Its been an exhausting yet thrilling week in Athens, GA, where I returned for a third time to Ballooniversity for extensive balloon decorating training, seminars, and workshops. This had been my first trip back since 2000; and, although, I am of course excited about learning new techniques and products, I am also relieved to see that Ballroom Balloons (www.BallroomBalloons.com) remains in the forefront of the balloon decorating industry in terms of enthusiasm, skills and creativity. To be sure, there will always be tons more to learn; but, there is a very definate satisfaction to know that I could be teaching many of the classes as well as attending them.
This year, I participated in the large sculpture competition by helping Carmen Ballering and her daughter, Stephanie from Balloons Milwaukee. To give you some perspective about what this means, the top prize for this competetion was a few thousand dollars in cash, tuition, and merchandise………and we came in second place! This still paid $500.00 and Carmen received a plaque as well. Although this project was not my design, I made some very important contributions, including over twleve hours of labor inflating and securing thousands of tiny air-filled balloons.
The design was a computer with a keyboard, mouse, and arms holding the world above it. I encouraged Carmen to replace the computer mouse with an animal mouse and also to create an apple to identify the computer as a Mac. The competition included some unbelievably great designs; and, it is a true source of pride to know that my contributions were so important. Within a few weeks I will have picures in www.BallroomBalloons.com/gallery.html. A photo of the sculpture has already appeared in the Athens Banner-Herald on July 27, 2006.(www.onlineathens.com).
To get more ideas about what large balloon sculptures are like, please visit that section in our gallery of balloon decor as referenced above. You may also find some helpful info in our pricing section at www.BallroomBalloons.com/pricing/html.
If you want to learn more about the classes, seminars, and decorator’s workshop which I just completed, please visit www.ballooniversity.com.
Enjoy,
Stan
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Wedding Decorations | Trade Show Decor | Grand Opening Displays | #1 Balloon Decorators
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