Balloon Patterns

I share my yarn projects here and talk about exercise & life but not so much my work.  I guess that's because this is my personal blog and while balloons are lots of fun, they are also what I consider a job.  I love going to work most days, but it's still work.

so I've decided to add another blog with balloon patterns on it.  A few years ago we wrote several books of balloon instructions and since we don't publish them any more I've decided to post the patterns.  It will take awhile - one of the book has 60 different sculptures.

Here's the link if you're interested

http://ohwowballoons.blogspot.com/

Shark Tank - Balloon Guy

I don't know how many people saw the episode of Shark Tank where the guy was pitching his balloon business.  I am a professional balloon entertainer.  Yep, I make my money by creating balloon animals.  I tuned in,  but turned it off as soon as I saw who the guy was.

Here's an article that reflects why I did that.  Notice that the people in there are very willing to be identified.  They are all talented entertainers with respectable bodies of work.

http://yteevents.com/uncategorized/balloon-distractions-shark-tank-ben-alexander-scam-article/

The balloons presented on the show - at least in the preview clip I saw (I really couldn't stomach the entire segment) were not something that a balloon artist could be expected to make in the normal busy restaurant environment.  Also the people who only have basic training would have been lost even attempting them.

I love what I do and I'm good at it - I'm also not knocking anyone who's just starting with the basics. I've been doing this for 15 years.  It takes a little time to get your skills honed.

Balloon Distractions promotes the entertainers working only for tips.  The guy actually making the balloon only gets whatever you choose to pay, even though they supply the materials and do all the work.  It's a common thing.  I've never worked for that company, but I do often busk (work for tips) and I dont' mind it - because I have a lot of experience and I do usually get something for my work.  I also don't lock myself into a situation where I can't leave if I'm not earning anything.  It would be frustrating to not only not make money for my time, but because of the expense in purchasing balloons etc - to essentially be PAYING to be there.  Anyone who thinks balloons are free is welcome to take over paying for mine for awhile.  I spend $75 a week in the off season and $200 a week during the busy season just on my raw materials.  (plus the incidental expenses of having my own business, like liability insurance and marketing)

I'm hoping that anyone who is a restaurant manager and is tempted to pay a third party will just skip it and pay the balloon entertainer directly.    If you're willing to pay $45 a night, just give it to the guy doing the work.  If you want a quality entertainer - go to www.balloonhq.com and look through the portfolios of people in your area.  You'll likely get a better bang for your buck.

I understand agents, I act as one occasionally when I have too many gigs.  I take $10. I don't charge people to work for me by forcing them to buy a "kit" from me and I use only quality entertainers.  I have used beginners, but I've also take the time to train them.  I work for agents.  I know they are getting a cut.  I respect that, but they are not getting paid while leaving me just working for tips.  That's the flaw.  The guy acting as a booking agent is the only one guaranteed money.  The guy doing the work has to keep his/her fingers crossed that they will earn something that night.


It's wrong.

End of rant

Crazy Harry because I got him on a "Which Muppet Are You?" quiz

An entire Orchestra

on our facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/balloonsrfun) we have a weekly challenge.  People get to come up with crazy ideas for balloons they would like to see - then the suggestions get put up for a vote.  The winner is what we try.

Last week someone suggested "An Entire Orchestra" Really?

Guess which one won?  Of course it did.

So what to do, what to do.....

We did in the end make an entire orchestra.

The entire MUPPET orchestra.  :-)

They're all there. 

Nigel - band leader

Floyd Pepper - Bass

Lips - Trumpet

Trumpet Girl - trombone (after season 4)

Zoot - Sax

Rowlf - Piano

Crazy Harry - Triangle

and of course

Animal on drums

Maker Faire Balloon Tardis

Maker Faire KC was an amazing event.  We made the Tardis - which was not quite life size, but it did end up being 6feet tall.

Thumbtack

I've joined thumbtack.com - it's a seachable way to zero in on entertainers (and other service) near you.  Sometimes it's easy to get lost in google or other search engines and hopefully thumbtack will help me standout.  Click the link before to check out my listing and spend some time searching the site.  Some interesting stuff - they do have people offering services other than entertainment!  That's my personal focus but you can find all sorts of people doing all sorts of stuff on thumbtack.


Balloons To make You Say Oh Wow!!


Balloons To make You Say Oh Wow!!

Maket/Plaza balloon work

Anchor with starfish

Killer whale jumping through the waves

Mermaid scene

Red Octopus

Jelly Fish

Whale

Stingray

Seahorse

Side of scene

Palm Tree Scene

Big monkey

Parrot

Parrot

Tuesday night jam

We've started jamming at Scooter's on the Plaza.  Tuesday nights at 6pm

Perry Hat

made with 4 5-inch round balloons

caterpillar

I like this rose.  It's made with 3 hearts.  Not different enough for me to use it in line work, but great for decor projects.

Woven rose

Weekend in balloons

This weekend I made a carousel with balloons.  It was a lot of fun to spin.  I hope my bad video skills don't give you a headache.

Then for Mother's Day I made these sculptures

Balloons

Although you might not know it from the posts on this blog - I am a balloon artist.  Somehow I have stumbled across a way to get paid to play.  It's a pretty fun job.  Decided to share a bit of what I do.  After I retrieve files from my old hard drive I will post some instructions for making basic balloon sculptures.

Birthday Monkey

Giant Flower

Not so basic dog

Happy Flowers

Miss Monroe