The Tools of the Trade, a collection of tips and tricks Inflating is the most critical part of working with balloons. Getting the air in is not critical, but getting all the balloons to be the same size is the key to a professional appearance over an amateur one. -...

The Twisting Business You talk about how hard it is to make a living as a full time twister. Have you ever thought about how hard it is to make a living as a full time *anything*? - Larry Moss Starting a Business Permits and Licenses Overhead Taxes Insurance Employing...

Your Balloon Act I look back on my first few times "out" with more than humility; more like, humiliation. - Dona L. Oliver Developing Your Balloon Act Before You Go Onstage Developing a Character Developing Your Balloon Act Ideas For Your Balloon Act Routines Balloon...

Entertainer Issues These little bags of wind have taken me all over the world, allowed me to express my creative and artistic talents, entertained myself and my clients, brought me many, many new friends AND paid the bills along the way. - Chris Horne Being An...

Twister fashions ...until you *are* good, you should at least *look* good. - Dona L. Oliver Visibility On the need for costumes: How your costume affects business Normal, comfortable clothes On the "uniform" look Your outfit is part of your act On clothing covered...

Twisting for Other Audiences Many adults love balloon creations, even if they don't readily admit it. - Unknown Twisting For All Audiences Twisting for Teens Twisting for Obnoxious Teens Twisting for Adult Audiences Adult Sculptures Twisting for Elderly Audiences...

Crowd Control The poor parent with the crying child deserves the balloon... more than the child. - Craig Weber How To Attract A Crowd Keeping Your Space Techniques For Forming A Line Techniques For Handling The Line Techniques For Ending The Line Single Or...

Twister Pricing "Theory of the Fully Inflated Balloon" The more space a balloon occupies, the more valuable it becomes. - Tom Myers What Should I Charge? Make 'Em Flinch Public Events Private Events Payment Issues Norm's Summary Note: Some of the following comments...

Working in Restaurants 102 If a waitress requests your presence, get to that table as soon as you can. - Unknown What To Do in the Restaurant A Twister's Function at a Restaurant Advertising Your Own Business in the Restaurant Working With the Wait Staff Make Friends...

Working in Restaurants 101 I've started out by making a balloon for the waitress/waiter, and placing their tip in it. - Unknown Landing a Restaurant Job Picking the Right Restaurant Getting Them to Hire You Walking Into a Restaurant and Twisting Getting Paid at the...

Busking [Busking is] the activity of making money from audiences on the street. The two elements of busking are that the audience has the choice of how much, if anything, to pay, and that it involves some form of entertainment (it isn't panhandling or vending). -...

Twisting Balloons For Tips The only time I've ever really been able to deliver tip lines is near the end of a performance. At that point that I say, "this is the time you take out your money, and convince me to do the big finale I've been talking about for the last 8...

Working With an Agent If a check bounces, I don't have to worry about it. I usually have my payment in about a week, even if my agent doesn't. - Unknown BalloonAbilities Balloon Attractions Agencies Miscellaneous Becoming An Agent Yourself Note: Some of the following...

Workplaces for balloon twisters If you are good enough at what you do, surely you will always find work under the conditions that you prefer. - Garth, the Jolly Juggler Indoor Work Restaurants Shopping Malls Stores Wedding Receptions Museums Company Events Movie...

Twister Advertising My business cards are hypercolor. When they are warm they are pink and when they are cold they are purple. - Unknown How Should I Advertise/ Promote Myself? Balloon Care Cards Business Cards Flyers Miscellaneous Photographing and Filming Your Work...

Facing the Competition In every field there is a range of quality, and eventually a quality product will pull ahead. - Unknown Encountering Other Twisters Competition Is Good For Business Don't Bad-Mouth the Competition Business Ethics - Respecting Professional Space...

  Balloons at parties To avoid a mad rush, I make a lot of balloons in advance and use them as decorations. - Unknown Planning a Birthday Party How Long How Many The Entertainer: Child Ratio How Old Entertainer or Coordinator? Do You Wanna Party? Preparing For A...

Search BHQ Basic Resources Guide to Balloons and Ballooning Balloon Photos Event Coverage Find A Balloon Pro! BHQ News Monthly Columns Upcoming Events Classified Ads Industry Highlights E-mail Lists Join discussions Entertainer Forum Decorator Forum E-mail List FAQ...

Balloon Fabrics (Formerly Balloon Weaving) The material here is excerpted from Attack of the 50 Foot Demon, a CD-ROM by Larry Moss. More information about the CD, including ordering information is available online. What is a balloon fabric? Background information on...

ASCII Notation for Balloon Sculptures ())__ ____ (__)= ()(____)() ()) ()) balloon doggie – Mark Balzer Standard ascii methods for describing balloon creations with mono-spaced (non-proportional) fonts, like "Courier" General Guidelines Method 1 Method 2 Method 3 Method 4 Gallery of ASCII balloon art General Guidelines <use spaces, not tabs when constructing ascii drawings!!! […]