3rd Birthday Parties - Elegant and Sophisticated

We love doing 3rd Birthday Parties. Ok, so this was not a typical 3 year old kids party. It was the Marquee Sydney at the Star 3rd birthday.

We had some fabulous personalised large balloons throughout the club.  We sprayed them all white for extra impact.  The Happy Bday around the bar was the first thing that guests saw as they entered the room.  Big impact and a guaranteed great night coming up.

Obviously it isn't a celebration without Miss Australia, Richard Wilkins and some lovely ladies to cut the cake. Note the awesome photo "balloon backdrop"

We did a number of bunches to highlight the fact that this was a 3rd Birthday.  We tried to replicate the cake design and colour with the number 3.  Having everything matching adds to the atmosphere of elegance andsophistication.

...speaking of elegance and sophistication...!!.

Here is a full shot of the media wall .  Our "piece de resistance".  As with Marquee, I am happy to design an effect that will suit the needs of your celebration or launch.  Here I did the large number 3 and 6 large round balloons with silk draping spilling down to the floor.  We couldn't find a celebrity for this shot, so I had to pretend.  Good news - I'm not giving up my day job!!  Enjoy!!

Wishing Well - Alice in Wonderland

 I was called to do an Alice In Wonderland theme for a 21st.  They wanted something special to fill an empty corner of the garden - the outdoor spa on order had not arrived yet.... so what to do with THAT spot.

 It was outdoors, so it needed to be robust.  I created this wishing well in short order. It was a huge hit and everyone wanted to have their photo taken with it.  It lasted the night and well into the next week before they called me to come and collect it. 

OK, so some people's idea of Alice in Wonderland is a bit twisted. Red Riding Hood and The Joker made a wish....but they won't tell me what they wished for..... It seems like a good time was had by all!



WBC2012 - All systems are Go

Welcome again to todays instalment of WBC2012. The pace of the convention is so hectic, I can barely keep up. I will have to do a seperate post of all the wonderful new designs in the welcome room. So, let us review the competitions that finished. I hope this is not too long and boring for you all. Let me know if it is.

First up we have the Awesome Aussies in Amanda, Stacey and Matt, and the postcard from Australia Large Sculpture. well done team.
The jester is very cool and he rotates as well.














It appears that what I though was a naked lady is actually a cherub. Whoops. To be fair I was stuck behind the barrier and didn't get the best view.... that's my story and I am sticking to it!

Some conjecture as to whether the next one is a large bird or dragon. I'll let you decide.

Team Italia were soimpressed by their sculpture they wanted to gaze adoringly at it!

Our Russian friends showed us a pizza oven with the owners sitting on top in traditional garb.

Welcome to the Prep Room. This is where we weave our special type of magic. Here are my room mates Lisa Swiger (USA). The Balloon Bros Dominic and Keith (UK), and Federico Onida (Italy) on the floor at the back. As you can see it is work, work, work...

Here is the majority of the Aussie contingent. Rumoured to be the largest international group at WBC. Top effort!


I hope this video works. It is the Instructors and staff welcoming the Delegates to the opening night of WBC. lots and lots of fun.






Here are the two "Big Boys", Mr Q and our MC Robbie Furman...

...and as always being generous with their time and their smiles, it is Mr and Mrs Qualatex, Ted and Betty Vlamis.









Phew. What a day. Teaching tomorrow so on deck early. Costume night coming up so that should be ...errrr... "interesting viewing".

Let me know if you are enjoying this so far. i'd love to get some comments, and any suggestions on what you want to see.

love your work.

Large Sculpture Competition Update

With just over 1 hour to go in the competitions it is looking magnificent. Here are some images so far...
Remember that photo I posted at the start of the competitions yesterday. The room looks a bit different huh?

This picture shows Aussie team members who have worked through the night and are racing with their twisting to meet the deadline. An outstanding effort from our team lead by Amanda.

Looks like CC drew her inspiration and staying power from "The Ray"...


This piece impressed me. It is not single 350Q's, but each couple of 350Q's is inside a clear 646Q and then has been bent, twisted etc, to create the shell.


This is going to be a very large bird. I watched the ladies painstakingly twisting every feather of the wings and body yesterday. All balloons were double stuffed. It is finger cramping work, but it will pay dividends.

And here is Amanda rigging the sunset over sydney harbour. You can see the Opera House in the foreground, the pylon is up - just waiting for the bridge. The harbour is looking fantastic. Emu s there and waratah flowers. Very cool concept.

Here is the view of the nude lady from her...uhum...derrier (young children should avert their eyes). The manipulation required to create this sculpture is quite awesome.

Remember the bird you saw a bit earlier. Here it is within the last 2 hours. WoW!

C'mon Amanda. Go you good thing! Just over an hour to go! Many of the team members have retreated to their beds to catch a few hours precious shut eye, before they get up again to compete in other design categories. There are 28 Aussies here, and it is the cream of the Australian industry. Simply by entering the competitions, they have done themselves (and the Australian industry) proud. Their efforts will win much respect for the Australian Balloon Industry.

and here are sone other entry pieces.



As I type there is 45 inutes to go before the end of the competition. Gotta go and cheer on the team.

WBC2012 - registration and competitions

Good news is that we avoided a tornado, although some others in Texas got hit. Just saw a lady interviewed who survived as her house roof was taken away. Scary stuff.

I'd like to introduce you to Mr Q - Qualatex's new mascot.

Here is the finished foyer decor. We got it done first thing as most of the delegates check into the hotel during today....

... and also the paint pots are ready to be placed in the classrooms. Phew all done.


While some of us were finishing the decor, many of the Aussie team were again working feverishly, this time helping Amanda Girdlestone with her large sculpture competition. What a happy bunch.

I took this picture of a relatively empty room. Tomorrow I will try and take a pictures from a similar spot, and see if you can notice a change.

At the same time Azusa Ieizumi and her very talented team were starting on the Signature Sculpture. This is the main entry piece that you walk through as you enter the large space that holds classes/competition area/jam room and function space. They will transform this empty space....

...into this amazing entry.The Japanese are renowned for their intricate style and remarkable detail in their sculptures, and this design took that to a new level. These next few pictures emphasize that. Remember that this sculpture is 100% balloons.



That is it for now. The convention is about to get into full swing. Delegates are just about all here. The hotel has been transformed. All instructors are ready to roll. Let's go!

World Balloon Convention 2012

Welcome to my WBC2012 blog. Get your self a cuppa and kick back.

I am sitting on the tenth floor of the Shearton Hotel Dallas, and so far my toes are still dry. Rather bleak outside and the cable TV news stations are all having a great time with Tornado reports and doing live crosses to poor junior reporters stuck around Dallas getting absolutely drenched. Hair in face, barely able to keep their eyes open. Great viewing!

Anyway, we left Sydney airport on Sunday 18th. Here is my harem and I getting ready to board the plane for our 15 hour flight...


We arrived at the Balloon Convention and there were no balloons up anywhere. Quite a strange feeling really, but that was our job. The Aussie team had volunteered to decorate the foyer, main areas of the convention and the surrounds.
By the end of Monday we had to have the foyer completed.
We started the day with Tina having a birthday. A special hat and balloon for the lady turning 21...again!


7am and we are in our room, getting organised for the day. Not much sleep enjoyed by most of us. As you can see we got some special T-shirts made up for the team. Believe me you cannot miss us.


Mala, Amanda, Beth and Di had designed our theme. It was all about colour and coming together of individual colours to create a greater variety colours. Great metaphor ladies!They illustrated this via paint pots.
Here is Mala (...looks like Crystal doing all the work Mala...) and some of the many big paint pots being constructed with colour splashing out of them


My job was to frame the foyer piece. By far the largest frame I had ever had to design and build, and a definite challenge.


While I was constructing and attaching, the rest of the team were beavering away getting everything organised. We have the colour wheel going, paint pots in various sizes, the white balloon garlands stack are for the foyer wall. It is ALL happening.


By 1.30pm we were ready to rig. A major operation to get the 5 metre tall structure along the 2.5 high corridor and over the rail of the balcony in one piece. Yes it was 5 metres tall.


As you can see we completed the brief and the foyer and other areas were done. 95% decor completed before we clocked off at midnight. A mighty effort by the Aussie team. As I write Amanda, Matt and much of the team are about to start the construction of the large sculpture competition piece, so I hope to be able to bring you images of that in my next blog. They are pitting their talents against the best in the world. We wish them best of luck. I am excluded from that as I am an instructor, and may have to judge.
Going to do the 5% finishing touches so full and complete pictures in tomorrows post - including the foyer wall and Mr Q.

The Year of the Dragon

Happy Chinese New Year. We did this great dragon entry design recently for a new Chinese restaurant - combining the year of the dragon and their opening...

if you look closely, I think you can see this guy smiling for the camera...


... of course, not all dragons are happy ones. Here I am putting the finishing touches on this fierce guy out in Western Sydney.

The large dragon head was the focal piece for the stage activities and prize giveaways at a large club.

So what type of dragon do you want....

Have a great 2012 - the year of the Dragon!