Tristan Court’s Q&A on Balloons
Being a balloon twister, I receive a lot of questions from adults, usually just “why”… But most of the questions are not the normal ones most people get about running a business, so I thought I’d make a blog about the ones I get asked for specifically on balloons, as opposed to adding them to the list of Q&A on our main site. So without further ado, here they are!
A: Yes, well technically running an entertainment event company and entertaining is my full time job, Balloon Twisting is just one of the many event services we provide.
A: It always depends on the day and how much time I have, but overall, I really enjoy making sculptures no one has seen before like Yoshi, Fancy hat and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
A: Again, that goes back to the amount of time I have and how much someone wants to pay for something. But I can make creations as big as you would like them, depending on the size and budget, I might need to bring in the rest of my team to help. The largest single creation I built was a 150’ chandelier, the largest twisted creation was a 15’ long suspension bridge.
A: Until you pop them… Which is true, but the serious answer is, twisted balloon sculptures can last looking good for about two weeks, then you will start to notice them shrink and shrivel. I’ve had clients that have said they have had my balloons for about 1 to 2 months, but they are just about half the size from when they received them.
A: This usually blends into the last question, but ways to maintain your balloons and keep them lasting long are, keep them out of sunlight, UV rays will tear them apart really fast (Which is a reason to keep balloon twisters in shaded areas at festivals, plus they will appreciate it!). Keep them dust free, if you drop them, the static on the balloons will attract dust to the balloon and if that dust is rubbed on the balloon say by just holding it in your hand, it can rip through the balloon. Dangerous areas such as grass blades, gravel, sand, wood, and trees, best not play with them outside. The worst is children’s sticky fingers, so many times kids come up to me and just say “It popped all by itself!” I look at the balloon and I can see sauce from the beef ribs they were just eating dripping down the side of the balloon… Overall, your best bet is to keep them inside locked away in a sealed off cabinet where light can’t even get in. This will beg the question of Schrödinger’s Balloon, where it’s in a state of popped and not popped until you decide to observe it.
A: Contrary to popular beliefs, I don’t get asked for dogs, cats, and swords as much as you might think; these only get requested when the children are usually around the age of 3. Most requested from boys are Spiderman and the most requested from girls are Princesses.
A: All of them… Well technically, I can make anything you can dream up, at smaller parties where I have more time to twist balloons for people, I get issued challenges. These challenges are things I’ve never done before and some of which I’ve never seen or heard of before. Sometimes I will be given a picture of something and get asked to build it. These challenges I always try to take a picture of and they go on our Facebook page in the photo album, Balloon of the week.
A: You could say they are special, but I just use a good quality standard twisting balloon that you can buy at any party store. If you are asking this because you have tried twisting balloons you purchased at the dollar store and haven’t been able to build anything with them, I will respond by letting you know you bought them at the dollar store.
A: This gets said to me a lot and then immediately followed up by saying, “Do you know where that is from?” to try and not sound rude to me, but don’t worry, yes, I do know where that is from (Wedding Crashers) and no someone telling me a joke doesn’t offend me.
These are just a few of the many odd questions we get as entertainers, if you have any questions you want to submit, drop them in the comments below or shoot them our way, would be glad to answer them for you!