Balloon Garden

This blog has been silent for far too long. While I’ve had many thoughts and topics I could have written about, one thing has been dominating my time for the last couple of months. I can finally announce the project: Balloon Garden.

I have worked with the Home Builders Association of St Louis for many years providing balloon entertainment at the St Charles Home Show. They have enjoyed the balloon creations and my interaction with the audience. I had proposed the possibility of entertaining at the St Louis Home & Garden Show at America’s Center. They wanted something different.

We started discussing balloon flowers and having large balloon sculptures at the show. From these discussions came an idea that excited everyone involved: Balloon Garden. What started as an idea of a small corner booth with some balloon flower bouquets quickly blossomed into a six-hundred square foot space filled with flowers, plants and everything you’d expect to see in a garden. And the entire garden will be made from balloons! The show organizers were thrilled with the concept and with of having one of the largest balloon installations every constructed in St. Louis at their Home and Garden Show.

Once the idea was accepted, the work began. Before the first balloon could be inflated, I had to put concepts to paper and prove that the whole thing could work. Not only did I have to convince the client, but I had to convince myself that what I knew was possible could actually be done.

I started sketching schemes and brainstorming plans. I wanted to fill six-hundred square feet with as much as I could. Certainly, balloon flowers would be everywhere. After all, this is the St. Louis Home & Garden Show. It will be February and attendees will be searching for early signs of Spring! But a bunch of balloon flowers would not be enough. I wanted Balloon Garden to fit with the other projects that would surround it. What do people think of when they picture the garden of their dreams? A wishing well. A fish pond. A decorative fountain. Ornamental landscaping. I would need to include all this and more.

Balloon Garden will be constructed during the early days of the St. Louis Home & Garden Show, (Feb 25-28, 2010), and will be open for tours on the last two days. The idea is to allow attendees view the construction process and to interact with the balloon artists. This is not an original concept on my part, but one that I am stealing from a good friend. I didn’t want Balloon Garden to simply be a static display of flowers. This will a space situated in the middle of the convention floor surrounded by a walkway on all four sides. Attendees will be able to not only watch the balloon-making but also be up close to the sculptures. During the tour hours, visitors will be engulfed by Balloon Garden.

As plans and details evolve, I will continue to promote the project. Thanks to social networking, I can reach many people, both ballooners and normal persons. I’m very excited by this project. And while it has taken over most of my time and thought process, I am most looking forward to inflating that first balloon.

Thad James
SAMMY J Ballon Creations
www.sammyjballoons.com