # 31471

The colour Wild Berry has been a huge hit with both balloon artists and the public.
I could continue to list all my 'other' favorites too, I agree with everyone above, the Mickey & Minnie Mouse Double Bubbles have opened up a huge world for us in terms of retail and decor designs. I also 'LOVE' all Deco Bubble's... a balloon artists best friend, visually fantastic, very adaptable, durable and long long lasting!
And of course Big Polks Dots & Super Agates... in every colour :) 

It would be great to hear what your favorite 2011 Qualatex balloons are and why, you can add your comments at the bottom of this blog, we would love to hear from you :)
I am just off to try out Kevin's "Bubblegum' Pink!

Have a great weekend!

Sue