177 Issue 4 2013 NABAS The only independent trade association for the party & promotional balloon industry in the UK
BALLOONIES
FROM YOUR CHAIRMAN Dear Member
BALLOONIES EDUCATE - PROMOTE - INFORM
Well this year has really flown by and what a year it has been. With all the problems of helium supplies and the ignorance of uninformed people claiming that we, as wedding & party decorators, should not be using helium when it is badly needed for the medical industry; not that any of these ignoramuses bothered to check that we don't use the Pure Helium that the medical industry need for their equipment but a by-product of their spent medical helium, which then has to go through a very expensive process to produce a helium/air mix, namely Balloon Gas, so it follows that if the medical industry is short of helium! we end up short of balloon gas and not the other way around! Having said that, NABAS along with other industry leaders have been offering seminars showing air filled décor that you have been able to offer your clients both for weddings and the large corporate events, rounding off the year with Matt Lewis's course “Balloon Drops & Things That Go Bang In The Night” on the 4th December at his venue in Coventry. With that in mind, the Christmas and New Year celebrations should again be busy for all you go getters and we have some exciting ideas solely for NABAS Members to really boost your income with some special effects disco lighting on balloon columns, decor that your clients will want, with the profits you will want and not a helium balloon in sight! So I hope you all have a busy Christmas and New Year decorating and I along with the rest of the committee members and the staff at the NABAS office wish you all a very merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. Oh, and for the special effects disco lighting................watch this space! Balloonies No. 177 Issue 4 2013
John Lee CBA; Your Chairman NABAS Committee
©NABAS - The Balloon Association 2013 Published by NABAS The Balloon Association Ltd Katepwa House, Ashfield Park Avenue,
Philomena Groome, Amiee Hughes , Veronica Kamerling, John Lee, Steve Marsh, George Oustayiannis, Peter Smith, Paul Widdowson
Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 5AX
Secretariat
01989 762204
Gill Hinton, Kate Walker,
Content Editor: NABAS
Hilary Pulsford, Elizabeth Malcolm
Front cover: Image courtesy of NABAS Members
REGIONAL TRAINING with Matt Lewis - REVIEW
If you didn’t manage to get to one of NABAS’s recent regional events, with Matt Lewis, on large scale air filled décor then take a look at what you missed….
If you would like to attend the next training course Matt will be delivering a specialist hands-on fun filled course on Wednesday 4th December - see pages 8 & 9 for more details
REGIONAL TRAINING REVIEW Cont... Feedback from delegates: “I would like to say how good Matt Lewis's Training Session was! It was Interesting, Practical, Helpful and Enjoyable! Matt is very approachable and happy to share his knowledge with his long and extensive experience in the Balloon Business!......Thanks Matt!! When's his next one?”
“thank you I had a very good day. Matt was very good and explained things well and shared the experience with everyone fairly. We had a good lunch provided too.” “Good day had by all and 1st class venue and staff looked after us real well. “ “Matt was friendly and helpful” “Really good instructor” “Fab thank you - networking was great as well”
“I had a great time “ “Matt has an excellent teaching style and is very easy to listen to.” “The course was very good, Matt was an excellent trainer and we all came home with lots of new ideas! Plus it was a good opportunity to meet with others in the industry and compare notes. Venue was good and central and great value for money. Would definitely attend any future events.
“We found the course very useful with plenty of hints and tips to simplify how we can do things in relation to our décor. We did however find that the displays were geared more to the corporate side of things but the principles remain the same. The venue was nice and clean with friendly and welcoming staff and the food was of a good standard. Overall, the course was really enjoyable and good value.”
“First NABAS training course I have been on and a very enjoyable experience. Learnt a lot of useful tips.”
Balloon Drops & Things That Go BANG In The Night Specialist NABAS Hands-On Training with Matt Lewis CBA Perfect dĂŠcor for New Year Parties COME AND JOIN MATT LEWIS FOR A SPECIALIST HANDS-ON FUN FILLED COURSE Balloon Drops Exploders and Flutter Bombs Air Bursts Exploding Chandeliers This is a specialist hands-on course - you will be climbing ladders, so appropriate foot wear and clothing must be worn.
Wednesday 4th December - 10am to 4pm MIDLANDS - The Maudslay in Coventry, 190 Allesley Old Road, Coventry CV5 8GJ COST £150 per NABAS Member (£125 + VAT). £198 for non-members (£165 + VAT). Price includes VAT, tea/coffee throughout the day, finger buffet lunch and all product used on the day.
To book contact the NABAS office 01989 762204 OR EMAIL info@nabas.co.uk
PLACES ARE STRICTLY LIMITED
NABAS members have been doing some amazing jobs - just take a look over the following two pages. If you have something that you want to share then do let the NABAS office know - info@nabas.co.uk - what better way to promote your work to show future clients than an article in your industry association's magazine. A selection of lovely dĂŠcor from Annabel Grange of Butterflies & Bows
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A selection of Santa’s… 1. Richard Adams, Balloontastic 2. Victoria Hayes, The Balloon Co. 3. Nikki Moran, Vale Balloons
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A selection of characters by Nikki Moran of Vale Balloons
Scottish Bagpiper - This lifesize character (and the bagpipes which were made entirely from balloons) was sent in a huge chest freezer box by Fed Ex from my shop in Worcestershire to Scotland for a party. He arrived in one piece and went down an absolute treat. Ordered by one of my regular customers who rented a cottage in Scotland for a family party and she didn’t want to use anyone else for her balloons! Imagine my relief when I got the call to say he’d arrived safely. We’ve since sent other characters by Fed Ex, including a chorister and a blacksmith!
Mr T – was made for an 18th birthday party, obviously the 18 year old was a big Mr T fan! Made him up myself.
Giraffe Bride & Groom – were made for a wedding, a South African groom and English bride. The giraffes were the bride’s request as a surprise for her new husband (they were placed by the table plan in the function room). Hopefully, the groom enjoyed the surprise!
A 'tasteful adult calendar' named “The Vale of Evesham at its Best... in FULL BLOOM” that has been produced by a small group of friends of the late Diana Burgess who was tragically killed in October 2012. They decided to club together and try to raise funds for a handmade memorial story teller chair to be located at Diana's favourite playground for her three daughters and other children to enjoy. The calendar features venues in and around Evesham and “Vale Balloons” have sponsored the month of January. Here we have festooned The New Inn in Cropthorne with New Year balloons and decorations. The calendars can be purchased from various locations, including here at Vale Balloons on Avon Street, Evesham at £10 each. For more information, please visit www.dianascalendar.co.uk or facebook.com/dianascalendar Nikki, Vale Balloons
“There was a Strictly theme and James & Ola Jordan from the BBC show performed for the guests. We thought these balloons looked similar to mirror balls; our client was over the moon with the results!” Caryn Steele, Balloonatics Stephanie Bennett, My B’looniverse Two columns at Stephanie’s local Diner.
A couple of fantastic jobs by Natalie Saunders - Balloon Room - Harrods & Big Brother! The window designers at Harrods contacted me (they got my details from the designers at Top Shop as I did the display in the Oxford Street branch last year). They sent me a brief in the form of a photo for me to quote on. I did that, but it turned out that what they wanted was nothing like the photo they had sent! It was all so secretive as at the time I didn’t have security clearance to see the actual photo of what they wanted! So that was a bit of a challenge! Another challenge was, there is literally a 2 foot gap behind some of the window displays, great fun when you’re working with 24” balloons! But we got there in the end and they were extremely happy with the result.
A member of the Task Team contacted me after they’d been on my Facebook page and asked me for some inspiration. They’d seen photos of a sweetie themed prom I’d recently done and the Big Brother task was to have a sweetie themed party....over and over again! It was very surreal going into the Big Brother house after watching it on the TV. I took a member of staff with me who is a HUGE Big Brother fan. They were hyperventilating! The Task Team were so lovely, we ended up staying and helping set up the tasks in the house. Then we were able to go behind the twoway mirrors and watch the housemates live. A fantastic experience I’ll never forget!
Wholesaler/Manufacturer Offers to NABAS Retailer / Decorator Members
10% discount from their complete Trade price list for the months of December ‘13 and January ‘14. To qualify all you need to do is call Louisa or Marion on 01494 774376 and identify yourself as a NABAS member; you will then be sent the full Trade price list of all products - balloons & accessories, sashes, bunting, flags, banners - from which you will receive a 10% discount from all prices shown. The minimum order is dependent on the product. Louisa or Marion will be happy to go through any specific quote with you.
Balloon Supply & Distribution are offering NABAS members 10% discount across the full range of products from their trade website on a seasonal basis. Simply visit their website and at the checkout stage you will need to enter a code into the “coupon” box - no minimum order. Please contact the NABAS office for the code.
GO International already offer NABAS members 5% discount on their orders; order online between now and the end of the year, by entering a code in the coupon box at checkout, the discount will be doubled to 10%. Also GO have just launched rewards points for all online orders placed. Customers receive 1 point for every ÂŁ1 spent which they can redeem at any time on future orders. Contact the NABAS office for the coupon code. www.gointernational.co.uk
Balloonz would be happy to give all NABAS members 10% discount on their standard price list. Just let them know that you are a member to qualify for the discount.
NEW WHOLESALER MEMBER - BALLOONZ Company Name – Balloonz Company Owner – Johnathon & Cindy Dewey Location and Area Covered – We are based in Southampton but visit customers all over the UK from Inverness to Newquay. What was your career path – Johnathon: After University I tried Quantity Surveying and Accountancy. Whilst working for my father in his accountancy firm back in 2001 the opportunity arose to purchase Balloonz, I have never looked back since. Name something in the balloon industry that you most like – Well to be honest I most like the people who I have met as suppliers and customers. I guess because balloons and related products are fun, so are the people! Name something in the balloon industry that you least like – To be honest, apart from the amount of paper work I have to do sometimes; Nothing. Best Thing about your Job – For me, I really enjoy meeting people and knowing I have customers who are happy with the service your providing is a rewarding feeling. What best describes your business – We are a family run National Balloon Wholesaler which specialises in the retail trade. We deal with independent shops as well as well known high street names. Balloonz has specialised in air inflated balloons for around 20 years. It is our plan to start to provide a decoration/party service in 2014 to south Hampshire.
How did you decide your business name – The business was already established under this name when we purchased it back in 2001. At least it is easy to see what we’re selling What advertising works for you – In the 12 years I have been working in the balloon industry we haven’t spent anything on advertising. As we work direct with retail units we have expanded by word of mouth or simply visiting shops and seeing if they would like to stock our products. Do you have an online presence – We have had a website up and running for the past 5 years. A new updated website should be live by the end of 2013 which will mean we can offer our products direct to the public. How would you like your business to grow – What a question, I’d love for the website to take off and obviously for the business to grow. You have to be realistic with some of these things and to be honest if we could get a steady stream of orders from the website and for the decorating side to take off I’d be more than happy. Is the Credit crunch affecting you – At the start we weren’t affected at all, in fact we were expanding. After the first few years that’s when we started to feel the pinch as shops were closing and obviously not stocking balloons. Since then it has stabilised and it looks like things are starting to increase once again. Hopefully the worst is all over.
3709 Natalie Nash Lush Balloons Weymouth Dorset DT4 7UH 07827 974699 3710 Trish Chaisty Trish's Balloon Design and Decoration Didcot Oxfordshire OX11 7UW 07891 813799 3711 Simmone Cadette 'Just for U' Events Dagenham Essex RM8 3AU 020 3524 1368 3712 Victoria Hayes The Balloon Company Reading Berkshire RG4 8HN 0118 947 0917 3713 Christine Wood Mildhall Ltd t/a Card and Party Centre Bolton Lancashire BL1 1DF 01204 366 806
NABAS NEW MEMBERS 3714 Johnathon Dewey Balloonz Southampton Hampshire SO30 4UN 01489 790893 www.balloonz.co.uk 3715 Michelle Burgess Lauren Nicole Designer Events Flitch Green Essex CM6 3FH 01371 484 844 3716 Claire Jackson Balloon-box Aldershot Hampshire GU11 3NG 01252 310511 3717 Maryanne Matthews Daisy doo's Balloons Upminster Essex RM14 1TE 07500 934 320
Please note that inclusions of any inserts/adverts within Balloonies are paid-for advertisements and therefore members should not consider this action as an endorsement by NABAS of the products or services.
NEW FOIL BALLOONS FROM NORTHSTAR BALLOONS "3D Spheres"
NABAS wholesaler members who are stockists of Northstar Balloons are: Balloons & Gas Ltd, Glasgow; Delights Direct, Manchester; House Parti, Leicester
For more of our Wholesaler & Manufacturer Members please see the NABAS website for full details http://www.nabas.co.uk
NABAS APPROVED TEACHERS/TRAINERS
Yvonne Baynes Lodge Cordell Balloonery Tel: 01986 894482 yvonb@tiscali.co.uk Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2; Area Covered: East Anglia
John Lee CBA & Jane Lee ANBA International Balloon Academy Tel: 01908 605960 / 07852 204706 www.international-balloonacademy.co.uk iba@bloonoccasions.co.uk Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2; Basics & Beyond; Beyond the Basics; Varied range of Master Classes Area Covered: Milton Keynes and beyond
Janie Bacon Jo Uddin CBA
Just Janie Promotions Tel: 0141 883 4259
Balloon Training Academy by Inflated Ideas Tel: 07904 178024
Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2
www.inflatedideas.co.uk jo@inflatedideas.co.uk
Area Covered: Scotland
Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2 Area Covered: Hertfordshire & throughout UK
Rita Kyriacou CBA Marguerite's Academy of Balloon Artistry Tel: 01279 639508 www.marguerites-academy.co.uk ritakyriacou@btinternet.com Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2; Wedding Workshops Area Covered: Hertfordshire, Essex & the South East
Mitch Gilbert CBA Rainbow Balloons Tel: 01625 585910
NABAS APPROVED TEACHERS/TRAINERS
Philomena Groome CBA School House of Balloons Tel: 07956 226824 www.fantazia-decorations.co.uk info@fantazia-decorations.co.uk Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2; Exploding Balloons; Wedding Workshop Area Covered: Yorkshire & throughout UK
www.rainbowballoons.me.uk info@rainbowballoons.me.uk Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2; Advanced level; 260’s Course; Balloon Drops Area Covered: Cheshire, NW England & Nth Wales
Mary George Gretna Green Creations Tel: 01709 818636 www.gretnagreencreations.co.uk info@gretnagreencreations.co.uk Courses Provided: NABAS Level 1; NABAS Level 2;
Area Covered: Yorkshire and the North East
WHOLESALERS, MANUFACTURERS & PRINTERS ADAMS GAS
BALLOONZ
2 Bath Road, Margate Kent CT9 1SL T:01843 220596 F:01843 228315 steve@adamsgas.co.uk www.adamsgas.co.uk
12 Coltsfoot Close, Wildern Gate, Hedge End, Southampton SO30 4UN T: 01489790893 sales@balloonz.co.uk www.balloonz.co.uk
B-LOONY LTD Buck House Sunnyside Road Chesham, Bucks HP5 2AR T:01494 774 376 F:01494 791268 balloons@b-loony.co.uk www.b-loony.com
BALLOONS & GAS LTD Unit 6, 8 Meadow Road, Glasgow G11 6HX T:0141 337 3373 sales@balloonsandgas.co.uk www.balloonsandgas.co.uk
BALLOONS TO GO The Old Coppermill, Coppermill Lane Wimbledon SW17 0BN T:0802 971 7022 sales@balloonstogo.co.uk www.balloonstogo.co.uk
BELBAL UK
Broadgate House, Church Street Deeping St James, Peterborough Lincolnshire PE6 8HD T:01778 343 445 F:01778 347 230 info@belbaluk.co.uk BALLOON SUPPLY & DISTRIBUTION www.belbaluk.co.uk Unit1B. Woodside House, Woodside Park, BOC LTD Catteshall Lane, Godalming, The Priestly Centre, 10 Priestly Road Surrey GU7 1LG The Surrey Research Park, Guilford Surrey T:01483 808121 F:01483 808 141 GU2 7XY sales@balloonsupply.co.uk T:01483 244035 www.balloonsupply.co.uk www.bocballoongas.co.uk
BALLOON WORLD Unit E Parkside Business Park, Kirkstead Way Golborne, Cheshire WA3 3PY T:01942 719888 F:01942 719 988 sales@balloonworld.co.uk www.balloonworld.co.uk
BALLOONS AROUND SCOTLAND 100 Carnegie Road, Hillington Ind Est Glasgow G52 4JZ T:0141 882 8107 F:0141 882 9925 sales@balloonsaroundscotland.com www.balloonsaroundscotland.com
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CTI BALLOONS LTD 6 Consul Road, Rugby Warwickshire CV21 1PB T:01788 546299 ctiballoon@aol.com www.ctiballoons.co.uk
DREEMWAY LTD 50 Stockton Road, Chorlton Manchester M21 9ED T:0161 861 8807 F:0161 881 9289 sales@dreemway.co.uk www.dreemway.co.uk
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WHOLESALERS, MANUFACTURERS & PRINTERS FOLKDEAN LTD Unit 2 Lydney Harbour Estate, Lydney Gloucestershire GL15 4EJ T:01594 841545 F:01594 844 577 sales@folkdean.co.uk www.folkdean.co.uk
GO INTERNATIONAL (UK) LTD Unit 15, The IO Centre, Arlington Business Park, Whittle Way, Stevenage SG1 2BD T:01438 745746 F:01438 745747 george@gointernational.co.uk www.gointernational.co.uk
HOUSE PARTI 20 Mandervell Road, Oadby Industrial Estate, Oadby, Leicestershire LE2 5LQ T:0116 271 0100 F:0116 271 0300 sales@houseparti.com www.houseparti.com
NORTHSTAR BALLOONS Saundhurst, Micklea Lane, Longsdon, Nr. Leek, Staffordshire, ST9 9QA T: 01538 382998 ismith@northstarballoons.com www.northstarballoons.eu
OAKTREE UK LTD 66 James Carter Road Industrial Estate Mildenhall, Suffolk IP28 7DE T:01638 716655 F:01638 711211 sales@oaktreeuk.com www.oaktreeuk.com
PARTY DELIGHTS LTD Unit 4 Tallow Way, Fairhills Road Irlam, Manchester M44 6RJ T:0161 776 1133 F:0161 776 1144 steveg@partydelights.co.uk www.partydelights.co.uk
PARTY PLUS 16/42 Canham Road, Acton London W3 7SR T:020 8811 2898 steve@partyplus.co.uk www.partyplus.co.uk
PREMIUM BALLOON ACCESSORIES PO Box 352 Sharon Centre, Ohio 44274 USA T: 00 1 330 239 4547 info@coolaire.com www.premiumballoon.com
TALKING BALLOONS McGregor’s Way, Turnoaks Business Park Chesterfield, Derbyshire S40 2WB T:01246 270555 F:01246 270566 sales@talkingballoons.com www.talkingballoons.com
theballoonshop.co.uk Compound 1 The Enterprise Centre, Mill Lane, Chorley, Lancashire PR7 5BW T:01257 795700 F:01257 795150 sales@theballoonshop.co.uk www.theballoonshop.co.uk
VIBORG BALLON A/S Gortlervej 7 DK8800 Viborg DENMARK T:00 45 866 21200 bini@viborg-ballon.dk www.viborg-ballon.dk
WORTHINGTON CYLINDERS Beim Flaschenwerk 1 A-3291 Keinberg bei Gaming AUSTRIA T:00 43 7485 606 272 F:00 43 7485 606 694 Timo.snoeren@wthg.at www.worthingtoncylinders.com www.balloontime.com ZIBI GmbH Kalkdarren 15 D-79713 Bad Sackingen GERMANY T:00 49 776 192 4010 info@zibi.de www.zibi.de
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THE NABAS COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE TO WISH ALL MEMBERS
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY & PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR