Last month, we talked about some new features of BHQ. These were the new and improved artist directory, the classified ad area, and the improved event calendar. Thanks to all of you that tried out these features right away, we've been able to fix a few software bugs and get things moving in the right direction. We've already heard from people that posted ads and had wonderful results. So if you have things to sell, announcements to make, or are looking for what others are making available, make sure to check out all of those areas of BalloonHQ.com.
This month we're very excited to present the new BalloonHQ.com logo.
This logo, designed by Christofer MacDonald of Aestus Gallery, is
intended to visually represent the nature of BHQ as a widely respected
online forum for the balloon industry. It is fortunate that we are able
unveil the new logo in February, our 9-year anniversary of offering online
balloon services. We have seen a lot of changes in the fields of balloon
twisting and balloon decorating over the years, and are proud of the
contributions we have made to the industry as a whole.
Many of our accomplishments, indeed our very existence, would not have been
possible without the support of our Sponsors. We
would like to take this opportunity to thank them, once again and urge you
to patronize their web sites at every opportunity. We would also like to
express our gratitude to the Balloon Council, which gifted BHQ with a
one-time grant. This enabled us to make significant progress on some
long-planned projects. We're looking forward to working with the Balloon
Council to get more of their information online here real soon.
We invite you to visit with us while you are attending T&Jam '01 in February, and IBAC 2001 and the National Halloween, Costume and Party Show in March. Larry Moss will be presenting classes at T&Jam and IBAC, BHQ will be sharing a booth with Balloons and Parties Magazine at the Party Show, and we'll be uploading pictures to the web site from all events. Come hang out with us, share ideas, meet our new advertising director, and generally have a good time. We hope you are as excited as we are about the future of balloons and ballooning.
When BHQ decided it was time to start a monthly "magazine", we assumed we'd attract a lot of readers based on the traffic we already saw on the site. What we didn't expect was the number of industry experts that would also fall in love with the idea and support us by offering their own articles for us to use. The latest person to join us and provide some great advice for artists is Crystal Narramore from Conwin Carbonics. Crystal has always believed in sharing ideas and providing education to the industry. She's been contributing to the BHQ decorator list for some time and we're honored she's chosen to provide new articles for us to publish here.
Nine companies have submitted entries for the latest online BalloonHQ.com
photo contest. These nine entries are competing for your votes in order to
win prizes of Tuf-Tex Balloons from the Maple City Rubber Company and
Uplifters from Walden Productions. Make sure to check out the entries and
cast your vote. You get to decide who the
winner of these great prizes will be.
These are just a couple samples of questions we saw online this month. To find out what else people talked about, visit the twister and decorator archives. The answers to these questions do not necessarily represent the editorial views of BHQ.
michael quinn (majikgeorge@yahoo.co.uk) asks:Hi all, Hope the season is going well for you all. I have a few queries none of which I thought where worth writing about on their own so I waited till i had a few. Number one was static electricity. Someone was saying it always gets a laugh to stick balloons to a wall. this is true but I also find it handy when making multiple balloon model. (I am a tall fellow so I can pop bits on the wall out of wee hands reach) I have given up giving the parts to kid's to hold as they inevitably start making some kind of sculpture of their own.But I have a problem (particularly if I have new shoes on!?!) sometimes after twisting lots of balloons I become electrically charged and start giving kid's electric shocks along with their balloons! Has anybody else encountered this problem? It hasn't caused any tears as yet, I think it's worse for me than them. my solution has been to earth myself between models ( touch something metallic attached to floor or just touch floor ) but this wastes time and gets me lots of odd looks. I am wondering if I should connect a wire from my leg to the sole of my shoe.
[Editor's note: There were a lot of suggestions for reducing or discharging static build-up. But Uncle Curt deserves soem sort of prize for this creative solution.]
Uncle Curt (unclecurt@unclecurtandhugs.com) answered:If static is going to be a problem, I always ground myself to the kid. Sounds cruel? Not really. Gimmie five, dude. The spark is lost in the slap. If the kid is too young for a vigorous five, and is being held by an adult, slapping 5 with the adult is just as good. The way I see it, the differential charge between the ground and I is not the problem, but the differential between myself and the kid, is. Uncle Curt
Teresa Ferguson (teraar1@warwick.net) asks:Hello everyone. :-) Yesterday I received a call from a caterer. He had gotten my company's number from a rental company that is familiar with our work and gives out our information to anyone who asks for balloons. The caterer wanted some prices for 'cheap' mylar balloon only centerpieces for 20 tables. I gave him some ideas with prices. (Nothing over $25.00) Then he asked me for HIS prices. Inferring that he get a commission for getting my phone number from the rental company. I told him that those were my prices. His continued to say that he worked with a florist that made up centerpieces with 5 mylars tied to a fishbowl for $16.00. I responded that it was a very good price and I could not beat it. He said that he would call me back. I did not expect to hear back from him. Well, not but five minutes later he called me back. "I am giving the hostess of the party your phone number. You work out the details and I want you to add $10.00 per table given to me." Then he hung up!!!!! WOW When I called back he was 'not available.' $200!!!! added to this poor persons tab because the caterer is greedy. First of all, if I am upcharging this client, it is unfair to all my other clients. Second of all, I know for a fact, that if I referred a client to his facility and told him to upcharge each plate $10 as my commission, he would not agree. Third, that is more money than I am making!!!! I am really in a bind. His client did call me after hours (left a voicemail) and I have not spoken with her yet. My first inclination was to tell her what the caterer was doing and refer her out to another company. She could tell this man that she made arrangements for decor with another company and not get ripped off. But that does not solve my problem with the caterer. I would like to do business there but I am not sure how to handle this man, or situation. When one of my employees makes a sale, I give them a 10% commission. That is the maximum I am willing to give this caterer. Has this happened to anyone else? What is the most professional way to handle this situation? Should I talk to the woman and see how much decor she wants before talking to the caterer? Thank you for 'listening,'
[Editor's note: There were a lot of answers to this, including eventually a follow-up from the original poster with how things worked out.]
Wynn Bell (WynnLindyB@aol.com) answered:I never get used to being put in this position. I will usually talk to the ultimate purchaser of services without ever talking price with them. Tell them that the prices will all have to come from the caterer. That way it is up to him to "gouge" the customer if he wishes. We have never understood why every middleman thinks they have to make a killing off everyone else. Somehow through the years, we have been able to become aligned with caterers and event planners that don't put us in such a position. They either let us work directly with their client and have no part of the pricing (we get paid directly from their client), or they contact us early enough on in their negotiations so that they are able to build in whatever extra they want to make on our decor without putting us in the middle. I would imagine that this caterer does this to all his subcontractors. To me, this is not the kind of people I want to work with. It's hard to walk away from business, but then again... You might try telling him that you don't do business the way he wishes for you to be involved. Let him know you have boundaries on what and how you will work with him. He sounds like a real "operator," so you will need to stand your ground. Good luck, and don't compromise your standards ! ! !