Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Blog

Enjoy the FUN from 2012! Join them in 2013!!

January 9-12th 2013… and the 13th for Private Classes
The ONLY ONE in The USA! Not Just A Balloon Jam! A Super Balloon Jam! The Woodstock of Balloons! Come To Orlando…Come Twist with FRIENDS!! Their Goal is for the Balloon Community to have an Event where everyone can Share, Learn, Jam, and just have FUN!!! In a Warm Place!!! With BALLOONS!!!

http://www.TheFloridaSuperJam.com/

I am finding inventory control to be a challenge. Last week, I had to restock my bag of balloons for my weekend balloon twisting events and couldn’t find a single bag of purple balloons. I had every other color, just no purple.

For items with a relatively long shelf life, like canned goods, I usually keep 8-10 cans in my cabinets. My cabinets have the space and I really don’t have to worry about the food going bad before I eat it. I always back fill my cabinets (put the newest items behind the older items) which helps make sure that something doesn’t sit in the cabinet too long.

When it comes to balloons, I keep one bag of each color in a storage system in my living room where I restock my balloon bag. I keep the balloons organized in rainbow order so I can quickly find the color I want and I can see what colors I need. I keep the rest of the balloons in the basement. I have another bin in the basement that has my balloons in rainbow order. When I need a specific color, I will take it from the bin. I keep any other remaining balloon in the shipping box it came in. When the bin in the basement starts to run low, I will find the colors in the shipping box and move them into the bin. I usually know that when the shipping box is empty that it is time to order more balloons.

When I order balloons, I do an inventory and count the number of bags available for each color. I then try to guess which colors will be popular in the coming months (I buy extra red, white and blue for the 4th of July; black and orange before Halloween; and green, red and white for Christmas). I seem to use a lot of red/pink/purple balloons for the girls, green for both plant stems and aliens, and black and white for penguins.

I feel that I should try to keep a closer tab on my balloon supply. Although I can usually get more balloons within a few business days, I prefer to make a few large balloon orders instead of several smaller orders. Since I know which color balloons I buy, it shouldn’t be too hard for me to make a listing of balloons and cross off the bags as I go. That would give me a visual indicator when my stock is running low and a way of seeing the ratio of balloons used by color.

I know that I have some of the same problems with my stock of face paints. I don’t go through the paint nearly as fast and it takes a lot less space to store.

Two years ago, when I was finally ready to go from doing volunteer events to paid events, I knew I wanted to have liability insurance. It seemed like most of my friends had their insurance through the World Clown Association. They offer insurance as an additional option when paying the annual membership dues. It seemed like the easiest option. Although, the insurance is offered by the World Clown Association, I know a lot of non-clowns who do either balloons or face painting who join just for their insurance.

World Clown Membership and Insurance

If you get your insurance through the World Clown Association, their policy year ends on April 30th, 2012. It is time to renew your membership and pay for another year of insurance.

New Members – $40
Membership Renewal – $35
Liability Insurance – $139

They do offer Additional Insurance for a client who requests being added to your policy.

From their website:

Coverage: This is a Comprehensive General Liability Policy provided by an A-rated insurance company with coverage of $1,000,000 per occurrence/$2,000,000 aggregate per event.

Deductible: None The price remains the same regardless of number of months covered (The fee is NOT prorated) and includes Premium, Brokerage fee and Association handling fee.

Policy Exclusions: This program is designed for Clowns and Magicians.

The following types of performances are NOT ACCEPTABLE.

1. Hypnosis
2. Hot Air Balloon Events, Circuses (production), overnight camping Tractor pulls, Rodeo and roping events, motorized events, Mechanical amusement devices, inflatables, rock climb,Bounce Houses, laser tag, sky diving, competition racing.
3. Pyrotechnics, Explosives, Fireworks or similar materials except “concussion effects, “flashpots”, and “smokepots” (Flashboxes covered up to $5,000)
4. Production Management or Promotions Management for hire
5. Animals except performing dogs, doves and rabbits
6. Musicians and Disc Jockeys, except clowns/magicians who engage in these activities as part of their act
7. Copyright infringement exclusion (i.e. Barney, Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny)
8. Throwing objects (juggling is acceptable)

Be sure to evaluate your insurance needs and pick the coverage that is right for you. If you hire employees or have special requirements, you may want to get a different policy. Other companies that offer insurance include:

Specialty Insurance Agency
http://www.specialtyinsuranceagency.com/

K&K Insurance Group
http://www.kandkinsurance.com/Entertainment/Pages/Entertainers-Performers.aspx

Cossio Insurance Agency
http://entertainerinsurance.com/

I like to dress like an entertainer. That probably means something different to everyone. I know some entertainers like to “dress up” and look formal with a suit and tie. Others like to wear colorful outfits. I definitely like to be colorful when I am at a casual event, and that includes my shoes. Several shoe companies let their customers design custom shoes. Some are just picking the team colors and others are creating a totally unique looking shoe.

I have several shoes from Converse. I initially decided to go with Converse because they seemed to have more options available. They have a variety of solid colors and prints available. The shoes really don’t cost more than regular shoes. Prices range from about $40-80 per pair plus shipping. A few times each year, the shoes go on sale.

While at the Circus Magic Convention in Williamsburg, VA, I had the opportunity to take a few classes with Ken Stillman. Ken was a great teacher. I had been looking forward to learning some bigger/fancier balloons and that is exactly what I got.

Ken told us about his balloon website, Balloon Click, which has videos and downloads for balloon twisters. It is a membership-based website with two levels, free or paid members. I still need to take the time to properly check it out, but after meeting Ken, I expect it to be a valuable resource.

The World Balloon Convention (WBC) 2012 Early-bird Deadline is February 17!

If you haven’t already registered to attend the World Balloon Convention 2012, you still have time to beat the Early-bird Deadline and SAVE! Register now at WorldBalloonConvention.com.

Register Early and Pay Less:
Early-bird: Ends February 17, 2012: $695 per person
Regular: February 18 – March 25, 2012: $795 per person

Plus, if you’re a Qualatex Balloon Network Member, you’ll automatically receive an additional $50 off your registration. If you’re a Certified Balloon Artist, you’ll automatically receive an additional $50 off your registration. (That’s a total of $100 off for CBAs.)

Don’t forget that hotel accommodations must be booked separately from your WBC registration. Reserve your room at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel by February 16 to receive the discounted WBC hotel rate ($112 plus hotel tax per night).

A large group of about 100 – 150 balloon artists at the 2011 Twist and Shout in Boston met up in the Burlington Mall food court food court for a 3 twist dog balloon flash mob.

Sometimes, I wish that I could attend all of the conventions. Last month was the Florida SuperJam, a balloon jam in Florida. The description sounded great, but I found out too late to fit it in my schedule. Their website described it as the ultimate balloon jam!!! 4 days of continuous balloon twisting.

Florida SuperJam
January 11 – 14, 2012
International Palms Resort
6515 International Drive
Orlando, FL 32819
http://floridasuperjam.com/

Now, I can see some of the fun I missed with some videos of the convention posted on YouTube.

Team Building

Performing on Stage

Waiting for Ice Cream

Nancy Dalton’s balloon creation

My very first clown convention was the Circus Magic Convention in Williamsburg, VA. Circus Magic is a regional clown convention that is held each year at the end of February and that means that it is coming up soon. This year, it is February 23-26, 2012 at the Holiday Inn Patriot in Williamsburg, VA. The convention is one of several conventions run by Steve “Salty” Kissell and DJ “Fancy Pants” Ehlert.

Although this is a clown convention, they have workshops on balloon twisting, face painting, magic, and other topics that would be of interest to clowns and other types of children’s entertainers. They have a great list of instructors coming to help with the workshops. Ken Stillman will be there teaching balloons. Marcella “Mama Clown” Murad and her co-workers from Silly Farm will be there to teach face painting. Jim Howle and Leon McBryde, both former Ringling Clowns, will also be there helping with makeup and clown noses.

Circus Magic Convention
February 23-26, 2012
Holiday Inn Patriot 3032 Richmond Road
Williamsburg, VA 23185
http://www.circusmagicconvention.com/

Presented by Steve Kissell. Bringing Education Excellence to the Performing Arts! Come Celebrate, Laugh, and Learn at Circus Magic with the special theme of: Tribute to the Wizard of OZ!

I don’t find as many videos on YouTube by parents when their kids get a balloon…

Spiderman balloon

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Pink Flamingo Hat

Girl wearing a Mickey Balloon Hat